Is there a time in a woman’s life when she feels less seen than in those sloppy, wobbly, and emotional first few postpartum months? We don’t think so. Which is why the unveiling of Mother Vérité last week, outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital in London, feels so incredibly important. This bronze statue captures, with visceral honesty, the beauty and truth of this often misunderstood moment in a woman’s life.

Mother Vérité doesn’t just ask us to stop and appreciate postpartum women everywhere; it celebrates her power and beauty, finally declaring what parents everywhere already know: that new mothers deserve to be honoured, cherished, and seen.

At AllBright, our values of community, ambition and support transcend working lives, we are here to put the untold battles that women endure - the bodies too often hidden, the pain too often invisible – in the light. This statue is the embodiment of those narratives, and so much more.

Sculpted by British digital artist Rayvenn Shaleigha D’Clark, Mother Vérité was commissioned by Frida, a brand specialising in women’s postpartum care. Its location outside the Lindo Wing, a place synonymous with polished post-birth images and royal announcements, exposes the stark contrast of an idealised expectation faced by so many new mothers, versus the lived postpartum reality.

Her posture, her semi-nudity, that tiny newborn in her arms, this is the embodiment of the unvarnished physicality of this moment in time. And so, she should. Society has a lot of answer for around post-partum norms. Women remained diminished and unheard, when they need to be held in the highest regard. It’s the same story again and again.

And if you need any more proof of how marginalised women remain in society today, consider this: only 4% of London’s public statues depict women. Fewer still show motherhood especially in its immediate, raw, postpartum form. When you realise that 9% of London’s statues are of animals, it’s not hard to do the maths and expose the gender disparity in public art, a space meant to be accessible to all. Research from UCL’s Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment highlights that thoughtfully designed public art can amplify underrepresented voices, strengthen community cohesion, and challenge dominant narratives. Mother Vérité does exactly that, turning the spotlight on postpartum women and their experiences. Is it any wonder women remain underrepresented in boardrooms and governments? Girls look around and what do they see?

Created using live casting and 3D scans of several postpartum women, Mother Vérité represents a literal blend of new mothers and in that, the strength bound within this community: the understanding, the trust, and the support. She is both specific and universal, an exquisite reflection of each and every one of us.

She is startling in her realness, but we should not be shocked. And that is the point. We hold her up as an invitation to mothers, children, families, and everyone, to see what is usually hidden, to honour it, and to believe it matters.

Let us bring this new mother into the light. She is extraordinary.