From the photographs the world sees of celebrities so soon after they have given birth, it would be easy to think that having a baby doesn't do much to the overall shape of your body. It would be even easier to assume that the fitter and healthier you are, the less pregnancy will take its toll on your stomach. Which is why these incredibly honest and inspiring photos Stephanie Rothstein Bruce (inset), from Flagstaff, Arizona, have gone viral and are all the more surprising - they show a bodily experience that is similar to most women's (right). And it's not always pretty. The elite athlete's experienced diatstisis richti - separation of the abdominal muscles - during her pregnancy (left).

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: Super Jolly, 37, of Wraysbury, Berkshire, was bitten by an unknown type of arachnid at the end of a two-week scuba diving trip (inset) to a group of islands in Palau, Micronesia, in the Pacific Ocean. Her leg began to swell in size (top and bottom right), until she was barely able to sit down on the 30-hour flight back to London Heathrow. Nine days later, the bite exploded in a 'volcano of pus', leaving her with a 4cm hole in her leg. She was forced to have seven weeks off work due to the ordeal, but has now recovered well. Recalling the moment her bite erupted, she said: 'Not only was my flesh eaten away where I could see the hole, it looked like it had gone sideways under the skin, It was as if someone had scooped the flesh out of my leg.'

Joanne Gerrard Young, who cooks for the couple when they visit their house in Costa Rica, has revealed that the couple's holiday diet consists of superfood smoothies, gazpacho and raw vegan desserts. Joanne, who specialises in plant-based food, explained that the family do an '80/20' raw diet, with 'big colourful salads and lots of fresh veggies'. She said: '(Gisele) likes to eat vegetarian sometimes. So we'll do a grain separate from the protein, and she's totally into juice cleanses, so she'll do about one per year.'

Ahead of his debut on BBC Two's spin-off, Bake Off: Crème de la Crème, the TV chef (pictured) has revealed his low-carb diet prevented him from tasting any of the cakes, pastries and deserts. Kerridge, 42, has dropped eight stone in the past three years after giving up alcohol and cutting back on carbohydrates.

Hayley Harris, 23, from Chelmsford, Essex, was a size four and weighed six stone. She credits Instagram with helping her recover after charting her progress on Instagram. She was withdrawn and felt isolated while she suffered from anorexia (left) but now feels connected via social media and is a healthier eight stone (right). Hayley said: 'I want to show to girls and guys across the world that recovery is possible and that this is what mine looks like.'

The number of people dying from heart disease - the world's leading killer - has fallen across the US, a new report today revealed. Yet, despite the overall decrease, there remain 'dramatic differences' in those death rates across US counties, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found. Declines in heart disease rates ranged between 9.2 per cent and 83.4 per cent among US counties in the past four decades, the report found. But, in particular, counties in the South have seen far weaker declines than in the rest of the country.
The counties with the slowest declines - 9.2 to 49.6 per cent - were mostly located in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. The findings signal a 'notable geographic shift' in heart disease death rates since the early 1970s, noted lead study author Dr Michele Casper, of the CDC's Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention.

The font was created by Daniel Britton, a 25-year-old designer from Kent last year and he has now raised enough money to create a Dyslexia Awareness Pack to be sent to schools.

Mohammed Abad, from Edinburgh, used his bionic penis for the first time with sex worker Charlotte Rose, 35 (main). The pair got to know each other over a few days before having sex in a London hotel (inset). Mohammed was involved in a horrifying car accident as a child that saw him dragged him 600 yards and ripped off his penis and one testicle. He had his bionic member attached in in 2012 and now hopes he can sustain a healthy relationship and even fulfil his dream of fatherhood.

Joe Sanderson was not expected to live beyond the age of 21. Born in 1936, his life expectancy was poor and his family and he was told he was unlikely to reach adulthood. But he marked the milestone of his 80th birthday with cake and a balloon on Saturday (left and right). He spent his special birthday in the company of family, friends and staff at his care home in Saltburn, Cleveland. Prior to living there, he was well known around the seaside town in his younger days (inset) and made a name for himself with his 'cheeky confidence,' his family said. Care home manager Tina Temple said he was popular with staff and residents alike and keeps himself busy with hobbies. 'He's also always reading the betting pages and he likes to have a bet on the Grand National and a few other races occasionally but he's never won anything massive,' she said.

Dr James Elist (left), a urologist in Beverly Hills, has developed a revolutionary penile enhancement procedure. During the $13,000 (£9,000) operation, Dr Elist inserts a soft silicone sheath (bottom right) implant under the skin of the penis. The implant is available in sizes large, extra large and double extra large (top right). It covers the entire length, and wraps 270 degrees around the penis (inset). The entire procedure only takes 45 minutes - and immediately afterwards, a man's penis increases by approximately two inches in both length and girth. Dr Elist told Daily Mail Online that patients who undergo the operation experience a surge of self-confidence in the aftermath. He said: 'This is similar to breast implants - but a breast implant is a bag filled with silicone gel or in some cases saline. My implant is different; it's not filled with anything. The material is very soft silicone with the shape of the penis - which covers the penis for 270 degrees around and the whole length of the penis.'

After gorging on a diet of junk food for decades, Colombian Oscar Vasquez Morales, 44, who clocks in at 63 stones (400kg), was warned that if he did not lose weight his condition would cost him his life. In desperation he reached out to a local heart foundation, in the city of Palmira, and thankfully its team of specialists agreed to help him with a series of assessments and tests at their centre. However, before he began his life-changing treatment he faced a further obstacle - leaving his house. Mr Morales needs assistance carrying out simple day-to-day activities such as going to the toilet and dressing himself (pictured right and bottom left) and hasn't walked unaided for years (pictured top left). But when his local fire department heard about his plight they rushed to his aid and helped him on his way.

Paul DiStefano, who posts on Imgur as 'statusfooo' spent the first 18 months of his weight loss journey sharing before and after snapshots of his progress on the online image sharing community. He went from 340lbs (far left and second from left) to 198lbs (second from right) in 14 months. But after she stopped posting his before and after photos online, he packed on 10lbs of muscle (far right).

Bella Davey-Lawrence, 2, from Axminster, Devon, will have to wear pressure garments 24 hours a day for two years in a bid to reduce her scars (left and inset top right). Her father had been using a plug-in radiator to dry her bedroom out after a leak occurred. 'It was at the foot of the bed and there was a gap between the bed and radiator that Bella had got in to,' said her mother Natasha Davey, 31. 'My ex was in the kitchen and the girls' bedroom door was closed so he didn't know what was happening until he heard screaming. We have no idea what happened in the bedroom - whether she fell off her bed and landed in the gap or climbed down and then got burnt.'

We asked five women from five different - but equally body-conscious fields - to keep a food diary for a single day. Expert nutritionist Sarah Flower then analysed who ate best. Clockwise from left to right, our participants were chef Lisa Roukin, 38, from London; model Charlotte de Carle, 28, from London; professional dancer Danni Everdell, 26, from north London; nurse Holly Russell, 23, from Sheffield, personal trainer Hollie Grant, 29, from London.

Sharon Wylde, 42, (inset) from Salford, Greater Manchester, reached a size 22 eating takeaways following the death of her 14-year-old son Cameron, who was hit by a car in September 2012. The mother-of-three saw her weight crept up to more than 15st, left, and a dress size 22. She's now a size 12 and 12st 3lb, right, after realising she had to overhaul her diet to improve her health. She said: 'It took all my time and energy just to get up and brush my teeth. I would sit in my pyjamas all day and not move. I was constantly tired and I felt worthless.'

The new dietary advice, published by Public Health England, the Government's public health quango, is intended to help Britons meet the official nutrient requirements. It is a new version of the EatWell Plate, launched in 2010, which shows the proportion of fruit and veg, meat and fish, diary and starch we should be aiming to eat each day. There is now greater prominence for fruit, vegetables and starchy carbohydrates, preferably wholegrain - and a curbing of sugar. To get the recommended daily amount of fibre, for example, we must eat more five portions of fruit and veg, a jacket potato with the skin on and two slices of wholemeal toast a day. Sugary foods and drinks should be few and far between - and the public should not rely on 'easy' options such as smoothies to get the nutrients they need. Instead, the drinks should be limited to a single 150ml glass a day and only be drunk with a meal as they are so high in sugar. However the new guidance is likely to be criticised as a further nanny state intervention which will have little impact on obesity or overall public health. Earlier this month Public Health England was slated for launching a £3.5 million advertising campaign to encourage middle aged adults to do more exercise and stop eating takeaways.

Megan Torio, from Florida, suffered a catalogue of life-changing injuries, including a broken back (top inset) and a sliced labia, which left her unable to have sex for a year. She was thrown thrown from a vehicle by an abusive boyfriend and told by doctors she was unlikely to walk again. But the self-confessed gym bunny refused to be beaten and started working out again (left). She astonished doctors by gaining muscle mass in her legs and was able to stand for her wedding to new love Ron Torio (right) and hopes to start trying for a family later this year. 'I think I was in denial that I would never walk again and I think that's what got me to where I am now,' she said.

Expectant mothers were today told that while exercising is good for pregnant women, heavy lifting should be avoided, with Dr Raul Artal, who is on the medical commission of the Olympic committee telling Daily Mail Online that moms-to-be should avoid lifting anything heavier than 40kg. It comes as yet another woman showed off her pregnancy six-pack online. Texas-based mother-to-be Hannah, 24, is the latest in a string of fitness addicts to document their pregnancy abdominals online. She is pictured showing off her impressive abs at nine weeks (left), 17 weeks (center), 20 weeks (right) and 22 weeks (inset).

As I watched the first episode of Peter Bowker's six-part BBC series, The A Word, starring, among others, Christopher Eccleston and a fine child actor called Max Vento, the hairs at the back of my neck prickled. Anyone who has reared a child with autism should prepare to be emotionally pulverised by this shatteringly truthful tale.

Peyton Cables, 17, of Ventura, California, began feeling unwell in June 2013 when she was on her period and using tampons. She saw doctors who told her she had a virus and to rest. But the 'virus' became steadily worse and she felt weak, feverish and was struggling to walk. She was rushed to hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with toxic shock syndrome, and desperately pumped her full of antibiotics in a bid to save her life. Despite her organs failing, she managed to pull through and survive. Now, she is sharing the shocking images of her in hospital to warn other of the dangers of toxic shock. She said: 'Never did I think at 15 I'd be a survivor. But everything happens for a reason.'

Nadia Hobbs, 18, from St Thomas, Exeter, began suffering pain in her mouth but believed it might be her wisdom teeth coming through. When she massaged the area she found a pea-sized lump on her jawline, which doubled in size until it resembled a gobstopper (left). Blood tests came back negative, but when the pain became so excruciating she could barely smile, her mother took her straight to A&E.; There, she was finally diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive and extremely rare form of cancer of the body's soft tissues (an MRI scan is pictured, bottom centre). After seven rounds of chemotherapy (top centre) Miss Hobbs' tumour has now shrunk by 75 per cent (pictured right, wearing a wig after her hair fell out due to the treatment). She said: 'The size of the tumour completely shocked us all, I couldn't believe how huge it was. Young people never think they will get cancer. I certainly didn't and rhabdomyosarcoma is so rare that early signs and symptoms can often be missed.'