Plus-size Model Kate Dillon on Pregnancy and Motherhood

A model mom at peace with her body.

Fit Pregnancy

cover model Kate Dillon (February/March 2011) said flexibility came in handy as she approached her due date (Dec. 14, 2010). "I'm going for as natural a delivery as possible," Dillon said in an interview during her 37th week. "My doctor and I have a pact that if my labor is progressing well, she won't give me an epidural, even if I ask for one. But if it's taking a long time, she will-and I'm thinking I'll be fine either way. I'm not emotionally invested in what happens."

Dillon, 36, may be best known as a highly successful plus-size Ford Model; she appeared on an episode in season three of America's Next Top Model to talk to the contestants about body image. Did pregnancy have any effect-positive or negative-on her own body image? "It's funny, I feel really good. I've gained plenty of weight, 37 pounds, but I'm fine with it," she says. "I've kept very active, which I think has helped a lot.

"And I've loved feeling curvier," Dillon adds. "I didn't gain weight until about 15 weeks, but my hips got wider, which made my waist look smaller. On the other hand, yesterday I noticed cellulite on the front of my thighs! The front!"

In addition to speaking out about body image, Dillon is passionate about women's and girls' empowerment issues. A year ago, she co-founded The Komera Project, which provides scholarships for seventh- to 12th-grade girls in a tiny Rwandan village. "We started small," she says, "just enough to engage the community in the value of educating these girls, who in turn become engines for social and economic gains."

Read her full interview here.