Mom Receives Criticisms for Posting Weight Lifting Photos while Eight Months Pregnant

A California mother faces a public outcry after posting photos of her lifting weight at eight months pregnant, according to NY Daily New

Lea-Anne Ellison, 35, of Los Angeles, sparked an online firestorm when pictures of the bodybuilding mom were posted on Facebook. Ellison - the mother of an 8-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl - was just two weeks shy of her due date when she was photographed lifting the weights. Despite a public outcry, Ellison maintains that her exercise routine is perfectly healthy.

"8 months pregnant with baby number 3 and CrossFit has been my sanity," Ellison wrote in the caption. "I have been CrossFitting for 2 1/2 years and strongly believe that pregnancy is not an illness, but a time to relish in your body's capabilities to kick ass."

 But a slew of commenters posted angry greivances on the picture - which boasted more than 16,000 likes and almost 3,000 shares by Friday morning. "This is actually sickening, I hope pregnant around the world do not do this kind of crap," one woman wrote. "I am a crossfit enthusiast but I DO NOT recommend this at all."

The person continued by claiming the image gives "people the wrong message that this is OKAY when it's not!!!!" "If anything happens to your baby due to your stupidity, I hope you'll be able to handle your guilt," another person wrote. "Pregnancy is NOT the time to be taking stupid risks."

But several fitness enthusiasts rallied support for the Los Angeles woman, who in an earlier post on her personal profile wrote that she trains in an effort to be a "HOT mom." "The key is listening to your body! As a medical professional, I find it appalling the number of people who treat pregnancy as an illness," another woman wrote.