Postpartum belly

Pregnancy can bring lots of changes to your skin. Most of them disappear after delivery, but sometimes there’s loose skin left behind. Skin is made of collagen and elastin, so it expands with weight gain. Once stretched, skin may have trouble returning to its original shape. Loose skin can be emotionally frustrating for women who want their bodies to go back to how they were before pregnancy. But it’s important to remember that this can take time. Your body just did an amazing thing by giving birth, so try to go easy on yourself. Here are some things you can do to help firm up loose skin. Abdominoplasty, or tummy tuck surgery, is an option to tighten muscles and remove excess skin. But it’s not a substitute for losing weight or an exercise program. During the surgical procedure, doctors will cut into the abdomen to remove extra skin. The remaining skin will be stitched together and a new opening for the belly button might be created as well. The average cost of a tummy tuck is $6,253, according to the If you do elect surgery, the ASPS recommends finding a board-certified plastic surgeon in your area. Make sure you feel comfortable with them and ask for referrals. Pregnancy changes your body in several ways. As your belly grows, the skin needs to expand. After giving birth, many women may have loose skin on their stomach. If you’re feeling self-conscious about it, there are some at-home remedies that may help tighten it again. Depending on how much skin is left over, you ca...

Baby Nicknames Short baby names are undeniably catchy; they cut to the chase while leaving a long-lasting impression. The lovely thing about short baby names is that the only thing they have in common is the number of letters they each have, giving you the flexibility of any of your favorite definitions in a neat package. These quippy delights will give baby an edge in any introduction when the options range from Ari to Xena. Choose a short baby girl, boy, or gender-neutral name to shake things up on the playground. Top 500 Short Baby Names When a parent chooses a name for baby, it’s an undeniably hard job. Baby’s future, attitude, potential beliefs, and a number of other factors all tie into what makes the decision so difficult. But when you’ve done the hard part, it’s time to get into the cutest part! That’s giving baby a nickname, of course! Cute baby boy and girl nicknames come in the dozens and are ready to be worn with style by baby. Watching your belly grow throughout pregnancy is pretty mesmerizing. It’s amazing what the body does in order to accommodate a growing baby. But at some point during those 40+ weeks, the wonderment of it all begins to wane, and you just want to have that baby in your arms—and your tummy back to its normal shape and size! The thing is: Once baby is out, your postpartum belly won’t look or feel like it did pre-pregnancy (at least, not for some time). What’s more, you may be surprised to learn that you’ll actually still look pregnant for a ...

I wish my pp belly looked that good lol. I have an umbilical hernia and terrible diastasis recti, I still look 5 months pregnant and am unsure it’ll resolve itself without some serious work on my end! The line and my stretch marks faded pretty quickly after my first pregnancy. 2.5 weeks pp now and still have my line and all the muscle damage my midwife confirmed the hernia but I always had an ‘innie’ and my belly button sticks out now. As for the diastasis, my stomach cones when I flex my abs and I never stopped looking 5 months pregnant after my first baby. The hernia can only be fixed through surgery and the D.R. I’m working on with pelvic floor PT so I’m hopeful it’ll heal but I may end up needing surgery for that too. My body is unrecognizable to me tho so it’s pretty obvious We strive to provide you with a high quality community experience. We respect everyone’s right to express their thoughts and opinions as long as they remain respectful of other community members, and meet What to Expect’s Terms of Use. If you feel a message or content violates these standards and would like to request its removal please submit the following information and our moderating team will respond shortly. A Group Leader is a What to Expect community member who has been selected by our staff to help maintain a positive, supportive tone within a group. Group Leaders communicate with staff moderators and escalate potential violations for review, but they don’t moderate discussions. Group Lea...

All What to Expect content that addresses health or safety is medically reviewed by a team of vetted health professionals. Our MedicalReview Board includes OB/GYNs, pediatricians, infectious disease specialists, doulas, lactation counselors, endocrinologists, fertility specialists and more. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're reading.Learn more about | Here’s what you need to know about your How long does it take to recover after giving birth? No matter how you gave birth, the first six weeks postpartum are considered a “recovery” period. Even if you sailed through your pregnancy and had the easiest delivery on record (and especially if you didn’t), your body has been stretched and stressed to the max, and as you can already tell, it needs a chance to regroup. Trusted Source Optimizing Postpartum Care Keep in mind that every new mom is different, so every woman will recover at a different rate with If you’ve had a Wondering if If you delivered by Walking after a C-section can help speed up your recovery. But everyone is different, so chat with your OB/GYN or midwife about how much walking you should do and when it's okay to start. Your doctor may also prescribe pain medication as you heal. How much bleeding is normal after giving birth? After you give birth, Bleeding is heaviest for the first three to 10 days, then it will taper off — going from red to pink to brown to yellowish-white.During this time, tampons are off-limits, so you’ll ha...

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Moderate exercise isn't thought to affect breast milk quantity or quality, or your baby's growth. If you're breastfeeding, it's important to stay hydrated. Keep a water bottle handy during your workout, and drink plenty of fluids throughout the day. Some research suggests that high-intensity exercise might cause lactic acid to accumulate in breast milk and produce a sour taste a baby might not like, but this is likely rare. If vigorous exercise is a priority during the first few months of breastfeeding, consider feeding your baby before your workout or pumping before your workout and feeding your baby the pumped breast milk afterward. Alternatively, exercise first and then take a shower, express a few milliliters of breast milk and, after a half-hour or an hour, offer the breast. If you had an uncomplicated pregnancy and vaginal delivery, it's generally safe to begin exercising a few days after giving birth or as soon as you feel ready. If you had a C-section, extensive vaginal repair or a complicated birth, talk to your health care provider about when to start an exercise program. For most healthy women, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity — preferably spread throughout the week — after pregnancy. Consider these guidelines: • Take time to warm up and cool down. • Begin slowly and increase your pace gradually. • Drink plenty of fluids. • Wear a supportive bra, and wear nursing pads if you...

Diastasis recti is a common condition in pregnant and postpartum people. It occurs when the rectus abdominis muscles (six-pack ab muscles) separate during pregnancy from being stretched. The separation can make a person's belly stick out or bulge months or years postpartum. It can be repaired with special exercises that help to close the separation. Overview Diastasis recti happens when a person's abdomen stretches during pregnancy and creates a gap in the abdominal muscles. What is diastasis recti? Diastasis recti (diastasis rectus abdominis or diastasis) is the separation of the Once you deliver your baby, the linea alba can heal and come back together. It's highly elastic and retracts backs (like a rubber band). When the tissue loses its elasticity from being overstretched, the gap in the abdominals will not close as much as it should. This is diastasis recti. If you have diastasis, your belly may appear to stick out just above or below the belly button, making you appear pregnant months or years after giving birth. Why does diastasis recti happen? Pregnancy puts a lot of pressure on your abdomen (abs). The abdomen is made up of left and right ab muscles and a thin band of connective tissue (linea alba) in between. They are pushed outward and stretched to make room for the growing baby. Diastasis recti occurs when the linea alba is overstretched and doesn't come back together. The left and right sides of the abdominals stay separated. It's also referred to as an "ab gap...

Share on Pinterest The first six weeks after giving birth are known as the postpartum period. This period is an intense time that requires During this time — which some researchers believe actually lasts In short, it can feel like a lot. It’s not uncommon for the first year to feel like a tidal shift. That said, the recovery period can vary wildly. If you’re on your third kid and pushed for 20 minutes, your recovery will look different than if you labored for 40 hours, pushed for 3, and had an emergency C-section. Yet while everyone’s experience is different, there are some recovery milestones that you should ideally hit. To help give you a sense of where you should be in your postpartum timeline, we’ve highlighted what you can expect from both your body and mind. Physical status, after C-section After a If you had a Mental health status Day 3 in particular is infamous for being emotionally difficult. “The birth buzz is wearing off, estrogen and progesterone levels are dropping off, and prolactin and oxytocin levels rise and fall throughout the day while the baby suckles,” says Jocelyn Brown, a licensed and certified midwife in Los Angeles. “That combined with sleep deprivation makes for lots of weepiness and feeling like nothing is going right.” • If you had a vaginal delivery, use an ice pack or frozen pads with witch hazel on your perineum. Use a spray bottle of warm water during or after peeing. • Take Tylenol or Advil at regular intervals. Pain begets pain, so do your...

Thanks to the hormones of pregnancy in a woman’s body, especially relaxin, the abdominal muscles are able to separate. Because every woman is different and will respond differently to relaxin in the body, some women may notice more abdominal separation earlier than others. (This is also why mothers who have already experienced a pregnancy might “ And no matter what kind of shape a woman is in before her pregnancy, Cates, who is a Certified Personal Trainer, Pre & Postnatal Corrective Exercise Specialist, Diastasis Recti + Core Rehabilitation Specialist and Pre & Postnatal Holistic Health Coach, stresses that it’s important that all women realize that the rectus abdominis (the six-pack muscles) will naturally separate in almost all expecting women. And this separation puts a gentle strain on the linea alba, which is the connective tissue connecting the abdominal muscles. That strain, Cates continues, means that even small, daily movements, like getting out of bed or picking things up create irregulation of the intra-abdominal pressure within the abdomen, potentially weakening the connective tissue and muscles of the pelvic floor. Essentially, there’s a disconnect between the muscles needed to maintain the core and over time, that can lead to damage. And although improper abdominal exercises can be harmful to a woman’s core, Cates explains that the bigger issue is those daily actions, repeated over and over, that actually damage the core. How to Tell If Your Core Is At Risk ...