The joy of having a baby a few weeks after giving birth can be overshadowed by the new mother’s worries about her appearance. The skin and muscles of the abdomen, which have been greatly stretched and under heavy strain for several months, are in a flabby and saggy state. And if breasts filled with milk are pleasing to the eye, then you want to get rid of the sagging belly as soon as possible. How can you get rid of your belly after childbirth, what needs to be done for this, how long will it take?
During the long period of pregnancy, the young mother yearned for tight-fitting clothes and beautiful sexy dresses. However, a noticeably protruding belly spoils a woman’s mood and appearance. Why do young mothers immediately try to take all possible measures to get into good physical shape as quickly as possible?
How soon can you tighten your stomach?
The speed of contraction of the abdominal muscles and skin after childbirth depends on the type of constitution and genetic predisposition of the woman. For some women in labor, the belly is practically invisible just a few weeks after the birth of the baby, while others cannot remove it for many months.
- The body needs some time to contract stretched muscles. The more elastic the muscles, the faster they will return to their original shape, which is why in young women under 20 years of age the belly goes away much faster than in older mothers.
- Multiple pregnancies or large fetal sizes slightly lengthen the period of postpartum muscle contraction. On average, it takes from several weeks to two months to tighten muscles. If a woman has gained a large number of additional kilograms during pregnancy, then this period may be prolonged. The abdominal wall is also greatly stretched during repeated pregnancies.
- If delivery was carried out by cesarean section, then a scar remains on the uterus and skin of the abdomen, which will prevent muscle contraction. In addition, during the operation, the nerve endings are damaged, so muscle tone is noticeably reduced, which also affects their ability to contract. Painful sensations that accompany a woman for a long time after surgery interfere with tightening her stomach and lengthen the recovery period.
How long it takes the body to restore its previous shape usually depends on the woman in labor. In the case where even three months after childbirth the belly still remains, the woman should take additional measures to eliminate it.
What will help you contract muscles faster?
Usually, in cases where a large sagging belly needs to be removed, a woman purchases a gym membership or immediately goes on a diet. However, this recipe is not suitable for mothers after childbirth. Doctors allow active participation in sports no earlier than 4–6 months after the birth of the baby. You also can’t limit yourself to a diet, since how a newborn baby will grow and develop depends on the diet of a nursing mother.
In addition, in order for the mother’s body to recover more quickly after childbirth, it needs to receive a certain amount of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Significant physical activity and poor nutrition can worsen lactation and lead to hormonal imbalance in the female body, which is why it is undesirable to use such methods until the end of breastfeeding.
The belly will remain large until the uterus shrinks to its original size. Therefore, the mother needs to perform a set of exercises daily to stimulate uterine contractions, called postpartum gymnastics.
You can speed up the process of muscle and skin contraction after childbirth in the following ways:
- Using creams for stretch marks. Special cosmetics for stretch marks will help increase the elasticity of the skin, which will visually make the stomach less flabby.
- Massage. Quite an effective way to tighten the abdomen after childbirth. Massage increases blood circulation in tissues, increases muscle tone, which contributes to faster muscle contraction. After just a few massage sessions, you will notice how the excess volume disappears.
- Walks in the open air. Daily hour-long walks with a newborn baby in the fresh air increase the overall tone of the body, improve intestinal motility and activate metabolism. Such walks stimulate the work of the abdominal and buttock muscles, help to lose excess weight and eliminate unnecessary centimeters on the waist and hips.
- Breast-feeding. In the last stages of pregnancy, a woman’s body produces the hormones progesterone and relaxin, which ensure the elasticity of tissues and ligaments. Hormonal levels are no less important for postpartum muscle contraction. In women who breastfeed their baby, normalization of hormonal levels after childbirth occurs faster than in women in labor who, for one reason or another, do not have lactation. Restoring hormonal balance helps the body quickly return to its previous form. In addition, along with breast milk, about 40 grams of fat from internal reserves leave the body every day. About 500 kcal per day is spent on milk production, which speeds up getting rid of unnecessary weight. But if a woman does not breastfeed, then she can afford effective diets for weight loss.
- Properly organized nutrition. In order to quickly remove extra centimeters from the waist, a woman should reconsider her diet. She will need to give up flour products, fatty, spicy and salty foods. But the amount of liquid you drink every day should be increased to two liters per day.
- Good physical form. It is no secret that women who were actively involved in sports before pregnancy and were in good physical shape recover faster after childbirth. Therefore, in order to quickly remove the belly after childbirth, you should train the corset and abdominal muscles even at the stage of planning the baby.
Good afternoon dear readers. Today we are talking about how to get your belly back after childbirth. A burning topic, isn't it? I will also explain a little why we have after childbirth there is a big belly how does this all arise from a medical point of view and when stomach will finally disappear. Let me explain why the stomach does not go away from sports or decreases very slowly. On the Internet you will find a lot of information and exercises aimed at reducing belly fat after childbirth. Choose only what you believe! Faith is 50% of the successful completion of any business.
Why does a big belly remain after childbirth?
First, watch a video where an obstetrician-gynecologist talks about the process of weight gain during pregnancy. How much extra pounds can a mother gain, what weight gain can be considered normal, and how this will affect the child.
And so, now we know that you can gain a lot of extra kilos, and accordingly the muscles will stretch and a big belly will appear, which we need to remove after childbirth. There are lucky women who instantly get rid of these unpleasant kilos and their belly goes away very quickly, but most are not one of them.
What conclusions can we draw from the video and what do doctors generally say about a big belly after childbirth? .
The belly remains large after the birth of a child for three main reasons:
Firstly. The uterus is stretched and it takes time for it to shrink.
Immediately after birth, the uterus weighs approximately 1 kg. After the second week after birth, the uterus already weighs 500g. But for her to take on normal, prenatal sizes, 6-8 weeks must pass (individually)! Accordingly, these weeks the belly will not radically decrease.
Secondly. Fat accumulates during pregnancy in the abdominal area.
It accumulates individually, some have more, some have less, but it is a must! It is necessary for the body to protect the fetus from external factors. So, don’t envy your friends who are as slim as reeds immediately after giving birth! Genetics and all that. We are all different. Not bad or lazy, but with different heredity and different metabolism. By the way, according to some studies, people prone to weight gain live longer. I'll tell you about this in another post.
In order to remove fat from the stomach, and not only from it, it takes time and physical activity.
Third. Stretched abdominal muscles.
During pregnancy, the muscles experience enormous stress and gradually become stretched as the child grows, and again it takes time to recover. Back to genetics and lifestyle again...
Thanks to the combination of these three factors and big belly remains after childbirth
When will the belly disappear after childbirth and how long does it take?
But only you can answer this question yourself. It all depends:
- From time after birth (only the uterus shrinks in 6-8 weeks)
- From heredity
- Skin elasticity
- Number of births
- Willpower
- Proper nutrition
- Physical activity
If we talk about the condition of the uterus after childbirth, then we already realized that 1.5-2 months after giving birth, the shape of our abdomen also depends on its size.
Immediately after childbirth, the uterus begins to contract and return to its prenatal shape. Often, for better reduction, gynecologists prescribe tincture of water pepper, infusion of nettle and much more. I will not describe in detail how and what, since all restorative procedures of the postpartum period should be carried out only under the supervision of your doctor. In the meantime, we don’t worry and don’t think much about our figure for at least 2 months :).
If we talk about heredity, then, in principle, it does not play such a decisive role. If our mothers have not regained their prenatal belly, this does not mean at all that we need to relax and take this fact for granted. No and no again! Let's gather our will and move forward towards the goal. If a person has difficulty losing the weight he has gained (from eating too much), then most likely he has a slow metabolism.
It takes more effort to stay in shape
The aging process in the body is slower than in those about whom they say “not a horse’s feed”
Skin elasticity. Sometimes it happens that there seems to be no belly, but the skin hangs on it like an apron. This kind of belly is called belly apron.
Often an “apron” appears when the skin does not have time to shrink to the desired size during our rapid weight loss. In this case, to remove the belly apron, diets and exercises need to be supplemented with abdominal masks, wraps, wearing a bandage (not all doctors recommend a bandage; the decision is up to you and your personal doctor).
We need to help our skin recover and shrink back to its previous size. Perhaps I will devote one post specifically to this problem. While you can read the black clay belly mask, my post about getting rid of stretch marks also helped me a lot. The recipes and tips given there help not only remove stretch marks, but also generally improve the condition of the skin.
If we talk about how to restore the stomach after the second, third or more births, then everything is the same as after the first ones.
It will take a little more effort and patience. Everything is achievable. If after the first birth the belly goes away as if by itself, but after the 2nd birth it doesn’t... Don’t be upset! Perhaps before your first pregnancy your muscle tone was better than before your second, perhaps you were younger and your body coped with it faster. Yes, there can be thousands of reasons! Do not believe mothers and grandmothers who say that a woman who has given birth cannot be the same as when she was a girl. Patience and a little effort.
Physical activity, proper nutrition and willpower should to be for everyone and not only during the period when we need to remove the belly after childbirth. Proper nutrition and fitness should become the norm.
Why the belly does not shrink and the waist does not return after childbirth
I'm talking about the case when we seem to be pumping our abs and twirling a hoop, but our belly just doesn't want to go away.
Let's remember that we cannot lose fat (fat left on the stomach) only in some specific area of the body. Getting rid of fat in the abdominal area occurs only against the backdrop of overall weight loss! So, that's a diet.
When we pump up the press, i.e. When we perform strength training, we build muscle tissue. Yes, the weight will go away in the future, but it will take a lot of time and a constant increase in load. Fat is burned for the most part only by aerobic exercise with a heart rate of up to 90% of the maximum! In the literal sense, aerobic exercise is exercise “with oxygen.” For example: running, walking, cycling, swimming, aerobics, etc.
I will not describe all the processes at the biochemical level. You only need to remember that subcutaneous fat is broken down and removed from the body in the presence of oxygen. By the way, aerobic exercise can be supplemented with breathing exercises for weight loss.
I suggest you watch a video with exercises to return to prenatal shape, which you can do with your child. This will probably be relevant for many mothers.
Exercises with baby 1
Exercises with baby 2
Another video with good exercises for a big belly after childbirth. The advantage of this complex is that the execution time is only 10 minutes.
And a few more exercises from Irena Ponaroshku, which she demonstrated in the program “About the Most Important Thing.” In this video and the doctor’s comments about whether they help or not, these exercises to remove belly fat after childbirth.
That's all for today.
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Beauty, slimness and a flat tummy after childbirth!
Good afternoon!))
In this article I will tell you how to manage to give birth to a low-birth-weight child during your first birth, and a strong child during your second! Recovery after childbirth! Tying up! how to get your belly in order after childbirth!
No scary stories! Everything is positive! Go!
So, I have two boys! The age difference is 7 years!
First pregnancy was not planned, but we were happy! The pregnancy was going well, there were no abnormalities. But the baby was born at term with a weight of 2 kg 400 g!!! Whaaack??? I lead a healthy lifestyle, I don't smoke! But looking at me, the doctors said that this is my peculiarity, because I myself am a miniature girl! Everything was fine with the child, but he was taken to the intensive care unit for observation. A day later, when we observed his condition, he gave it to the young mother!
How was your first birth?
Shortly before this day, I had an appointment with a doctor, who examined me, and examined me so much and “fiddled around” that my stomach began to hurt! Thus, I believe that my labor was induced. For 2 days I suffered with lingering pain. On the 3rd day I gave birth from the moment of the onset of noticeable contractions in 4-5 hours. When they showed me my baby, I melted! Tears of happiness and joy!!!
Second pregnancy was planned! My little son has been asking for a brother for a long time and soon school is waiting for him! First grade! My husband and I tried our best and I went on maternity leave on September 1!!! Tight as they say!!!
The pregnancy was going great! in the first months I rode a bicycle, we flew on a plane on vacation. I led an active lifestyle throughout my pregnancy! When the doctors asked when I would go to the maternity hospital, she said that I would come with contractions and that’s it (luckily the maternity hospital is nearby)! My first-grader son has a mouth full of worries at home)))
The outcome of the second pregnancy! How was your second birth?
At night, my stomach began to pull, I launched applications on my phone for contractions, periodically pressing the button with a contraction. And also at this time I continued to knit a scarf with knitting needles, I really wanted to finish it ^^))) in the end, the application told me “go to bed”)) I went to bed, had breakfast with my son in the morning, sent him to his grandparents, and I went to the maternity hospital myself. My contractions were already noticeable and continued every 15-10 minutes. Arriving at the maternity hospital, I went through the registration procedure, then they looked at the chair and said that the dilation was already 5 cm! straight to the prenatal room, 2 hours later I had another baby!!! son!!! weighing 4 kg and height 55 cm!!! Hey, did you forget that I'm petite??? (my height is 155 and my weight was 50 kg before pregnancy)) People!!! how did he fit inside me??? Of course, I have thoughts that he was hugging my spine, but still!)))
What do these 2 pregnancies and births have in common?
I gained the same amount of kg, about 17!
Pregnancy was easy!
Childbirth, both first and second, is natural (gaps (internal, external) are insignificant).
And here is the paradox! After my first birth, when I had a low-birth-weight baby, I couldn’t straighten up, I walked in a “zyu” shape for the first day! And after the second birth, when I had a hero, I was ready to run a hundred meters in 30 minutes!
2 months have passed since the second birth until today!
Needless to say, most pregnant girls and young mothers think about their beauty after the birth of their baby! A flat stomach is not a dream, but a reality!
After my first pregnancy and successful (natural) birth, my stomach was in a deplorable state (stretch marks, large abdominal volume, sagging). I didn’t know all the subtleties and didn’t take care of my skin in any way during pregnancy. After giving birth, I was so busy with the baby that I only started paying attention to my belly after a year! I had to work hard to get it back to normal!
Therefore, during my second pregnancy I decided to radically change everything! I studied the relevant literature and decided that after giving birth I would try tummy tuck!!!)
Briefly (in case you forgot): I’m 28 years old, this is my second pregnancy, and I gained 17 kg during my entire pregnancy. The baby was born big - 4 kg and height 55 cm (despite the fact that I myself am short, my weight before birth was 50 kg).
During pregnancy I did not tie up my belly. The main thing I did was moisturize the skin of my stomach with body lotion every day! I have no stretch marks this pregnancy!
I started tying up my stomach on the 3rd day, when I arrived home after the maternity hospital. My birth went without complications. The day after giving birth, I was lying on my stomach with all my might (Oh, finally))! I also did the “bicycle” exercise (I asked my doctor, she allowed it!).
I did tying every day when my “working” day began. I didn't get tied up at night!
In the attached video I show how I did the tying! You need to tie up while lying down! I'm just showing the principle! You can regulate the tightness of the tie yourself! It should be comfortable!
Initial actions.
You need a cloth with which you will tie it. I have this regular cotton fabric, folded in half.
So, we take the fabric, put it on the stomach, wrap it on the sides and tie a knot at the bottom, but not in the center!!! (it should not put pressure on the uterus). We straighten all the folds on the canvas. We put our hands under the canvas and at the very bottom of the stomach we begin to lift it up. It appears to be in a pocket and is fixed well. You should be comfortable! You can’t over-tighten!!!
This technique helps with sagging belly, tightens it, the condition of the muscles improves, and the lower back is also fixed! I felt very comfortable! I walked like this all day and took pictures before going to bed.
I'm happy with the result!
To achieve a flat stomach I needed: belting, a bicycle exercise on my back and simply lying on my stomach!
A garter is not the same as a bandage!!!
I share my experience! There are contraindications! Consult your doctor!
Thank you for your attention! I think that at least someone will find my review useful! I wish you well, as well as health to you and your children!!!
You can also pay attention to my other detailed reviews with photos!
