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The stomach after birth

The stomach is out too much during pregnancy and looks completely different after birth than before. Stretch marks may have appeared, just as the stomach skin has become looser. Usually, it might behave differently or look different. Many pregnant women dream of returning their stomachs to "normal" again, but it can take a long time and often requires extra effort. 

An exceptionally healthy diet and exercise are essential to get your stomach back, just as training the abdominal muscles helps.

The skin contracts 

The skin can adapt and can therefore contract so much again that it will look like itself, as before pregnancy. However, in the vast majority of cases, the skin will be looser after birth simply because it has been stretched so much that the elastic fibers can't contract entirely again. 

How much weight gain you have been through during pregnancy also affects how much the skin has stretched and thus also how much it can contract again. Because if you put on a lot, the skin will be stretched out much. 

It takes time 

For some pregnant women, it only takes three months before the stomach is more or less back to normal. However, it is also very common that it takes between 8 to 12 months for the skin to contract as much as possible. 

The belly is very different in appearance, which is entirely natural. How many months it takes depends on: 

  • How firm your skin is

  • How fast do you return to your average weight

  • How strong are your abdominal muscles are

  • How muscular the connective tissue between the abdominal muscles is 

One year after pregnancy, the skin no more extended contracts. 

Healthy diet and exercise help 

You can not influence the elastic fibers of the skin to contract more than they are capable of. However, you can give them better conditions by losing the pounds you have gained and strengthening your abdominal muscles. However, it would help to let your body and pelvis recover on top of pregnancy and childbirth before embarking on hard and targeted training. 

Also, remember that it's okay to see that you've brought life to the world. 

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