The Stomach After Birth
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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. It is pretty standard that it might behave differently or look different. Many pregnant women dream of getting their stomachs back to "normal" again, but it can take longer and often requires extra effort.
An exceptionally healthy diet and exercise are essential to get your stomach back, just as training the abdominal muscles also helps.
The skin contracts
The skin has a remarkable ability to adapt and can contract so much again that it will look like itself, as before pregnancy. However, in most 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 plays a role in how much the skin has stretched and thus also how much it can contract again. Because if you have put on a lot, the skin will be stretched out extra 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 you return to your average weight
How strong 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 to do so 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, keep in mind that it's okay to see that you've brought life to the world.
