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Pregnancy and childbirth are amazing miracles, but both can leave you feeling like you’re living in someone else’s body. Hormonal changes and weight gain may wreak havoc on even the most fit and healthy mothers.
Even after your children are born, you may find that you work hard to shed excess weight, but still wondering, “Why is my stomach so flabby?” after pregnancy. The good news is that the best treatments for loose skin after pregnancy are widely available.
There are easy tips you can follow if you find yourself plagued by loose skin, and the best treatments you can receive to rejuvenate your stomach’s appearance.
What is postpartum belly?
For an average of 40 weeks, moms-to-be carry a living, growing being inside of their wombs. An amazing experience that, understandably, also produces drastic physical changes.
Depending on their BMI (Body Mass Index), most moms experience a significant amount of weight gain and a very expanded stomach during pregnancy. A woman in an average weight range for her height and body frame should gain 25-35 pounds.
After birth, the expanded uterus still needs room, your muscles have stretched, and your stomach may appear to have a “mom pooch” long after your child has been born.
Postpartum belly (diastasis recti) is the reflection of the intense experience of nine months of pregnancy and giving birth. Typically, this bump differs from a prenatal bump — it’s looser and lower than its pre-birth counterpart and appears below your belly button.
Does postpartum belly go away on its own?
So, does “mom pooch” go away? Yes — at least, most of the time. Although postpartum belly is stubborn, the good news is that eventually, much of it will disappear on its own. Just as you experience hormonal changes during pregnancy, your hormones shift after you’ve given birth. Your body recognizes it’s no longer carrying a fetus, and begins to make necessary changes.
Nevertheless, it takes time for your body to recover from pregnancy, and your postpartum belly may need some intentional work to bounce back to the prenatal tightness you once enjoyed.
For some moms, various factors (including obesity, pregnancy weight gain, genetics, and multiple pregnancies) contribute to a permanent postpartum belly. However, most moms will notice that within anywhere from six weeks to a year, the following may occur:
- Increased energy levels
- Reduced stomach bloating
- A return to a normal eating schedule
- Steady weight loss
- Fading stretch marks as your stomach returns to normal elasticity
How do celebrities get rid of loose skin after pregnancy?
From Blake Lively to Kim Kardashian, many celebrities appear to immediately shed their postpartum bellies and get rid of loose skin after pregnancy. It may seem like their wealth and connections allow people in the public eye access to some type of post-pregnancy magic.
However, celebrities need to take intentional steps to erase their pregnancy bellies just like the rest of us. Many turn to healthy meal plans, rigorous exercise, personal chefs and trainers. Yet, many also require the assistance of a plastic surgeon to completely get rid of loose skin.
For example, Patricia Heaton, who starred on Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle, had a post-pregnancy tummy tuck and a breast reduction, and touts the confidence boost she experienced as a result.
Tips on how to tighten loose skin after pregnancy
If you want to know how to shrink your postpartum belly on your own, it may take months for you to truly see results, but they are achievable. Celebrities who’ve chosen to abstain from plastic surgery but who have discovered how to tighten stomach skin after having a baby need to put in the hard work, too.
In an Instagram post, personal trainer to the stars (including Kim Kardashian), Melissa Alcantra, shared her own tips for getting rid of loose skin after pregnancy, including:
- Gradual weight loss over using a fad diet to shrink your postpartum belly
- Drinking 90 ounces to a gallon of water every day to keep skin moisturized an elastic
- Incorporating weight training in your daily routine
Here are some other tips on how to get rid of loose skin after pregnancy from the groundbreaking, leading plastic surgeons of Quintessa Aesthetic Center.
Breastfeeding
According to the National Institutes of Health, only one in four babies are solely breastfed within the first six months of birth. Perhaps more babies would breastfeed if more mothers knew that it can help get rid of the postpartum belly.
Breastfeeding helps you lose weight as your body releases oxytocin, which causes uterine contractions and allows your uterus to rapidly shrink back to its normal size. Thus, your belly flattens more quickly and you may see a drastic reduction in your postpartum belly.
Strength and resistance training
Strength and resistance training aren’t as daunting as they may sound. Incorporating 30 minutes of yoga or Pilates, consistent sit-ups and push-ups, and even 5 lb free weights into your fitness routine will help rebuild muscle and firm up loose skin after pregnancy.
Cardio
Even light cardio exercise, such as a 30 minute walk around the neighborhood, can help tighten your skin and get rid of an unwanted postpartum belly. Cardio exercise tones your muscles, flattens your belly, and helps to increase your heart health and overall energy levels.
Healthy diet staples
Incorporating lean proteins like chicken, eggs, and nuts into your diet helps your body to burn calories and make you feel full. Proteins may reduce any lingering cravings you have for empty calories or foods high in sugar.
Similarly, healthy, unsaturated fats from foods like avocados and salmon can make you feel full, tighten your stomach after pregnancy, and help reduce the bloating that often comes with postpartum belly.
Best treatments for postpartum belly
As technology advances, breakthroughs in plastic surgery make transforming your look and boosting your confidence an easy choice. If your postpartum belly refuses to budge, and you’ve taken steps on your own that don’t seem to make a difference in your tummy’s appearance, here are the best professional treatments for a postpartum belly:
Tummy Tuck
The tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) transforms a postpartum belly by tightening loose skin, erasing stretch marks, and reducing abdominal fullness. This surgery can also help tighten and tone your abdominal muscles by removing excess or loose skin.
In Wisconsin, Dr. Daniel Butz of Quintessa has pioneered the innovative “drainless tummy tuck,” and is the only local surgeon to use this technique. The drainless tummy tuck is a surgical method that significantly reduces the risk of postoperative infection and speeds up recovery time.
Liposuction
Liposuction is another phenomenal way to get rid of loose skin and transform a postpartum belly. Liposuction reshapes your stomach by removing excess fat deposits and flattening your belly.
Mommy Makeover
The mommy makeover is extremely popular with mothers who dream of reducing pregnancy’s impact on their bodies. This surgery incorporates multiple cosmetic procedures that target different areas of the body, tightens your postpartum belly, and allows you to embark on the path to a new, more beautiful you.
Fat Transfer
A fat transfer surgery is one of the best treatments to sculpt a post-pregnancy body. This procedure takes unwanted fat from any area of your body, including a postpartum belly, and injects it into areas that it will enhance. For example, you may choose to remove your post-pregnancy belly fat and use it to plump your butt or lips.
Coolsculpting
Coolsculpting is an innovative technology used in a non-surgical procedure that targets stubborn areas of fat, including postpartum belly fat, and freezes it. Over three million Coolsculpting procedures are performed each year, and the recovery time from the treatment is 24 hours.
It takes a couple of months to see the full results of Coolsculpting, but it’s one of the best methods to tighten your stomach after pregnancy.
