Why do some women have a bloated stomach post-pregnancy? Like the baby got out, isn’t it supposed to flatten?
In: Biology
Diastasis recti. Mommy pooch. The stomach muscles separated.
Proper exercise can fix it, but many woman, dealing with a newborn, are also sleep deprived, and many get post partum depression, as well. It makes motivation for exercise go away.
It’s not so much bloating as it is skin being stretched out. The uterus also has to expand several times it’s normal size to fit a baby and it doesn’t just shrink back down immediately after birth. It can take a month or two for the uterus to return to it’s normal size.
Women also put on fat in their bellies to help protect the baby during pregnancy. It takes a little bit of time for that weight loss to occur. You also have the fact that it takes time for the abdominal muscles to build back up and go to their normal place and during that time they will look slightly bloated as the muscles are not structured normally.
What may appear to be a bloated stomach could be a weakening of the muscles of the abdominal wall, as well as stretching of tendons and ligaments in the general area, so abdominal organs bulge outward.
Sometimes time and exercise fix it (if the mom can ever get time to exercise after looking after baby 24×7) and sometimes surgery is necessary if there is sagging and moving of the internal organs that need to be repositioned.
And, for some it’s just the after effects of a pregnancy.
Latest Answers