Stomach exercise after pregnancy

Postnatal exercise - sample workout

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Summary

Read the full fact sheet

You should gently exercise your pelvic floor and abdominal muscles every day.
Make sure your abdominal muscles have healed before you do any vigorous tummy exercises, such as crunches.
It is important to consult with your doctor or midwife before embarking on any postnatal exercise program, as you may need more time than you think to heal from the rigours of childbirth.

Regular exercise after childbirth offers a range of health benefits. For example, exercise helps you return to your pre-pregnancy shape and gives you increased energy to cope with the demands of new motherhood.

Consult with your doctor or midwife before starting any postnatal exercise program.

You may need more time than you think to heal from childbirth. This is especially true if you had a caesarean delivery. However, you can begin exercises to tone your pelvic floor and abdominal muscles as soon as you feel ready.

If you had an episiotomy (a cut in the perineum to widen the opening during delivery) or tore your perineum during birth, pelvic floor exercises can help to speed your recovery. See your doctor, midwife or physiotherapist for more information.

Gentle tummy exercise

Pregnancy splits your abdominal muscles down the middle. It is important to make sure your muscles have healed before you do any vigorous abdominal exercises, such as abdominal crunches.

In the meantime, you can tone your tummy by performing an exercise that strengthens the deepest muscle layer (transversus abdominus). You can perform this exercise lying down, sitting, standing, or on your hands and knees.

Be guided by your doctor, midwife, physiotherapist or exercise physiologist, but general guidelines include:

Keep your lower back flat.
Breathe out and draw your belly button back towards your spine. Your lower back shouldn’t flex or move.
Hold this position and breathe lightly. Count to 10.
Relax and repeat up to 10 times per set.
Do 10 sets, as many times per day as you can.
You may like to perform your pelvic floor exercises at the same time (see below).

Tummy exercise – stage two

Once the gap in your abdominal muscles has closed, you can progress to more demanding exercises. General guidelines include:

Lie on your back, with bent knees and both feet on the floor. Put your hands on your thighs.
Breathe out, contract your abdominal muscles and lift your head and shoulders off the floor. Slide your hands towards your knees. Only aim to get your shoulder blades off the floor.
Keep your head and shoulders stable. Hold the position, then slowly ease your shoulders and head back to the floor.
Repeat up to 10 times for one set.
Perform around three sets per session.
You may like to perform your pelvic floor exercises at the same time (see below).

Exercise for the lower abdominal muscles

The lower abdominal muscles are located below your belly button. To work these muscles gently, guidelines include:

Make sure your abdominal muscles have healed. Until the gap is closed, only perform the ‘gentle tummy exercise’ option.
Lie on your back with your knees bent and both feet flat on the floor.
Contract your abdominal muscles.
Slowly slide your feet away from you, aiming to straighten both legs. The idea is to straighten the legs without arching your lower back.
If your back starts to arch, stop and slide your feet back towards your bottom.
Aim for 10 repetitions per set.
Perform around three sets per session.
As your lower abdominal muscles get stronger, you’ll be able to slide your feet further and further away.

Pelvic floor exercises

The pelvic floor muscles are tightly slung between the tailbone (coccyx) and the pubic bone, and support the bowel, bladder, uterus (womb) and vagina. Childbirth can weaken these muscles and cause problems, such as incontinence, later in life.

To exercise them, you must first direct your attention to these muscles. To help you identify these muscles, they are the ones that you tighten to stop urinating (weeing). These exercises can be performed lying down, sitting or standing.

Try to relax your abdominal muscles. Don’t bear down or hold your breath. Gradually squeeze and increase the tension until you have contracted the muscles as hard as you can. Release gently and slowly. Then perform the exercises, which include:

Squeeze slowly and hold for between five and 10 seconds. Release slowly. Repeat 10 times.
Perform quick, short and hard squeezes. Repeat 10 times.
Squeeze, then clear your throat or cough lightly. Repeat three times.
Aim for five or six sets each day.

Types of postnatal exercise

Keep in mind that your ligaments and joints will be loose for at least three months following the birth, so avoid any high-impact exercises or sports that require rapid direction changes. Vigorous stretching should be avoided too. Recommended postnatal exercise includes:

Brisk walking
Swimming
Aqua-aerobics
Yoga
Pilates
Low-impact aerobic workouts
Light weight training
Cycling.

See your doctor for further recommendations and cautions.

General suggestions for aerobic exercise

Be guided by your doctor or midwife, but general suggestions include:

Give yourself sufficient time to heal, particularly if you have had a caesarean birth.
Consult with your doctor or midwife before starting any postnatal exercise program – you may be advised to wait or adapt your exercises.
If you are having trouble with the techniques required in the above exercises, please consult a physiotherapist, exercise physiologist or other appropriately qualified and certified fitness professional.
Aim for slow, gradual weight loss of around half a kilogram per week.
Wear a supportive bra.
Avoid any activities that place stress on the unstable pelvic floor and hip joints until strength and stability has improved. Be careful about activities that require sudden changes in direction (for example, high-impact aerobics, running and contact sports). This varies depending on the type of pregnancy and delivery you may have had.
Initially, exercise for only five to 10 minutes at a time. Increase the length of your workouts gradually.
Ideally, your exercise sessions should eventually last between 30 and 50 minutes.
Drink plenty of water before, during and after exercise.
Don’t push yourself too hard – if you feel breathless, slow down.
If you experience pain, slow down or stop.

Remember that it may take you months to return to your pre-pregnancy shape and weight, so don’t be discouraged by slow progress.

Don’t overexert yourself. Your body gives out warning signs if you are exercising too hard, and these signs may include:

Increased fatigue
Muscle aches and pains
Colour changes to lochia (post-partum vaginal flow) to pink or red
Heavier lochia flow
Lochia starts flowing again after it had stopped.

See your doctor or midwife for further information and advice.

Where to get help

Your doctor
Your midwife
Physiotherapist

Things to remember

You should gently exercise your pelvic floor and abdominal muscles every day.
Make sure your abdominal muscles have healed before you do any vigorous tummy exercises, such as crunches.
It is important to consult with your doctor or midwife before embarking on any postnatal exercise program, as you may need more time than you think to heal from the rigours of childbirth.

Postpartum exercise: is your body ready?, Baby Centre USA. More information here.
Postnatal exercises for the first six weeks, Baby Centre UK. More information here.

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Content disclaimer

Content on this website is provided for information purposes only. Information about a therapy, service, product or treatment does not in any way endorse or support such therapy, service, product or treatment and is not intended to replace advice from your doctor or other registered health professional. The information and materials contained on this website are not intended to constitute a comprehensive guide concerning all aspects of the therapy, product or treatment described on the website. All users are urged to always seek advice from a registered health care professional for diagnosis and answers to their medical questions and to ascertain whether the particular therapy, service, product or treatment described on the website is suitable in their circumstances. The State of Victoria and the Department of Health shall not bear any liability for reliance by any user on the materials contained on this website.

Reviewed on: 31-03-2012

8 Diastasis Recti Exercises (10 Min Abs After Baby)

Postpartum Abs + Core (Diastasis Recti Exercises)

By: Lindsey Bomgren, CPT | November 4, 2020

Rebuild core strength and repair Diastasis Recti (DR) with these 8 Diastasis Recti exercises. This 10 minute post baby ab workout is designed to help you rebuild your abs after baby by specifically targeting the transverse abdominals and pelvic floor muscles (both of which are weakened during pregnancy).

Jump to Workout

My 30 Minute Advanced Pregnancy Workout is my most popular workout video on YouTube (and how you might have discovered NML).

You might have even followed my Pregnancy Workout Plan (note, I also have a FREE, 30 Day Postpartum Workout Plan).

But how do you get safely get back into exercise after having a baby?

I remember being so over AND underwhelmed with the amount of information available around how to care for my body after baby.

If you’re pregnant, bookmark this page to come back to postnatal.

And if you’re post-pregnancy (whether 2 weeks, 2 months, 2 years or more) — keep on reading, this 10 minute abs after baby workout for you!

When can I start working out after baby? Or how soon after giving birth can I exercise?

Every body, every pregnancy, and every birth is so different. It’s hard to give a black-and-white rule about when it’s safe to return to exercise postpartum.

If you had an uncomplicated pregnancy and vaginal delivery, it’s generally safe to begin exercising a few weeks after giving birth or as soon as you feel ready. If you had a C-section, extensive vaginal repair or a complicated birth, talk to your health care provider about when to start an exercise program (MayoClinic).

I personally started using these 8 Diastasis Recti exercises around two weeks post-baby.

I started with the first four exercises for diastasis recti repair. I progressed up to all eight post-baby ab exercises around 6-8 weeks postpartum.

What is Diastasis Recti?

Diastasis Recti is the separation of the right and left ab muscles at the midline of the abdomen. If the ab separation becomes greater than 2 cm, then you have DR.

DR is also commonly referred to as the ‘mom pooch’ or ‘lower belly pooch. ’

In my case, and in the case of most women who develop DR, this happens when the abdominal muscles separate during pregnancy. According to this study on Diastasis Recti up to 66% of pregnant women will experience DR by their third trimester.

This happens when the abdominal muscles separate during pregnancy. The growth of the belly stretches the linea alba (you can see what abdominal separation looks like after pregnancy in this diagram from Mayo Clinic).

If you’re wondering…

How do I know if I have Diastasis Recti?

Learn how to check for Diastasis Recti at home here. I filmed this video with my pelvic floor physical therapist (Dr. Jenn).

Sympoms of diastasis recti include:

Low back pain
Urinary or bowel problems
Poor posture
Difficulty performing load transfer tasks necessary for bending, reaching, lifting, carrying, squatting, walking, and stair climbing (all the activities that new moms quickly become experts in)

Sometimes, Diastasis Recti will heal itself, but other times it may require physical therapy (I suggest seeing a pelvic floor physical therapist).

I also highly recommend check out this interview I did with Dr. Jenn: 10 Things You Need to Know About Your Pelvic Floor After Baby!

10 Minute Abs After Baby

This postnatal ab workout is specifically designed to heal Diastasis Recti, strengthen your core and pelvic floor, and rebuild deep core muscles after pregnancy.

Let’s be honest, Diastasis Recti workouts aren’t very exciting.

That’s why I created a guided, follow along workout video for this post-baby ab workout. I’ll coach you through each exercises, offering form cues and modifications for everyone depending where you are in your Diastasis Recti repair journey.

This workout specifically targets the deep transverse abdominals and pelvic floor muscles (both of which are weakened during pregnancy) to rebuild your core!

Workout Equipment:

No equipment needed, just your bodyweight.

Workout Instructions:

Follow along with the guided, 10-Minute Abs After Baby Workout Video on YouTube, led by certified personal trainer and prenatal fitness instructor, Lindsey Bomgren.

Alternatively, work through the 8 best diastasis recti core exercises below at your own pace:

8 Ab Exercises
30 Seconds Per Exercise
Repeat x2 Sets
*Note: Start where you are and do what you can! Maybe you start by performing the first three exercises for 20-30 seconds, rest and repeat. Then slowly add on exercise 4, then 5, and progress your way up to completing all eight exercises. You can always work up to performing these exercises for 45-60 seconds.

8 Best Diastasis Recti Exercises

Transverse Abdominal Breathing (TVA breathing) + Core Connection
Lying Heel Tap + Leg Lift
Lying Bent Knee Pulls
Elevated Bent Knee March
Elevated Leg Extension + Leg Drop
Elevated Leg Extension + 2 Circles
Elevated Bent Knee V-Taps
Elevated First Position Kick Outs

1. Transverse Abdominal Breathing + Core Connection

Targets: the deep transverse abdominal muscles (TVA) and pelvic floor muscles. These muscles support your internal organs, your inter-abdominal pressure system, and provide stability an mobility of your lower spine.

Transverse abdominal breathing is hands down the number one core strengthening exercise I recommend to ALL women (pregnant or postpartum). It’s how you learn to posteriorly tilt your pelvis, which is important for ALL of the following exercises.

TA breathing is difficult to explain in text or still images, so I recommend you watch the video at the top of this page (from 01:45 to 2:55) for a full demonstration of TA breathing.

You want this entire movement to come just from your belly.
Hold the inhale for 1 second, and then slowly begin to exhale.
Exhale, as much as you possibly can over 5 seconds, while pulling your belly button down towards the mat. Focus on squeezing your TVA muscles, posteriorly tilting your pelvis, in the exhaled position.

2. Lying Heel Tap + Leg Lift

Targets: transverse abdomen, lower abs and hips.

With your low back pressing firmly into the mat and your abdominal wall wrapped as tightly as possibly around your core, tap or slide one heel away from your body.
Then, trying to keep your extended leg as straight as possible, raise your leg off the ground to return to the starting position.

To modify, take out the leg raise and only perform the heel taps.

3. Lying Bent Knee Pulls

Targets: transverse abdomen, lower abs and hips.

With your low back pressing firmly into the mat and your abdominal wall wrapped as tightly as possibly around your core, alternate pulling one knee towards your chest.
Hold knee to chest for a 2-3 count and switch legs.

To modify, keep your extended leg on the mat.

4. Elevated Bent Knee March

Targets: transverse abdomen, lower abs and hips.

With your low back pressing firmly into the mat and your abdominal wall wrapped as tightly as possibly around your core, bring your legs to a 90 degree bend.
Note, the closer your knees are to your chest the easier this ab exercise will be. The farther your knees are from your chest, the harder this Diastasis Recti exercise will be.
Alternate tapping one toe towards the ground, return to starting position, and tap the other toe towards the ground. This movement is slow and controlled.

To modify, keep both toes on the ground and alternate lifting one knee towards your chest and switch.

5. Elevated Leg Extension + Leg Drop

Targets: transverse abdomen, upper abs, lower abs and hips.

With your low back pressing firmly into the mat and your abdominal wall wrapped as tightly as possibly around your core, bring your legs to a 90 degree bend.
Note, the closer your knees are to your chest the easier this ab exercise will be. The farther your knees are from your chest, the harder this Diastasis Recti exercise will be.
Alternate extending one leg straight out, then slowly lowering the extended leg towards the ground.
Return to starting position, and repeat on the other side. This movement is slow and controlled.

To modify, take out the leg lower and only perform the leg extensions.

6. Elevated Leg Extension + 2 Circles

Targets: transverse abdomen, upper abs, lower abs and hips.

With your low back pressing firmly into the mat and your abdominal wall wrapped as tightly as possibly around your core, bring your legs to a 90 degree bend.
Note, the closer your knees are to your chest the easier this ab exercise will be. The farther your knees are from your chest, the harder this Diastasis Recti exercise will be.
Alternate extending one leg straight out, then slowly draw two donut-sided circles with the big toe of your extended leg.
Return to the starting position, and repeat on the other side. This movement is slow and controlled.

To modify, perform one circle or take out the circles and only perform the leg extensions.

7. Elevated Bent Knee V-Taps (2 count on the way down and up)

Targets: transverse abdomen, upper abs, lower abs, hips, adductors and pelvic floor.

With your low back pressing firmly into the mat and your abdominal wall wrapped as tightly as possibly around your core, bring your legs to a 90 degree bend.
Note, the closer your knees are to your chest the easier this ab exercise will be. The farther your knees are from your chest, the harder this Diastasis Recti exercise will be.
Maintaining the 90 degree bend in your legs; open both legs, lowering your toes towards the outside of your mat on a 2-count.
Tap your toes on the outsides of your mat, then return to the starting position on a 2-count, squeezing your knees and inner thighs to touch as you return. This movement is slow and controlled.

To modify, drop only one leg to the outside of the mat and return to the starting position, then dropping the other leg. Alternating legs versus dropping both legs at the same time.

8. Elevated First Position Kick Outs (2 count on the kick out and return)

Targets: transverse abdomen, upper abs, lower abs, hips, adductors and pelvic floor.

With your low back pressing firmly into the mat and your abdominal wall wrapped as tightly as possibly around your core, bring your legs to a 90 degree bend.
Note, the closer your knees are to your chest the easier this ab exercise will be. The farther your knees are from your chest, the harder this Diastasis Recti exercise will be.
Bring your feet to ‘first position’, heels touching and toes out making a ‘V’ with your feet.
Then slowly kick both heels out, away from your body on a 2-count; squeezing your inner thighs to touch as you reach full extension.
Note, extending your legs more upward, toward the ceiling will make this ab exercise easier. And extending your legs straight out, pr closer toward the ground will make this ab exercise more challenging.
Then return to the starting position on a 2-count, pulling your knees back towards your chest at a 90 degree bend. This movement is slow and controlled.

To modify, kick out only one leg, return to the starting position, then kick out the other leg. Alternating legs versus kicking out both legs at the same time.

More Exercises for Diastasis Recti Repair

Once you’ve mastered this 10 minute abs after baby workout, you can advance to these postpartum-friendly ab workouts:

10 Minute Lower Ab Workout
10 Minute Beginner Ab Workout

You might also like my FREE, 30 Day Postpartum Workout Plan — an at home postnatal workout program.

Pin these Diastasis Recti Safe Ab Exercises

How to clean the belly after childbirth

Many women after childbirth are very worried about the figure and look at themselves in front of the mirror with fear, not believing that the former forms will ever return again. Not everyone becomes slim again in a short time without effort. Basically, you need to change a lot in life and work on yourself, while devoting a lot of time to the baby.

Moms are especially worried about the condition of the abdomen, which has not yet gathered after childbirth and often literally hangs down. As a result, women begin to exhaust themselves with diets and workouts, not even suspecting that they can harm their own health. Only one thing worries them most of all - how to remove the stomach after childbirth, how to tighten the figure and look good again, to be able to wear things that were the size before pregnancy.

CONTENTS

Causes of flabby abdomen after childbirth

Before you figure out what to do with the stomach after childbirth, you need to know that pregnancy greatly changes the figure of a woman. Other processes also influence this:

an increase in body weight - this indicator is affected not only by appetite during the bearing of a baby, but also by the growth of the fetus and uterus, the restructuring of the metabolic process in the body, fluid retention in tissues;
shift in the center of gravity - posture changes in the first trimester under the influence of the hormone relaxin. It helps to soften the ligaments of the spine and inguinal ring. When the fetus grows, the center of gravity shifts; as a result, the stomach begins to bulge forward, the process of accumulation of fat and fluid begins;
diastasis - stretching the muscles of the abdominal wall is a problem that many women in labor face. And the main reason for this is an increase in the uterus, a decrease in the production of collagen and elastin, congenital weakness of the connective tissue;
surgical intervention - after a caesarean section, the body recovers longer and is accompanied by swelling, which visually increases the volume of the waist.

It happens that a woman experiences a stressful state after childbirth, cannot switch and get used to the role of a mother, changes in life and figure, worries about how to clean her stomach. Added to this is poor sleep and lack of sleep. Postpartum depression negatively affects the state of a woman, both moral and external. She does not know how to remove the postpartum belly, and is constantly dissatisfied with herself.

What to do with the belly after childbirth

First of all, you need to consult a gynecologist. It is not always possible to play sports and allow yourself physical activity after the birth of a baby. And the first month and a half after the baby was born, it is categorically contraindicated.

The fact is that the uterus immediately begins to contract after childbirth, and this process continues for 40 days. Together with the reduction of this smooth muscle hollow organ, the process of restoration of the abdomen is also started. Until the end of the process of uterine contraction, doctors do not recommend playing sports. Such loads can cause bleeding or prolapse of the uterus, if there was a caesarean section, suture divergence is possible.

The uterus is a strong muscular organ that is able to strongly stretch and contract, to withstand the weight of the fetus. During pregnancy, the fundus of the uterus reaches the base of the ribs and diaphragm by 36 weeks.

If after childbirth you feel normal and there are no complications, it is allowed to use a special postpartum bandage, with which you can tighten your stomach. If at the same time the woman feels tension in the muscles and discomfort, the bandage should be discarded.

There are various creams, the composition of which is aimed at tightening the skin of the abdomen, helps to make the skin more elastic and elastic. You can use them after childbirth.

But when exactly the problem will disappear, it is simply impossible to predict in advance due to a number of factors:

body constitution;
heredity;
the number of kilograms gained during pregnancy.

A lot also depends on the efforts made by a woman to return to her former forms. And as already mentioned, not everyone can afford sports after the birth of a child, if there are doctor's orders and complications.

Reconstruction of the abdomen after childbirth

After childbirth, the skin in the abdomen loses elasticity, becomes flabby and sags. Indeed, in the process of bearing a child, the stomach constantly increased, and then abruptly “emptied”. Often, ugly stretch marks form on the skin, which also need to be dealt with. Physical exercises and gymnastics should be performed in a complex.

To get rid of the stomach, you need a whole range of measures. And first of all, it is necessary to pay attention to nutrition and adjust it without harm to the baby: after all, if you eat poorly, milk will disappear.

There are some simple and important rules for women after childbirth:

eat often, but little by little, try to eat a balanced diet. Do not allow the body to starve, because in this case it begins to store fat reserves;
Include cereals, white meat and fish, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, vegetable fats, proteins in the diet. Fatty meats should be completely excluded, and fruits should preferably be eaten in the morning;
drink water, up to 2 liters daily, it helps to start the metabolic process in the body, improves the appearance of the skin and increases its elasticity.

All these simple measures will help to quickly reduce the postpartum belly and get rid of the problem. And in conjunction with physical activity, the process will go even faster.

Abdominal exercises after childbirth

If you can play sports, you should use exercises for the whole body and on the abdominal area. You can start only after the permission of the doctor, not earlier than 6-8 weeks after childbirth. As for intensive training, it is better to start them within the first six months after the baby was born. It is important to know that correct posture helps to remove the postpartum belly.

Start your workout with a warm-up: you need to warm up the muscles before exercise, develop the joints. The stomach is well adjusted with the help of such an exercise as a plank. To do this, you need to stand on outstretched straight arms and legs, while the body should be parallel to the floor, the back is straight, the lower back does not bend, the buttocks do not rise. You can do a plank on your elbows, raise your legs to a raised position, do a side plank or a plank with crossed arms. When the body is static, the muscles are very tense and work with an increased load, which has a great effect on their relief. You can start doing the bar with approaches of 10-20 seconds, gradually increasing the time to 1-2 minutes.

Include a set of exercises for the arms, thighs and buttocks, back. Of course, it seems that there will not be enough time for all this at all, but devoting half an hour a day to your body is not a difficult task.

There is another effective way to tighten the stomach after childbirth. It helps to massage the abdomen, which is desirable to carry out daily for 10-15 minutes. After that, it is recommended to apply a moisturizing or stretch mark cream to the skin of the stomach.

Massage is contraindicated at elevated body temperature, during menstruation, in the presence of skin lesions, diseases of the gallbladder or kidneys, the formation of a hernia.

You can tone up sagging skin of the abdomen and speed up its tightening by rubbing with a massage brush. This is done after taking a shower, in a circular motion in the area of \u200b\u200bproblem areas, for 5-10 minutes. It is important to choose a brush with natural and soft bristles that will not injure the skin.

It is important to properly set yourself up morally, not to lose heart and not give up. You should be grateful to your body for the happiness of being a mother. A woman gives life to a new person, and this is already a great reason to love her changed body after childbirth. Along with this, the motivation to change yourself will come, using which you can achieve a lot and return a slender figure, getting rid of the stomach and sides, excess weight. A good and optimistic mental attitude is very important.

Thank you, we will write more!

step-by-step instructions with advice from a fitness trainer

Very rare lucky women manage to boast a chiseled figure and a flat stomach a few months after giving birth. Even after six months, your belly usually looks like you are in your fifth or even sixth month of pregnancy. The situation is aggravated if the child was large or the pregnancy was multiple, and also if the woman had diastasis (divergence of the rectus abdominis muscles).

It would seem that there is only one option - active sports in a fitness club, proper nutrition, long walks in the fresh air, but many women simply do not have enough time for this. Either the child has colic, or teeth are being cut, where can I find time for the gym? And the woman begins to study the Internet in search of quick and effective ways to remove the stomach at home. It’s worth noting right away that a simple diet, scrubs and body wraps, as well as half an hour of exercise may not be enough. Only a fitness instructor will help you restore your former beauty and a flat stomach, who will suggest a really effective set of exercises, or even a plastic surgeon (for example, with severe diastasis). However, do not despair. And diets (or rather, proper nutrition), and scrubs, and massages, and body wraps are not useless - they really help to reduce waist size, as well as tighten skin and smooth out stretch marks. The main thing is not to stop at one method, but to act in a complex way.

Why a large belly can remain after childbirth

There are several reasons why even after a few months the belly of a woman who has given birth does not want to leave at all. Firstly, this is a change in the hormonal background of a woman. It is no secret that during pregnancy, a complete hormonal restructuring occurs in the body of the expectant mother, which can greatly affect weight. As a result, even after the birth of the baby, fat deposits do not disappear anywhere. In this case, you should visit an endocrinologist and take tests for hormones.

The second and most common cause of a protruding belly is malnutrition. Especially when, during pregnancy, the mother does not lean on fresh vegetables and fruits, but on pastries and sweets, and also eats for two. As a result, after childbirth, a woman is faced with excess weight and fat deposits on her stomach, sides and hips.

The third reason is the weakened and stretched abdominal muscles during pregnancy. This is especially often faced by women who, even before pregnancy, were not particularly friends with sports, and even during the bearing of the baby, they preferred to lie down or sleep at all than do gymnastics or go for a walk. And if a woman has diastasis, in which the rectus abdominis muscles diverge along the white line, then even after a glass of water, the stomach will greatly increase in size.

What to do to slim down your belly

Bandage and shapewear

One of the most effective ways to hide a sagging tummy and support your muscles is to wear a postpartum bandage and shapewear. By the way, you need to start wearing a bandage even during pregnancy, especially in the later stages: it does not allow the muscles to stretch much. The main thing to remember is that the bandage should not be abused: internal organs may suffer, which descend along with weak muscles, and the muscles themselves relax even more. Shapewear will help visually make the figure more slender and toned, and the stomach - flat.

Proper nutrition

Proper nutrition is not only a guarantee of a slim and toned figure, but also of overall health. If you eat not buns and fast food, but vegetables, herbs, fruits, meat, fish, cereals, then fat deposits will begin to melt before our eyes, and the protruding stomach will tighten up and become flat. The main thing is not to confuse healthy eating with diets, and even more so to abandon fasting. At the same time, remember that it is better to boil, stew, bake or steam food, rather than fry it in a huge amount of oil, seasoning with salt and store-bought sauces. If you choke on dry buckwheat and boiled chicken breast, there is a chance that you will break loose, and your waist will increase by another couple of centimeters. In addition, if you are breastfeeding, proper nutrition will save your baby from colic and allergies.

A set of exercises to get rid of the stomach

To get rid of the bulging belly and return the figure to normal, sports exercises are also necessary. This does not mean that you immediately need to pull dumbbells or sweat for hours on the treadmill. Start at least with gymnastics: there are many exercises that will help tighten your stomach after childbirth. Important: before starting classes, be sure to consult a doctor, especially if you have had a caesarean section or have diastasis.

The following exercises produce a noticeable effect:

Pull in the stomach and stay in this position for 20 seconds, then relax. Repeat the exercise several times.
Lie on your back, lean on your legs, bent at the knees. Then lift the pelvis and stay in this position for 20 seconds, and then return to the starting position. Repeat the exercise several times.
Lying on your back, lift your straight legs up. Repeat 15-20 times.
Lying on your side, lift your straightened leg up. Then roll over to the other side and repeat the exercise.

The main thing to remember is that the exercises must be performed at least 3-4 times a week, and to devote at least half an hour to training. Each exercise should be performed in 1-3 sets with 15-20 repetitions. Between exercises, you need to give yourself a short break. Movements should be smooth, breathing measured. Also, during exercise, keep your stomach pulled in, and your abs in tension. And remember that you can not play sports for an hour before and after eating.

Creams, wraps and scrubs

Of course, there is no magic cream that removes extra centimeters from the waist. All cosmetic products, such as cream, scrub, body wrap, are aimed primarily at restoring skin tone, which can become flabby and sagging after childbirth. All these products have a lifting effect, due to hyaluronic acid, collagen, extracts of medicinal plants and vitamins, they improve blood circulation in the tissues, making the skin of the abdomen smooth and toned, reduce and brighten stretch marks. There are a lot of rave reviews on the Internet regarding hot wraps with clay, citrus essential oils and warming creams, but before such a procedure it is better to consult a doctor, as there are contraindications. There are also folk methods for getting rid of the abdomen after childbirth: compresses from nettle decoction, masks with olive oil, but again, this affects the condition of the skin, and not fat deposits, and certainly will not affect weakened muscles. And, of course, any positive effect is worth waiting for, if you do not forget about proper nutrition and sports.

Massage

Another effective way to get rid of the postpartum tummy is massage. It helps restore muscle tone, restore skin tone, normalize blood circulation, break down fat deposits. It is important that the massage is performed by a qualified specialist, and also remember that this method also has contraindications: neoplasms, infectious and skin diseases, and massage is also performed with great care if the woman gave birth by caesarean section.

Photo: pixabay.com

Cosmetological salon procedures

Some salon cosmetic procedures will also help women get rid of the tummy: mesotherapy, cryolipolysis (fat deposits are affected by low temperatures), electromyostimulation (fat deposits are affected by low-frequency current). Again: before the procedure, you need to consult a specialist, and you should not forget about sports and proper nutrition.

Plastic surgery

As a rule, abdominoplasty is resorted to in extreme cases, for example, with a severe form of diastasis, or the skin is very stretched and hanging in ugly folds, or when other methods of weight loss and recovery do not give the desired effect. Pros: tightened flat stomach in a short time. Cons: long recovery, high price, postoperative risks.

- If a woman has poor skin elasticity or she is on some kind of super diet and has lost a lot of weight, and the skin has not had time to stretch in this short period of time, then the only way to remove this "apron" is plastic surgery. Again, do not rush, but give the skin time to recover naturally. Diastasis is also an indication for surgery: if the discrepancy is large, the doctor can send the muscles for stitching. It’s worth warning right away that the operation does not guarantee that the diastasis will not return, explains fitness trainer Alexandra Vydrina.

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