A woman’s midline after giving birth

Introduction

Many women complain that their tummy is soft and swollen after giving birth. Some mention how they find it so weird to be carrying a newborn in their arms while their tummy looks like they’re still pregnant. It is not uncommon for women who have given birth months ago to be asked when they are due because their tummy is still swollen. Indeed, there are a few lucky ones who will jump back to their pre-pregnancy body within weeks, but this is very rare nowadays.
When it comes to the appearance of the tummy for women who have given birth, the key word is patience. It can take a while for the baby weight to disappear and for the tummy to get back to the size and shape it had before pregnancy. Of course, for some women this never happens, and they are confronted with an unsightly appearance of the tummy after childbirth due to the changes that occurred during pregnancy. In this article, we will discuss the appearance of the midline for women who have given birth and what solutions are available to help them get a firm and flat tummy once again.

The appearance of the tummy after childbirth

It is not uncommon for women who have given birth to still look six months pregnant for a few months. The tummy after childbirth will become softer and with a tendency to sag. You might also notice that during pregnancy, stretch marks occur on the lower part of the tummy due to the overstretching of the skin on the abdomen caused by the growing uterus.

After childbirth, there will be certain hormonal changes in the body that will make the uterus contract and get back to its initial shape. However, keep in mind that this doesn’t happen overnight and there is no way for the tummy to look flat until the uterus is not completely retracted.
For the uterus to get back to its initial shape and size, it can take six to eight weeks or even more. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that after this time, the appearance of the tummy will be normal. Usually, your doctor will recommend for you to wait until making a complete recovery after a natural childbirth or a C-section before getting active and doing physical exercise. Exercises will help you get back in shape sooner, with the condition that you follow the instructions of your doctor and avoid intense physical activities for at least a month after childbirth. To get back to the size and shape of the tummy before the pregnancy, some women can decide to try a diet.

Diets after childbirth

The diet of a new mom is very important for the recovery after childbirth and also to ensure milk for the newborn. Having a very strict diet early after childbirth can cause many unpleasant complications. Milk production can stop as a result of low-calorie intake, and the new mother can struggle with irritability, mood changes, and extreme tiredness if keeping a strict and restrictive diet after childbirth. Many women don’t realize that they still need more calories than normal after childbirth as the body is in recovery and even more if they are breastfeeding. However, this is also not a reason for overeating after giving birth.

A healthy and balanced diet is always a good idea especially after childbirth, and it might actually help the body restore and heal faster. A diet that has the recommended amount of calories per day and is rich in vitamins and minerals can help you get rid of the unsightly appearance of the tummy sooner, but the body will still need a few months to get back to its pre-pregnancy shape and size. Also, keep in mind that your doctor might advise you to wait at least six weeks before starting a weight loss strategy after childbirth.

If it can take up to six weeks just to consider a diet to help you lose the baby weight after childbirth, it is only natural to take much longer before considering undergoing plastic surgery to correct the imperfections left behind on the midline after pregnancy and childbirth.

Plastic surgery to enhance the tummy after childbirth

It is not uncommon for mothers to find it difficult (if not completely impossible) to get back to their pre-pregnancy shape and size of the body even months or years after having a baby. Even if the weight loss occurs, there are changes that occur in the body during pregnancy that can become permanent if not corrected with the help of plastic surgery.

The areas of the body most affected by the effects of pregnancy are the breasts and the tummy. The breasts can become saggy after pregnancy and breastfeeding, and the appearance of the tummy can be unpleasant due to the development of fat deposits, saggy skin, and even stretch marks.

Each woman is different, and she will be affected in a different way by pregnancy and childbirth. Some will just jump back to their pre-pregnancy body without too much effort within weeks or months after childbirth. Others will be left with unwanted fat deposits on the flanks and the abdominal area, and others will have more severe conditions like diastasis recti that prevents them from having a flat and firm tummy.

Diastasis recti is a condition that can occur during pregnancy especially if the baby had a big weight or the woman was pregnant with twins. The excessive development of the uterus during pregnancy can make the left and right muscles of the abdominal wall become distant from each other, creating a gap between them. After childbirth and even after the uterus retracts, the weakened muscles of the abdominal wall will still remain with a gap between them. This condition can only be corrected with the help of plastic surgery, namely a tummy tuck.

If the patient is only confronted with unwanted fat tissue on the flanks and the tummy that is resistant to diet and physical exercise, the recommended procedure is abdominal liposuction. Liposuction can be performed on patients with good skin tonus, good health, and emotional condition. The procedure is not overly difficult to perform, but it still required to have it done by a talented and experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon to minimize the risks and increase the chances of getting a spectacular result.

When abdominal liposuction is performed, the surgeon will make small incisions on the abdominal wall and the flanks. Through these incisions, he will introduce small cannulas connected to a strong suctioning device. The cannulas are used by the plastic surgeon to make back and forth movements that will help dislodge the fat and liquefy it enough to be suctioned into the vacuum device. The procedure is less invasive than the tummy tuck, which is the other plastic surgery procedure for new mothers suffering from skin sagginess and diastasis recti.

The tummy tuck entails an incision on the lower part of the tummy that can be as long as from hip to hip. An additional incision might be necessary around the navel to allow the repositioning of the belly button. In rare cases and only when the patient has lost a significant amount of weight after childbirth, incisions on the flanks might be needed as well.

Using the incisions, the surgeon will detach the skin and fat tissue from the abdominal wall muscles. These muscles will be brought together on the median line and sutured to correct diastasis recti and create a firm and flat appearance of the tummy. After this, the excess skin is eliminated and the incisions are sutured.

The tummy tuck is the optimal procedure for women with poor skin quality and suffering from other imperfections of the tummy. In some cases, liposuction and the tummy tuck might be performed together to help the patient achieve the desired result.

Conclusion

The appearance of the midline for women who have given birth is rarely an aesthetically pleasing one. It can happen for women to be confronted with the distension of the abdominal muscles during pregnancy. The condition is called diastasis recti and can only be corrected with the help of a tummy tuck.
The tummy tuck can help women achieve a more pleasant appearance of the tummy after childbirth. However, in some cases, the solution can be as simple as an abdominal liposuction. It is also possible for the plastic surgeon to recommend a combination of procedures to achieve better results. Sometimes, patients might need to undergo liposuction to reduce the thickness of the adipose tissue on the tummy and flanks, and then a tummy tuck to eliminate the sagginess and correct other imperfections.