Post pregnancy body discussion

Sheepdish1

Hi all, this may be an unusual post but I thought it would be no harm to post in this forum for discussion.

My due date is fast approaching and I have just started to realise that my body may completely change in appearance after I deliver my baby. I had my first baby quite young and my body bounced back straight away but this probably wont be the case this time :cool:

I actually never even thought about this until I spoke to someone and am trying to get my head around these changes so I am not in complete shock when I look at myself in the mirror in a few weeks time which I think is ok? forewarned is forearmed

I've two concerns and was wondering if anyone would be comfortable giving feedback / advice

1) Breastfeeding
I didn't breastfeed before and plan on breastfeeding this time.
Is it a myth that these leads to saggy breasts?
Is there anything that can be done to help prevent this sagging?
Is sagging something that will happen for sure?


2) C Section ''Pooch''
I may be having a C Section. I have not had one before.
Does everyone get a ''pooch'' after Csection or is it just luck / genetics / weight etc that determines this pooch I've heard about?
Is there anything I can do to stop this pooch happening before or after C-section?

I am moisturising with bio oil every night and think I may increase the amount I am using to keep skin elasticated. I haven't put on too much weight as I am eating quite healthy (most food makes me so I have to be strict on what I'm eating which is good:D) so I am hoping this will help me get back into shape.

The above questions probably sound quite selfish but I think it's important to try get my head around these physical changes so would really appreciate any feed back or advice. It would be great to even have advice on what may minimise these changes so I can take action now!!

Thank You.

spottybananas

Breastfeeding doesn't lead to sagging, breast growth during pregnancy or in early days of engorgement does, but mostly pregnancy. Mine look the same as before and I fed my son for 2 years and 2 months. Actually they lost a small bit of volume but they were large full DD's before but are more manageable DD's now and clothes particularly with buttons actually fit me so I was very happy with that!

I don't have a c section pooch, neither does my best friend although her scar is a bit sideways, that's all she doesn't like about it. Both of our stomachs are flatter now than they were before, due to breastfeeding/exercise/not gaining too much during pregnancy. Nothing you can do to prevent it short of not gaining too much in pregnancy but again this can be irrelevant after birth, and it depends a bit on how quickly the surgery needs to be done, apparently crash sections result in less neat scars due to speed being of the essence. My friend had a crash section, I didn't, mine is significantly smaller and neater but more raised than hers.

Moisturiser doesn't make any difference to stretch marks etc, this is down to genetics, skin elasticity, weight gain, etc.

I'm pregnant with my second, tbh I'm more concerned about saving my bits if I have a natural delivery rather than any other physical changes! The good thing about having an emcs was I dodged tearing, piles, stitches, etc, they all sound scary.

scarepanda

I had my first baby last year at 29. I'm still breastfeeding at 11 Months and no signs of saggyness, although they do look different. I don't know if that's temporary or if it will be a lasting effect from breastfeeding. My breasts didn't really change size much during or post pregnancy.

I'd also a c section at 40+3. I was slightly over weight when I got pregnant. I didn't gain a whole lot of weight while pregnant and lost pretty much all the pregnancy weight within may be 6-8 weeks. But I'm now stuck at my pre pregnancy weight. Iv no pouch from the section. The scar has blended quite well and there's only one small area you can notice. I have a natural pot belly and that hasn't changed either post pregnancy.

Anne2014

My c-section didn't give me a pooch. The scar is under my knicker line so nobody can see it.

I put on exactly 2 stone the last time but this time I've already put on that and I'm only 32 weeks. I'm more active this time running around after my 2 year old and I eat better so I don't know how this happened! The weight fell off me the last time but don't think that's going to happen this time. I plan on walking regularly and eating well along with breastfeeding.

Piling on the bio oil but not sure it's gonna help me this time!

hcass

Hey Sheepdish - I am also very concerned about body changes, although willing to except that my body will probably not be the same as it was before.

As for the "pooch" - this can happen to any woman (section or not) and is often linked to Diastasis Recti - the separation of the abdominal muscles during pregnancy. This can be more severe in some women for whatever reasons. It usually rectifies itself over a few weeks after birth but if you notice a gap still there after 8-10 weeks there are exercises you can do that will bring them back together. These exercises will also help with urinary continence (another common symptom post pregnancy).

Saggy breasts are a result of pregnancy - not breastfeeding (as said above). There has been plenty of research into this and it basically comes down to breast increasing in size during pregnancy which cannot be avoided - but by watching your diet and exercising during and after pregnancy you can limit the affects.

As for stretch marks - which you haven;t mentioned but is something I am worried about as I have a small amount on my thighs from my teenage years - you are much more likely to get stretch marks as a young mother than an older one - who knew? One good thing about being older, like me, and having a baby! I read that nothing can rid of stretch marks once they are there but moisturising can decrease the chances of getting them as it does make skin more elastic. I use coconut oil and find it amazing. My skin has never been this soft before! And it's cheap! This can also help with breast saggying (again increasing elasticity so breasts are more likely to go back to original shape - but it is not a miracle cure!)

Hope this helps.

ShaShaBear

I had my first at 27 and second at 28 (set of Irish twins )
I did put on quite a lot of weight with my first and lost over half of it before falling pregnant again. I didn't put as much on the second time. My breasts exploded in size from a C to an E cup and are still that large (and saggy, but not incredibly so) 19 months after my second was born. I have a very noticeable "pouch" but never had a c-section. Recently diagnosed (as mentioned) due to an issue with my abdominal muscles which I am trying to rectify now. Honestly the biggest body change I was upset with was the weight gain, and that was through no fault but my own. I was a tidy 11 stone getting pregnant with my first, and I now sit at 15. The pouch itself doesn't bother me as much as a "bloat" that I have at the top of my stomach (also due to abdominal muscles). A decent bra solves the sagging issue and the only person that sees them are my husband, and it doesn't bother him at all! One other thing is that my nipples have roughly tripled in size (I breastfed both girls but have long since stopped) and can make a lot of bras uncomfortable to wear.
I am covered in stretchmarks from my stomach to my thighs, on my pubic area, under my arms and all over my breasts. This is a genetic issue though and I was fully aware of the predisposition given all male and female members of my mother's side of the family are riddled with them.

Bunnyslippers

I had an emergency section 9 months ago and the scar is below knicker line so my belly has no more or less of a pooch than any other woman who's been pregnant as it's below the belly fat line by a good bit! It's still going down and I'm down to a 16 again, I was a 14, but still have the jelly belly bit but it's slowly going and I'm nearly 40 so am not expecting miracles, you just have to go wth the flow and be proud your body grew a person and fed it!! I think if you dwell on what was then you could get miserable - I wish I still had the bod I had in my twenties but it's never going to happen!!!;)
Boob wise I went from a pert DD to a slightly saggy GG! but they are shrinking back down again and am still breastfeeding, they do have stretch marks but who cares! I'd say wear a really good bra to help stop any further stretching, I got underwired nursing bras from debenhams as the soft ones just weren't doing it support wise!!! - lol!! The joys, can you imagine if men had to go through all this - the human race would have died out along time ago or we'd be all only children!!!!:D

xzanti

I had a c section and didn't get a pooch. Have a small scar under my underwear line.

I used pure vitamin E oil on my skin throughout my last pregnancy and Bio Oil after pregnancy.

The weeks/months following the birth my skin was quite saggy and had that 'burst balloon' look. But I just kept going with the bio oil and it kept improving.

I'd say I was back to my old body (or close enough) a year after the birth.

I'm due another baby in 7 weeks and I'm doing the same with the vitamin E oil, and hoping for the best. I'm sure I'll have gained a new set of stretch marks this time around, but they do fade.

Toots

My boobs didn't 'sag' so much, as they just lost a bit of 'firmness' but that could be down to age also. I was 25 having my first, and I'm 31 now expecting my second. I've loads of stretch marks, but I knew I would have because simply going through puberty brought on a whole pile of stretch marks, so I knew pregnancy would do the same.

I had a vaginal birth on the first, and had an episiotomy, but it was stitched really well and feels completely back to normal - the scar isn't even visible. I'm worried that this time around I won't be so lucky and my bits will be destroyed :pac: In terms of hemhorroids, I got a very mild one towards the end of my first pregnancy, but finding it seems to have kicked in a bit earlier this time around. AFAIK you can end up with them just from being preggers without having to have a vaginal birth.

Sheepdish1

Thanks for all the honest replies😋 I thought that sagging of boobs/ pooch was something what would be a definite but it seems that certain things can be done to help which is good.

I know that bodies change etc but I would like try get back to myself as much as possible and thought the pooch thing I've heard about was a definite occurrence when getting c section.

I am piling on the bio oil to keep skin moisturised so hopefully this will help. I haven't got stretch marks too bad, there are some but I think this are more manageable as they fade over time😊

ShaShaBear

Sheepdish1 wrote: »

Thanks for all the honest replies�� I thought that sagging of boobs/ pooch was something what would be a definite but it seems that certain things can be done to help which is good.

I know that bodies change etc but I would like try get back to myself as much as possible and thought the pooch thing I've heard about was a definite occurrence when getting c section.

I am piling on the bio oil to keep skin moisturised so hopefully this will help. I haven't got stretch marks too bad, there are some but I think this are more manageable as they fade over time��

For what it's worth, a friend of mine has had 4 c-sections (in a very short space of time) and has no pouch!

Neyite

C-section scar was fine, didn't alter my body at all really. Boobs were not noticeably changed by pregnancy or breastfeeding.

What did surprise me was that I didn't get any stretch marks. Yet some years before I'd had fairly rapid weight gain of about half a stone and got them so I was fully expecting that I was just prone to them.

I pinged back pretty impressively which I'd attribute to breastfeeding even though I was an older mum (late thirties)

fits

My stretch marks have stretch marks. And I have diastasis recti and th associated pooch. But I have twins and I was enormous. Couldnt care less to be honest

ShaShaBear

fits wrote: »

My stretch marks have stretch marks. And I have diastasis recti and th associated pooch. But I have twins and I was enormous. Couldnt care less to be honest

I've actually just been given a 12-week exercise plan to deal with diastasis recti! Didn't even know I had it until a couple of weeks ago!

annoyedgal

Could do with this also! Where did you get it Shashabear?



quote="ShaShaBear;104117581"]I've actually just been given a 12-week exercise plan to deal with diastasis recti! Didn't even know I had it until a couple of weeks ago![/quote

ShaShaBear

annoyedgal wrote: »

Could do with this also! Where did you get it Shashabear?



quote="ShaShaBear;104117581"]I've actually just been given a 12-week exercise plan to deal with diastasis recti! Didn't even know I had it until a couple of weeks ago![/quote

My GP gave me a print-out, but it's from Breaking Muscle. If you Google "12 week diastasis recti", it should be the first result. You have to give your email to get the download link, but it's very easy and well laid-out. Some days only require brisk walking!

annoyedgal

Thanks ! I'll check it out


quote="ShaShaBear;104127121"]My GP gave


me a print-out, but it's from Breaking Muscle. If you Google "12 week diastasis recti", it should be the first result. You have to give your email to get the download link, but it's very easy and well laid-out. Some days only require brisk walking![/quote]

catrionanic

My boobs have changed so much from my pre-baby days. I've always been a size 8 with 30c, maybe 30d, boobs, and now I'm almost six months post-partum and I'm a size god-knows-what (I'm refusing to buy larger jeans and living in leggings. I'm around a stone to a stone and a half above my pre-baby weight). My boobs are now a 30ff!!!!

Boobs definitely are saggier than before, but to be honest I think that's due to pregnancy and the early days when your milk comes in - look how much mine have grown in this months! Then when they go back down once I've stopped feeding, I'm sure they'll be like sandbags. All my life I fantasised about having big boobs one day, but post-pregnancy boobs don't have that perkiness and rounded cleavage I'd always hoped for, and of course your nipples change and become larger and darker... they'll never be the same again!

I had a vaginal birth and needed a lottttt of stitching up, and in the first few weeks post-delivery I thought I was never going to go back to normal. It's recovered pretty well though. It doesn't look quite the same as before, but what can I expect really when I've pushed an entire person out of there?

The one thing I was really lucky with though was stretch marks. I got away scot-free on that one. I've been assured this is just luck though and down to your genetics. No amount of Bio-Oil is gonna stop them if it's written in your genes!

Honestly though, my body has just done a pretty incredible thing. It created a whole human being out of two small cells. It grew that little human and kept it safe and well inside me, and then my body instinctively knew what to do in order to deliver him safely into this world. As if that wasn't enough, my body has since continued to provide all the food and nourishment he needs for six whole months. For the nine months of pregnancy and first six months of his life, my body has been the primary source of everything he has needed to keep him alive and healthy. And I feel pretty damn proud of that. So when I look in the mirror to see that my small perky boobs have transformed into something they weren't before, and when I see that extra weight on my tummy that's never been there before, I try not to be too hard on myself. Because I'm very very thankful for my brilliant boobs and my wonderful womb and all that they have done for my little boy!

Toots

The downstairs stitching can take a few months to settle down completely. I was told in the hospital that the stitches would be dissolved in 10 days but I could still feel them and when I mentioned it to my GP he said that in his experience, most women have a few that take longer. I was 45 mins being 'repaired' after the birth. I asked the consultant how many stitches she was giving me and she paused and went "Well, it's more like one continuous stitch.... a bit like a zip!" :eek::eek:

fits

I had a section but my pelvic floor was way overactive from carrying all the weight around. Only getting back to normal now!

Teyla Emmagan

Toots wrote:

I was 45 mins being 'repaired' after the birth. I asked the consultant how many stitches she was giving me and she paused and went "Well, it's more like one continuous stitch.... a bit like a zip!"

Holy God!! :-)

jlm29

Toots wrote: »

The downstairs stitching can take a few months to settle down completely. I was told in the hospital that the stitches would be dissolved in 10 days but I could still feel them and when I mentioned it to my GP he said that in his experience, most women have a few that take longer. I was 45 mins being 'repaired' after the birth. I asked the consultant how many stitches she was giving me and she paused and went "Well, it's more like one continuous stitch.... a bit like a zip!" :eek::eek:

Eek! I asked the first time and it was like a state secret "just a few, don't worry about it" I was told. I didn't even ask after my most recent delivery, because I had a fine big tear, and I figured that sometimes, knowledge isn't power, it's scary! . I'll just hope that in a few years I'm not the lady who has to change my trousers when someone tells a joke

Toots

jlm29 wrote: »

Eek! I asked the first time and it was like a state secret "just a few, don't worry about it" I was told. I didn't even ask after my most recent delivery, because I had a fine big tear, and I figured that sometimes, knowledge isn't power, it's scary! . I'll just hope that in a few years I'm not the lady who has to change my trousers when someone tells a joke

Lol! Well she'd been diligently working away for a good half hour when I asked her so I suppose she realised she could hardly get away with saying it was only a couple :pac: I'd already asked her had I had an episiotomy and found out that I had, so I figured there'd be a bit of tidying up to be done afterwards.

I found that in the weeks after the birth, it was like playing russian roulette if I were to sneeze or anything, so I invested in one of these. It was probably the best money I ever spent.

jlm29

Toots wrote: »

Lol! Well she'd been diligently working away for a good half hour when I asked her so I suppose she realised she could hardly get away with saying it was only a couple :pac: I'd already asked her had I had an episiotomy and found out that I had, so I figured there'd be a bit of tidying up to be done afterwards.

I found that in the weeks after the birth, it was like playing russian roulette if I were to sneeze or anything, so I invested in one of these. It was probably the best money I ever spent.

I think maybe my doctor is just very slow at sewing! On my middle boy she was there for AGES, and I think I had 4 stitches. I'm not complaining- I never had a bit of bother, so she must be a tidy seamstress!
I've been alright this time too, not perfect, but it's only been a few weeks, so hopefully I won't have any trouble. Have a follow up with the physio soon, I'm sure I'll come home with plenty homework!

Romantic Rose

Oh jeez, don't speak to me about stitches. The last labour I had was fine but afterwards, when the surgeon was stitching me downstairs, she found a piece of stitch from my first baby stitches- 3 years later! Was the grossest thing ever.

Romantic Rose

On the physical side, my body went back to normal straight away after my first. In fact, with breastfeeding I had never been so thin. Everyone warned me that with the second baby, it's more difficult to lose the weight which I found to be true.

I got married eleven months after I had my second baby and I found it very hard to lose the weight. I went out walking every evening for an hour and went to the gym for 2 sessions per week. I had never eaten so healthily. I'd say I got back to within 10% of what I was. I'm determined I'll go back to my pre baby weight eventually.

My breasts would be a bit saggier than what they were. I don't mind that bit but I really did not want the saggy tummy.

My emphasis is health and fitness. I do not want to fall into the trap of putting on a lot of weight just because I have children. I see a lot of women do this and end up very unhealthy because they neglect themselves.

You will get back your pre baby body but you will just have to work hard to do it.

Milly33

Oh man I don't know if I'm ready for this at all at all...Ladies ye are mighty

scarepanda

Milly33 wrote:

Oh man I don't know if I'm ready for this at all at all...Ladies ye are mighty

Oh of course you are :-)!!! It's an amazing journey that fly's by! Just make sure you make time to enjoy it because next thing you know they are turning one and becoming a little toddler :-( (my lo is one in two weeks and I'm a little emotional over it)

ShaShaBear

scarepanda wrote: »

Oh of course you are :-)!!! It's an amazing journey that fly's by! Just make sure you make time to enjoy it because next thing you know they are turning one and becoming a little toddler :-( (my lo is one in two weeks and I'm a little emotional over it)

My eldest turned 3 on Monday and my second little lady will be 2 in December. I distinctly remember cooing at them both when they were 6 months old, and that was roughly a fortnight ago if memory serves me!

(Disclaimer: It clearly doesn't :pac: )

scarepanda

Aw stop! I honestly don't know where the time has gone! The only thing I regret is not taking more videos of her doing nothing.... Just being a potato! Iv hundreds and hundreds of photos but very few videos. I now take random 5 minute videos of her doing nothing in particular just to remind me what she was like at certain stages!

catrionanic

scarepanda wrote: »

Aw stop! I honestly don't know where the time has gone! The only thing I regret is not taking more videos of her doing nothing.... Just being a potato! Iv hundreds and hundreds of photos but very few videos. I now take random 5 minute videos of her doing nothing in particular just to remind me what she was like at certain stages!

Someone said the same thing to me when my boy was a few weeks old, so I started taking videos then. I also take a few each week to send to his grandparents and aunty in Wales. I now have a kid who has a camera in his face multiple times a day. He's like a Kardashian!

He's only six months old but I'm already looking back at videos from a few months ago and realising that I'd forgotten what he was like!