The funny thing is that mothers can’t really see the bigger picture here, because it’s very difficult to deal with the physical consequences of giving birth. It’s a whole new mess that needs to be sorted out, and it’s very difficult to deal with the new body figure that comes postpartum. This problem can even lead to such an amount of dissatisfaction that it can cause depression, which is something you need to steer clear from because your life has a new purpose now — your newborn. Therefore, you should take precautions so that you can avoid some permanent pregnancy marks, but it’s very important not to take your actions to far.
1. Lose Weight at a Slow Pace
While your baby grows inside of you, your stomach swells up; this happens because your body makes room for the baby’s growth and proper development. Now, your tummy isn’t a balloon — although at some point, it will look like it — and you can’t expect it to shrink back to normal the minute after you give birth. Hormones know how to behave, and you need to give them time to do their job — all those fluids that amass during pregnancy will start to leak, but that is one slow process that must not be rushed because of your baby’s health and your own. Those leaks will manifest to sweat, urine and vaginal secretions, and any additional weight you might have picked up along the way will enter a fast-forward calorie burning process.
2. Mind the Bra Size
This goes for both — before and after birth. If you don’t pay special attention to the way your breasts change, you will experience unpleasant pain, and that discomfort isn’t something you should add to the list of all the other sensations your body is going through. While your pregnancy is developing, so will your breasts, and you can expect to see a new change each trimester. This is why you should get refitted accordingly. In order to feel maximally comfortable, make sure to wear supporting bras even during nighttime. If you’re nursing, you’ll need convenient bras that save you time and help you relieve the pain you might be experiencing. However, you should be aware of the fact your new bra size will reveal itself a few months after you stop breastfeeding, not after you give birth, which is why you need to be patient and wear appropriate sizes.
3. Be Patient With Your Tummy
First of all, you need to face the fact that your body shape may change for good after you give birth — your body is going through a huge change, and it’s only natural that it can’t bounce back completely. Only time will tell here, which is why you shouldn’t be impatient. Mothers need to give their tummy muscles time to accommodate, and the length of the period necessary for that to happen depends on the shape of your figure before you became pregnant, how much weight you added during pregnancy, your physical activities postpartum, and of course, your genetics. My suggestion is to talk this out with your mother, and learn about her experience on this subject; she can tell you how long it took her to bounce back and which mistakes she made, so that you can steer clear from them. Breastfeeding can actually help you with this, because by doing it, you become 500 calories lighter each day, which is one motivating thing to have in mind. As a new mother, you’re a milk machine, so to speak, and your body will invest about one kilogram per week in order to produce enough food for your newborn. If you’re eager to get back to the gym and exercise, you need to be gentle with your body because forcing yourself will make you constantly exhausted and that can only lead to a line of serious problems for both you and your child. You can try with postpartum belly wraps — the support they provide can relieve the pressure on your spine, which can take damage during pregnancy, and it can help you get your abs in shape more quickly.
4. Take Good Care of Your Skin
Moisturizing is of essential importance here. Because of the lack of elasticity while you’re getting bigger as your pregnancy envelops, your skin tends to crack which is why stretch marks appear. It’s quite important for you to understand that they will tone down in time, and that they won’t be that visible after a while, so don’t panic. However, you can affect the final outcome by moisturizing, and my suggestion is to go with gentle oil-based skincare products, because I have seen them in action, and they do their job well. Just make sure that you’re using creams and oils which are pH neutral and baby-friendly.
5. Love Your Body
Not having the perfect body is a very small sacrifice when compared with what you get by giving birth. I know it can be really frustrating — I think my mother never got over her stretchmarks — but if you continue to dwell on it, the problem will only get bigger and bigger inside your head. Learn to love your new motherly figure because it gave you a child, if nothing else, and that’s definitely the biggest source of unconditional love. Allow these things go by in their natural course — your body is programmed for this process, and you need to allow it to react. Have in mind that your health is of vital importance to your baby and having to wait a few months longer to be satisfied with the reflection in your mirror is okay. Give yourself time. Featured photo credit: https://www.pexels.com/u/freestocks/ via pexels.com
