abdominal muscles after c-section

[mirchops]

Hi! I had my second baby 1 week ago by emergency C-section. My first baby was also delivered this way 2 years ago. My question is about my abdominal muscles. I know they have been pushed to the sides during the operation, and after my first pregnancy 2 years ago they came back together pretty quickly (two months I think) and I could begin to exercise gently not so long after. This time however it feels like they are really stretched. I know it's only been a week since the op, but I'm concerned about how long it'll take for them to grow back together, when can I start exercising and would it be wise to wear a bandage or a support belt of any kind that could provide some sort of pressure and aid them to come back together? The reason for my worries are that I have felt women's abdomen after their second and third births and for some reason they seem to have a hole in the middle almost, where their muscles never came back together. My mum is one. I have read somewhere in an old Swedish birth journal that women should tie bandages around their waist post-nataly to regain their waist line, but I always thought it was like wearing a corset and a bit OTT. I?m worried though, as my abdomen feels very exposed and any kind of support muscle is pushed to the sides, and I'm also worried about developing hernia. As you can imagine with a two year old and a newborn I don't get much rest. So my question is: is there anything I can do to help the muscles back in place? Does any one have experience with this?

are under/ overweight ?
and if u are breastfeeding imo it speeds womb contraction and muscle realignment.
it did for my 2.
bandages sounds archaic to me.
give it 6/8wks as advised by health services for post c/s recovery.and then see what u look like

i had 2 sections and I thought the second time things felt differently in the first couple of weeks... however, within 2 months everything was totally back to normal and I now have quite good abs... just take it easy and don't think about exercsing for 2 months.. I concentrated on gently holding stomach in... improved posture type exercises was all I did... I agree that corsets are a bad idea... but if you are worried talk to your GP -- not the HV...

Hi there thanks for your advice, I don't think I'm overweight I've got about 6-8 kg (approx a stone) to shift after the birth to come back to my normal weight but the way I see it they'll drop naturally over the course of 6-7 months if I manage to continue breastfeding. Anyway not really concerned w weight right now, just wondered about my muscles but it sounds like they'll come back naturally so wont need to strap up haha (not that I intended to anyway, it'd be too painful I'd imagine!)
mancmum what does HV stand for?
cheers mir

I would ask the ante/post natal physio department about this. I'm quite interested in the outcome as I am about to have my second section. The first one was two years ago. I had no problem with my muscles separating then. Apparently some do and some don't. Mine didn't. Hopefully, I'll be in good shape this time too, but it sounds like I might have a greater chance of separation on the second one.