Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

General health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Flip

Original poster

Post-preg skin and tummy

19 replies

freelancegirl · 24/02/2011 18:25

Hi everyone,

I am only 8-9 weeks pregnant and I realise there may be other concerns to worry about BUT please indulge me with this one: One of the things that has been pressing on my mind is getting back in shape after the birth.

What is everyone's experience of post-pregnancy skin around the stomach area? I was pretty fit and slim before getting pregnant (although putting on weight rapidly) but having put on and lost weight quite quickly in my early 20s had a bit of loose skin. I think my skin must be prone to it. That said I could still look good in a bikini and with a lot of hard exercise had a bit of ab definition.

How easy is it to get a flat tummy again after birth? Shallow I know but I find myself pouring over photos of celeb bikini bodies seeing if there is sign of their pregnancies! And does having a natural birth or a C section make a difference? I keep hearing a lot about skin overhang with the scar! Is this stuff really unavoidable??!!

I am using bio oil twice a day and working out in the gym (within pregnancy guidelines) hoping this might help.

OP posts:

SpawnChorus · 24/02/2011 18:32

I look fine with clothes on, but the skin on my tummy is totally fucked. I can pinch the skin and it literally would never spring back into shape unless I press it back . I also have separated muscles still, and it seems impossible to et them back together again....visually it doesn't seem too problematic, but it definitely affects the strength of my back.

However, I had three DCs in quick succession and they were massive (one was a 10 pounder, the other over 11 and half pounds!). DC 1 was a dainty 8 and a half pounder and I sprang back into shape with no problems! Hopefully you'll be the same, but tbh I'm not half as bothered by it as I thought I might be pre-pregnancy (no bloody time to worry about it! ).

Original poster

freelancegirl · 24/02/2011 19:09

Thanks for that SpawnChorus. It just seems there is no exercise that can address loose skin. I am guessing some people don't get it? Only looking at those photos of Gwyneth Paltrow on the beach this week (god help me, I have an unhealthy Daily Mail online habit) and she is taught as anything after two kids. Surgery? Macrobiotic? Just lucky? I guess I might not be bothered by it either one day when I am a mum and have more pressing things on my mind...Hey I've had stretch marks (quite faint) since I was 19 and have lived with those.

I would love to know if anyone has one of those nice, flat, saggy-skin free stomachs in real life.

OP posts:

olivo · 24/02/2011 20:33

I wasnt too bad after DC1, who I had by Em c-sec, she was only 7lb. However, with DC2, an elec c-sec, I had polyhydramnios and the result is a sack of skin, despite the fact I lost the little weight I put on reasonably fast.

I consider my saggy tummy (barely swimming cotume worthy, never mind bikini!) a constant reminder of how lucky I am to have two gorgeous children - they're so worth it!!

Original poster

freelancegirl · 24/02/2011 21:15

That's really lovely Olivo. As I am not a mother yet and can't quite get my head around that level of love I can't relate at all. BUT I have my own battle scars from adolescence and I guess I have got used to those. Does everyone always seem to get that overhang after a C section? Seems v common.

OP posts:

mushroomsandolives · 24/02/2011 21:18

I think c section overhang is inevitable - mine is so floppy! Maybe because the muscle is sliced through during the op? Sorry if tmi!!!

Original poster

freelancegirl · 24/02/2011 21:46

I don't there can ever be TMI with these sorts of conversation :)

I thought they didn't cut the muscles but parted them? Am I being naive?

OP posts:

olivo · 25/02/2011 08:22

FLG, after my first c-sec i had very little overhang and it was low enough that I could still wear a bikini. I think they do cut the muscles, which is why many women have numbness for months afterwards, but usually they knit backtogether eventually. But remember, there is much lower chance of you having a CS than a natural birth, so try not to worry about that.

I promise you that you wont care once your little bundle arrives ( oh, and I hear baby boot camp is a good way to get back your pre-baby shape, if they have them near you)

BTW, congrats on your PREGNANCY!

tasmaniandevilchaser · 25/02/2011 08:27

Yes, congrats from me as well. Stop looking at people with perfect bodies!!!! It's the path to madness. When your baby arrives you'll be too busy and tired to worry about your tummy. And your dh/p should love you just the way you are.
ps my tummy is f@*ked, sorry, you didn't want to hear that! But I don't really care, I have a lovely baby and she is more important than a bit of skin. A tankini works for me ok, I can live with that.

mrsravelstein · 25/02/2011 08:33

after 1st baby at age 28 (section, very neat cut) my stomach went back to completely normal... i look at bikini photos now and weep . there was no way you could tell i'd had a baby.

2nd and 3rd babies however, at age 35 and 37, and 2 further c sections, 2nd of which was totally botched, have left me with cottage cheese skin on upper stomach and a fairly nasty lopsided overhang over a long wobbling scar. they did tidy it up A LOT at my 3rd section so it's better than it was. but i don't look nice in a bikini anymore.

a lot of pilates and yoga and walking have kept me a size 8, and stomach is not far off flat though, just that the skin is quite baggy and creased.

mrsravelstein · 25/02/2011 08:35

as for gwyneth, i suspect that being naturally tall & skinny helps a lot, and having the money for a personal trainer every day helps even more, and if all the macrobiotic diet stuff is true then that i'm sure makes a difference.

Original poster

freelancegirl · 25/02/2011 10:05

Yes - looking at people who have a lot of cash to spend on PTs and delivery diets is probably not a good idea. I guess what I am still doing is weighing up the pros and cons of a C Section as, for medical reasons, I could probably have an elective one. But it is by no means definite and I could probably just as easily (ahem...) give birth naturally.

I seem to have got stuck on the overhang v ruining my nice tight nether bits issue. Really, will I not care about either of those once I have a baby? I think that's what I am worried about! Not caring. I put on a lot of weight due to an illness in my early 20s and look back at that time as a bit of a waste. Although there's not much I could have done about it I guess. I was a size 14 (not huge I know but it didn't suit my face) for a few years and I look at those photos and think I really don't want to go back there.

OP posts:

mrsravelstein · 25/02/2011 10:47

i think the overhang is pretty standard even if you are thin/tight stomach... as i say, i was really lucky with first section and the scar looked fantastic, but so many of my fellow mums commented on it that i realised how unusual it is. having said that, i had staples instead of a stitch with the 1st one, and anecdotally i've heard that it heals better that way - there was no 'lip' on the scar with the 1st one, it just knitted together seamlessly, and that may have helped with the overhang. all very technical {smile]

Original poster

freelancegirl · 26/02/2011 20:05

Must ask my friends who have had C sections as soon as I can whether they have an overhang! It's not something I have ever thought about before.

OP posts:

FSatRenegade · 03/03/2011 14:26

Hello,

I'm working on a new UK based TV makeover show. If any of you ladies are interested in getting the Hollywood look please see below and contact me as soon as possible at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.

Are you keen to shift those extra pounds? Would you or a female family member like the opportunity to get your favourite celebrity?s body and look? We?re looking for contestants aged between 18 and 35 to take part in a major new make-over series to be madeover and slim down to look like Britney, Beyonce, Rihanna, Cheryl Cole and a whole host of hot female celebs.

If you would like to lose a few pounds and work with the experts who gave the stars their perfect bodies, then this TV show could be perfect for you to get yourself into Hollywood shape.

To get that beautiful female celeb?s body, style and overall look, no matter what your shape or size please apply now with your contact details, a photograph and details of which female celebrity you think you?d like to look like ? or who you think you look a bit like (no matter how small the resemblance).

You could get the opportunity to be made over to look just like your favourite celebrity - without having to go under the knife!

peskymites · 03/03/2011 19:09

Hello, congrats on your pregnancy. I haven't read everything but as a teenager I was very prone to stretch marks, so thought that pregnancy would add loads and a bit of flab. However, after two pregnancies (one 'natural' one emergency CS), I have got no (additional) stretch marks and a fairly flat tummy. I don't have any overhang at all (just had to check that). I did have a bit of one for maybe three or four months but it's gone now. Can't pretend my boobs are in the same place though. But leaving that issue aside I don't think I have a very different body from the one I had before. I hope that doesn't sound pleased with myself, all I mean is that I think it's partly down to luck and genes maybe so try not to worry about it? And I can also confirm that I don't really care about my boobs, even though they are somewhere near my tummy button.

olivo · 03/03/2011 21:39

FSatRengade, mummy tummy and proud of it!! but thanks anyway!

Original poster

freelancegirl · 04/03/2011 15:08

peskymites That makes me feel a bit better. I too was prone to stretch marks as a teenager, they have faded over time and i have learned not to be bothered by them. But yes am worried about them in pregnancy and I love the fact you didn't get any AND have had one natural birth and one CS and don't have an overhang. I hope I can do just as well as you!

Maybe I am doing all this worrying about the tummy/vagina and what I SHOULD be really concerned about it what's going to happen to my boobs :)

FSatRengade - not for me right now but good luck with search!

OP posts:

peskymites · 04/03/2011 15:53

Yes boobs are the issue over here! But at least I can buy a good bra (and my husband wishes that I would)! I'm just waiting for the end of brestfeeding to be absolutely sure about exactly where they are going to end up.

CuppaTeaJanice · 04/03/2011 16:02

Mine is almost exactly the same as it was pre-baby. The only bit that is slightly different is the area that was the top of my bump, where the texture is slightly 'leathery' for want of a better word.

Stretch marks and sagginess aren't inevitable!

Flip