tummy muscles after twin pregnancy

[galaxymummy]

any twin multiple mums out there who had divarification or gaps in abdo muscles?
Were you still fingers apart at 6months? tops tips for improvement wanted please or did anyone have a mesh repair by a surgeon?

Bumping for you Galaxymummy ... mine are a disaster 10 weeks after the birth of my twins ... huge gap and saggy tummy. Will keep an eye on this post for advice too.

I didn't have twins, but I am a small woman who carried very large babies.

my muscles were/ are are shot to pieces (previously had toned tum). 3 years on and still huge gap.

have been referred for surgery but not going ahead as not sure if we have finished our family yet.

If I were you I'd ask for physio referral- I found they were very helpful, gave good advice. I could do more of the exercises they gave me but haven't!

So if you have surgery will it impact on future pregnancies mamabea?

no don't think so, just likely to part again so surgery best when family complete. That's what I was told.

to be honest I have not put the time in to doing my exercises.

Try not to worry too much at the mo as very early days for you. However, I would ask your GP/ HV to get that physio referral just to ensure you are being monitored and supported.

One of my friends wears a special 'belt' type affair that helps her back/ tummy remain supported whilst she exercises- given it by physio.

and by the way 'congratulations!'

Tummy muscles? Hahahahahahaha.

Oh, sorry, that wasn't very helpful.

Enjoy your wee bulge when it happens for that is where your babies grew. (And that is what I tell myself when I look at the jiggly mess!)

My tummy muscles are also a mess (dts are now 18 months). I can still put my whole fist in the gap and sometimes my intestines bulge out. I have been advised to have surgery (been told I can't do anything else) and will do at some point in the future. I think pregnancy after the surgery would be OK but I suppose they may come apart again, I wonder how another pregancy would be with such a big gap though . When I have the surgery I will also have the skin tucked, I think then it would not be advisable to get pregnant again.

Hells teeth, sounds like I got away lightly with my jelly belly then.

I wore support pants (polite way of say great big knickers you could go paragliding with) during my pregnancy - my final measurement at 36 weeks was 54" which is quite frightening! I did find though that the amount of scans I had, with that gel they put on, I didn't get stretch marks. Either that or my entire belly is a stretch mark.

Maybe that is a bit more helpful!

Hi GalaxyMum, I recently had a mesh put in as I had a huge hernia and shot tummy muscles. I had twins in 2002 and another baby in 2007. Whilst I am lucky in that I quickly lost the weight (and I put on tonnes, but only weigh 7 stone pre and post pregnancy) and do a lot of sport my muscles had never recovered. There was a huge gap when I did sit ups. I have to say that post mesh the results are not amazing. The hernia is gone and I haven't got a gap when I exercise but more of a bulge now. I thought seriously about having a tuck but as admittedly you would not know usless I was in a bikini (which I will never wear again!) I decided not to have more surgery. The surgeon told me I could have more children but they would have to redo the mesh afterwards. I think we are finished though! The twin pregnancy did the damage but I had no problems with my gap during the singleton pregnancy other that a bad back which might be related... Not sure. Anyway, I do sympathise, I do feel down sometimes about my dreadful stomach area but I have three healthy babies and that is all that counts...Good luck

I had a small separation (diastasis recti) following the birth of my twins. Although I did the sit up test at my 12 week check and got the all-clear from my GP (airily said "oh, that looks okay") I wasn't convinced and spoke to my pilates instructor who said that I had about two fingers worth of separation - not much in the grand scheme of things but wasn't going to go back by itself and would just make my back problems worse (that didn't actually feel possible at the time...). Mine was just below my belly button which is why this area has always looked lousy since birth and my beautiful, sleek naval is now a hideous wide blob (sob!).

I avoided ALl crunch and oblique abdominals as these tend to make things worse and 'fix' the abdominals in place, making closure of the gap impossible. There are specific exercises you can do (google the Tupler Technique) but you have to be very patient and committed to see results, which let's face it, is pretty hard when you're looking after twins. However, it is possible. Pilates also really helps as some of these exercises can help close the separation. However, it should always be done with a trained instructor rather than running through a DVD as they will be able to tailor it to your specific needs and avoid any of the aggressive exercises, that would just exacerbate the problem.

The problem with a twin pregnancy is the muscles have to move very quickly and the uterus grows very large so the rectus abdominals can 'tear', causing the disastasis. Normally after pregnancy the muscles slowly come together of their own accord, but after a diastasis they can' tand need help.

I had physio on my scar, post section, as it had masses of scar tissue due to complications, and the physio I saw specialised in closing abdominal diastasis - she saw heaps of mothers of twins and had excellent results. She could usually shrink the gap significantly through physio and specific abdominal movements. A two fingers separation is seen as 'okay' and she was getting resuls from 8 fingers separation down to about 3 or 2.

Hope this helps. There are things that can be done and although some separations are very severe and require surgery, others can be massively improved through specific exercises.

Kx

Wow, I am just sitting here reading this and thinking OMG. I have what feels like a rather large separation but I just thought this was normal and that it would just go back over time!!?? Was this just completely wishful thinking??! (My twins are nearly 4 months- lost count of the weeks now!) I haven't seen a GP or anything. What IS it that you can feel flobbling around (in my case) just above your tummy button?!Is it your intestines or what?! Also, my tummy button is still out (err), anyone else got this/had this - and does it ever go back in?! And doesn't exercising actually help, then?

Sorry to make you feel so down, I think that each case is individual. In my case no amount of exercise helped, my intesines were in the wrong place but it was the hernia I could feel. Push for a GP appointment so you can get a proper medical opinion. It might well resolve itself over time and with speicalist exercise. Best wishes

Hi Drovette. The separation should close after pregnancy but by four months it should have pretty much moved together. Anything around 2 fingers width or less of separation is normal at around 6 week post vaginal delivery and 12 weeks post caesarean delivery (caesarean sections are much more traumatic on the abdominals so it can take longer for these to come together due to the added issues with healing) so by now you shouldn't have a large gap.

The fact that you do and that your belly button is still 'out' and you've got something that feels strange above it implies that they haven't come back together. It's possible that you might have a small hernia, which is really common with a diastasis as the abdominals aren't there to offer a wall of support to the intestines, etc. However, there is a LOT that can be done. The first thing would be to go to your GP and ask them to have a look at it. They can refer you for phsio sessions to close the gap or, which usually work well. You often have to do exercises every day as 'homework' but once you've been shown how to do these correctly they are very quick and easy to do.

Hope this helps.

Kx

Also meant to add that certain exercises will help a lot but standard abdominal exercises won't and can often make things worse. Which is why it's really worth getting it looked at by a GP and getting a physio referral. The key is specific exercises - they can make a huge difference.

Kx

Hi Kitstwins - thank you so much for your msg. Sorry for not responding sooner; I don't spend all that much time at my desk (I'm sure you understand!!)! THanks for the advice; I was just sort of sitting and waiting for it all to go back into place again, but it sounds like I might have some work to do to help things along. I've just tried to feel 'the gap' whilst writing this, and, to be honest, I can't make anything out at all!! My tummy's just a great big flobbly mess! I think I'm going to ring the GP surgery now! Thanks again x

afternoon

good advice here - do not do traditional abs exercises as they won't help at all. There are heaps of exercises that will help but you do need proper instruction (rather than me lecturing you and listing them here!!) but you have to really persevere and do them daily over a long period.

get some proper help from the doc/self refer to a physio firstly, so that you really work out the extent of the problem.

to put your mind at rest, some separation is completely normal (usually just above the belly button). in a normal separation the tummy muscles don't 'split' (if they do you may have a hernia which needs surgery) but the tissue which joins the 2 sides of the traditional 6-pack of muscles thins to give the baby some room. you can self-check, it's quite simple - lie on your back with knees bent up and feet flat on the floor. place fingers just above belly button. raise head neck and shoulders just off the floor (looking towards feet/tucking in chin). you should feel the tummy muscles 'squeeze' around your fingers. 2-3 finger widths of separation is 'normal'.

even before you get some proper exercises to do you should start doing your pelvic floor daily as often as you remember (boring I know, but it will really help strengthen your core/abs from inside-out). Also (another boring but sadly effective exercise!) you should really try and concentrate as much as possible on bringing your tumnmy button in towards your spine, without raising your shoulders up towards your ears and while continuing to breathe normally. If you're leaning over your babies to change a nappy that's a good time to try and get this one right, as once you're on all fours gravity has its effect on mummy tummies......

don't worry, 'tis all fixable.

afternoon

good advice here - do not do traditional abs exercises as they won't help at all. There are heaps of exercises that will help but you do need proper instruction (rather than me lecturing you and listing them here!!) but you have to really persevere and do them daily over a long period.

get some proper help from the doc/self refer to a physio firstly, so that you really work out the extent of the problem.

to put your mind at rest, some separation is completely normal (usually just above the belly button). in a normal separation the tummy muscles don't 'split' (if they do you may have a hernia which needs surgery) but the tissue which joins the 2 sides of the traditional 6-pack of muscles thins to give the baby some room. you can self-check, it's quite simple - lie on your back with knees bent up and feet flat on the floor. place fingers just above belly button. raise head neck and shoulders just off the floor (looking towards feet/tucking in chin). you should feel the tummy muscles 'squeeze' around your fingers. 2-3 finger widths of separation is 'normal'.

even before you get some proper exercises to do you should start doing your pelvic floor daily as often as you remember (boring I know, but it will really help strengthen your core/abs from inside-out). Also (another boring but sadly effective exercise!) you should really try and concentrate as much as possible on bringing your tumnmy button in towards your spine, without raising your shoulders up towards your ears and while continuing to breathe normally. If you're leaning over your babies to change a nappy that's a good time to try and get this one right, as once you're on all fours gravity has its effect on mummy tummies......

don't worry, 'tis all fixable.

Mine are now 4 and about to start school (hurrah i made it!) but the tummy is still an issue . Just before I had them, i was getting ready for bed and took of the support belt I had taken to wearing. Then it felt like something 'gave', then severe pain. Basically unable to move for rest of evening/night.Dh had to put me to bed etc. Next day went in to hospital to have it looked into but my blood pressure was high so that was all they were interested in. So never got any answers. I always wondered whether that was my stomach muscles 'tearing' or something. Anyone have a similar experience?

I'm worried after reading all this! My tummy is still a very big issue, and painful: my twins are nearly 20 months old, and like jumping on it

So nice to read these messages and realise I am not the only one. I have had 4 children (last one is now 8 months old). I still look at least 6 months pregnant and finally got fed up of being asked when the baby was due. I went to see my GP last week who told me I have a significant separation of the abdominal muscles despite more than 2 months of Pilates and a personal trainer! The GP said no amount of exercise would fix it and has referred me for surgery. I got very excited and thought that I would have a tummy tuck at the same time and come away with a flat six pack! But having looked on the internet I am now a bit worried as everything I have found tells me that the surgery has only limited results. So I am going to see a specialist physio first to see what they say (although the thought of having to remember and then find time to do daily exercises is depressing me!) Has anyone else been having physio and how long does it take to see results?

I have an appointment with a specialist for my stomach in a couple of weeks. I will post details on when I am back....!

I've just had an abdominal repair 3.5 years on from having my twins (full term 7.5 lbs and 8lbs and I'm not big so I'd stretched a lot in the abdomen). I'd been doing Pilates for 9 years and just knew I wasn't going to be able to get my muscles back as strong and I was hurting a lot every time I lifted the twins.

I had my muscles repaired above and below my belly button and a tummy tuck too and I have to say that 3 months on I'm really happy to have done it though its a big deal in terms of recovery time.

Hi Porty, can you give more details of what they did. Did they put a mesh in or sew the muscles back together? Tell us more about the recovery.

hi porty, do you mind me asking how much it cost? are the scars 2 short ones or one long hip to hip one?

My twins are 27 yrs old in December!! I only put on 18lbs carrying them - but I was very overweight to start with. Over the last 5 years I have lost 7 stone but still a way to go.

Ho hum - at least I can see my feet now!!!

My first grandchild now enjoys snuggling on my jelly belly so its not all bad