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Original poster

You know how hips "spread" in pregnancy? Do they ever go back to the same size again?

30 replies

missbumpy · 22/09/2007 22:47

Not sure if this is the right board for this thread but I was just wondering about this.

I feel like my hips have spread quite a bit. They haven't got fatter but they feel bigger IYKWIM (I need bigger knickers than before ).

I've heard some people say that they were back in their old jeans a few months after pregnancy but I've heard other people say that they lost all the weight but were still a size or two bigger.

What do you reckon?

OP posts:
newlifenewname · 22/09/2007 22:48

I would love to know cos I have a feeling that they don't go back

maisym · 22/09/2007 22:53

my feet increased in width & never went back!!

the rest of me was also bigger but could still get into my pre preg clothes - after a while!!

daisyandbabybootoo · 22/09/2007 22:55

not sure....can't find 'em under all the extra padding I've acquired

my feet are definately wider though

InMyHumbleOpinion · 22/09/2007 22:56

NO/

Spidermama · 22/09/2007 22:57

Not IME.
Also my ribs have splayed and never gone back. I'm just wider in general.

NDPIsProbablyGoingToHell · 22/09/2007 22:58

mine didn't

Even if I went back down to my pre-pg weight, I'd look horrific. My body shape in general has changed massively.

Xanthipi · 22/09/2007 23:08

I honestly don't think my hips have "spread" and I'd consider my hips quite narrow.

Although there are things on my body that will never be the samelike the flappy, wrinkly condition of my tummy even though I am thin, and the stretch marks and floppiness of my already very small breastsI honestly don't think anything has changed about my hips. Do you think maybe the distribution of your weight is just different? Do bones actually move like that? (I should think expansion of the ribcage might be a different category?)

I have always been thin, or at least thin-ish, and I weigh less than I did pre-pregnancy (though It took me ages to get the weight off) and actually feel all-around smaller that I used to be--like there's something almost delicate looking about my body, more than before my pregnancies.

Hope this gives you some optimism!

susiemj · 22/09/2007 23:28

Oh Spidermama! Tell me it's not true about the ribs. I'm 24 weeks pregnant with my first baby and they've already widened by at least 8 inches!

Anybody else have any experience of this? My fingers are crossed.....

lornaloo · 22/09/2007 23:35

I dont know. Im back to pre pregnancy weight and fit into same size jeans. I dont find my hips are bigger but I get little love handles now and I definitely find my stomachs wider because my stomach muscles have a gap between them.

Original poster
missbumpy · 23/09/2007 10:47

Oh no, lots of you are confirming what I already suspected .

Weirdly my ribs have barely changed at all (only gone up one bra size in the back) but my hips definitely feel wider. I don't think my feet have changed much but then I've been wearing flip flops and Birkenstocks all summer so I might be in for a nasty surprise when I try to get back into some of my old boots and shoes!

Xanthipi, your story definitely gives me some hope. Lucky you!

OP posts:
Original poster
missbumpy · 23/09/2007 10:49

PS. Susiemj, I've been told that it's normal for ribs to spread massively during pg but they go back to more or less normal afterwards (they might be two inches bigger but I'd be surprised if they stayed 8 inches bigger!). I think my cousin went from a 32 bra size to a 38 bra size when she was pg and she was back into her 32 bras pretty soon after the birth.

OP posts:
fuzzywuzzy · 23/09/2007 10:52

Shortly after giving birth, my mother forced me to bind my stomach, it's not just the stomach that was bound though, pretty much everything that splayed out....at the time I was pissed off at mother for nagging and nagging and it was pretty uncomfortable. BUT I do fit my pre-pregnancy clothes fine now I suspect because of it.
So for me yes hips and everything did go back to normalish.... mind you I had two dd's so things didn't spread as much as my sister who had a ds (I think from observation, boys make one grow more..dunno)

Original poster
missbumpy · 23/09/2007 10:56

Blimey! Hip binding ! Sounds like quite a good idea. I was thinking about getting some hideous "magic" pants or something because I'm sure I've read something about how external pressure helps everything to shrink back to normal. I wonder if some M&S control pants would have the same effect as your mum's binding technique ? What did you use to bind yourself?

OP posts:
daisyandbabybootoo · 23/09/2007 11:02

binding your stomach ...what century are we in?????

is that medically advisable even?

fuzzywuzzy · 23/09/2007 11:52

I think magic pants should work just as well, my mum had this long belt thing it was actually a long piece of material which she'd wind around me.

Actually I think binding ones stomach is not as rare as it sounds, and I didn't encounter any medical hysteria over it, I did it after my six week check double checking with the GP if it was OK, she wasn't fazed, and it's uncomfortable but imo worth it as I did get my figure back.

And hey if it bothers you so much dont do it, I was relating my own exeprience.

wheresthehamster · 23/09/2007 12:03

In answer to the OP - first two pregnancies I went back to size 10 clothes so the answer would be YES. After dd3 the answer would be NO along with shoulders, legs, chins, and face

crokky · 23/09/2007 12:06

my friend said her hips had spread permanently and in my experience, my ribs spread permanently

ShinyHappyPeopleHoldingHands · 23/09/2007 12:07

Nothing goes right back to how it was pre preg. Ever. Even if you are Vicki Beckham.

fishie · 23/09/2007 12:12

i've just got rid of loads of shoes, back to prepreg weight (and a bit fitter) but feet still bigger. hands took a year but did get rings back on eventually. hips and ribs thesame though.

StarlightMcKenzie · 23/09/2007 12:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster
missbumpy · 23/09/2007 12:27

I'm not that surprised about the binding thing. More intrigued than surprised. I'm seriously going to give the magic knickers a go! I'm more surprised about how many women seem to end up with bigger feet! I had no idea. I knew that some women got swollen feet and hands during pg but I didn't know that they actually grew bigger and stayed that way.

Another weird and wonderful thing about pregnancy I guess

OP posts:
susiemj · 23/09/2007 12:30

Thanks Miss Bumpy. I can handle being a couple of inches bigger. I too was a 32 before pg and now am almost 40! I think the big increase might be because 32 is quite wee to start with? p.s. did the tennis ball thing work? It's working here .

JodieG1 · 23/09/2007 12:36

Mine never got bigger, I have very narrow hips. My ribs did widen, I think they have to to accomodate the growing baby so your lungs have room to breathe.

JodieG1 · 23/09/2007 12:36

But my ribs did go back and this is after 3 children.

Chattyhan · 23/09/2007 12:37

I lost all my pregnancy weight but found my clothes didn't fit right! i needed different styles, slightly higher waisted trousers and my general taste in clothes has changed. As for exact measurements i think my hips are slightly wider but only about 1 inch, my feet/ribs all went back to how they were!