Improve Your Post Pregnancy Body
Having children is wonderful. They can bring so much joy and meaning to your life.
But let’s be honest – pregnancy and delivering babies can do a serious number on the body. Maybe you were fortunate enough to have ascribed to a strict prenatal exercise regimen and diet so that your pregnancy didn’t impact you as much.
If you’re like the majority of women, however, you may be dealing with weight gain, a distended abdomen, and stretch marks that affect your confidence, self-esteem, and overall well-being.
So how can you improve your post pregnancy body?
Will Diet and Exercise Help?
Given the extensive list of benefits, nobody would ever discourage sticking with a healthy diet and getting regular exercise.
On that list of benefits is weight loss. And with attention to a low-fat diet and moderate exercise, you may be able to lose some of the weight you gained around the waist and thighs due to pregnancy.
But unless you’re genetically blessed, diet and exercise alone will not have an impact on stretch marks. These are the result of overstretched collagen and once collagen is overstretched, it cannot simply snap back. It’s rather like a Slinky.
Furthermore, if you find that your strict diet and exercise routine is not flattening your abdomen to pre-pregnancy levels, you could be dealing with a common condition called diastasis recti.
What Is Diastasis Recti?
Scary as it sounds, diastasis recti happens in a majority of childbearing women.
When the uterus expands outward, it can cause the abdominal muscles to stretch so as to accommodate the baby. When the connective tissue is overstretched, the abdominal muscles actually separate.
While for some women the gap closes postpartum, for others, this is not the case. And if the gap exceeds 1.5 cm, it can only be corrected with abdominoplasty.
Abdominoplasty – the doctorly term for a tummy tuck – is a surgical procedure that reconstructs the abdominal wall musculature while reducing excessive fat and skin around the abdomen. It is a major component of a full mommy makeover.
The Wonders of a Tummy Tuck
A post pregnancy abdomen that’s been subjected to diastasis recti lacks the ability to stabilize the core. A tummy tuck procedure will tighten weak and distended muscles to improve abdominal tone and reconstruct the functional component of the abdomen to relieve back hygiene and core function.
But here’s another big plus: a tummy tuck also removes stretch marks.
Furthermore, if an umbilical hernia is encountered during a tummy tuck surgery, it can be corrected simultaneously with the repair of diastasis. Strengthening and restructuring the abdominal wall also decreases the likelihood of another hernia forming and requiring emergency surgery.
A tummy tuck may also be indicated for women with Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) issues caused by an overstretched, weakened, or damaged pelvic floor as a result of pregnancy. During the procedure, a board-certified plastic surgeon uses soft tissue near the pelvic area to create a slight bladder obstruction. The result is a clear reduction in incontinence.
And finally, having a tummy tuck will increase your exercise tolerance because removing excess skin and strengthening the abdominal muscles makes exercise easier. You’ll not only be able to get back to your pre-pregnancy exercise routines, but you’ll regain that lost confidence and self-esteem too.
Improve Your Post Pregnancy Body With a Tummy Tuck
In so many cases, there is no amount of diet and exercise that improves the post pregnancy destruction that can happen.
Accepting the ravages of pregnancy doesn’t have to be the trade-off for having kids though. With an amazingly effective procedure like a tummy tuck, you can improve your post pregnancy body without majorly interrupting your life.
Contact us today for a free consultation with our surgeons. And find out how a tummy tuck can help you get a flatter belly, firmer skin, and renewed confidence.