Generally, if the muscles are going to heal on their own, they will within three months of birth. If you are several months postpartum, it's likely that your diastasis recti is here to stay. Some women have had success using targeted exercises to help the muscles move closer together.
It often takes six to nine months to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight. But it can take a lot longer, even 10 months to two years, especially if a woman gained 35 pounds or more during her pregnancy.
Thankfully, abdominoplasty can repair diastasis recti and the resulting pooch, and any loose skin and fat can be removed through surgery, as well. For many women, a mommy makeover can be a helpful way to restore or repair any physical changes that have occurred as a result of pregnancy or childbirth.
“A small number of women will be able to get a flat stomach again, but for the majority, it may take a lot of time or not happen at all,” says Alissa Rumsey, R.D., certified strength and conditioning coach and spokesperson for the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Pregnancy can bring lots of changes to your skin. Most of them disappear after delivery, but sometimes there's loose skin left behind. Skin is made of collagen and elastin, so it expands with weight gain. Once stretched, skin may have trouble returning to its original shape.
To lose stomach overhang you have to burn fat cells in both the fat you can see directly under the skin and also the more dangerous fat that you can't see that surrounds your organs. Cardio such as swimming, aerobics, running or dancing will burn this excess fat store.
The most common way to get rid of a C-section overhang is with an Abdominoplasty procedure, often known as a Tummy Tuck. A tummy tuck procedure with an expert MYA surgeon will remove excess skin or fat, unwanted scars, stretch marks and tighten the stomach muscles, to create the appearance of a flatter stomach.
The Diastasis Recti
During pregnancy, the abdominal muscles responsible for a "six pack" stretch apart (left) to accommodate a growing fetus. After birth, the muscles don't always bounce back, leaving a gap known as the mommy pooch.
During pregnancy, the muscles stretch to accommodate the growing fetus. The connective tissue between the abdominal muscles can thin and weaken, and that can lead to a bulge in your belly. That post-pregnancy bulge is commonly known as a "mommy pooch" or "mommy-tummy" and it will not go away with diet and exercise.
Women who give birth via cesarean section are often left with a pouch of excess skin above their scar, commonly referred to as a c-section pooch or c-shelf. Since everyone heals differently, it can't be predicted whether or not a c-shelf will develop and, if it does, if it will fade naturally.
While the scar itself will diminish over time, the shelf won't go away on its own. The leftover tissue from your cesarean section may leave you feeling insecure. If you're considering a Tummy Tuck, Liposuction, or other procedure, here's what you need to know.
It's impossible to spot treat an apron belly. The only ways to reduce one are through overall weight reduction and surgical/non-surgical options.
For some women, this scar tissue can't be removed with exercise or diet changes alone (which may mean surgery is the only way to completely eliminate a postpartum pouch). For others, following an exercise program and focusing on core exercises can be enough to flatten the appearance of this pouch.
It really depends on the elasticity of a woman's skin, how much it stretched during her pregnancy, and postpartum weight loss, Pivarnik says. “There are plenty of fit women who don't have tight abdominal skin to start with,” he says.
C-Sections and CoolSculpting
Some women are able to reduce or even eliminate this pouch through diet and exercise; others may not be so fortunate. The good news is that CoolSculpting is able to reduce this pouch in most cases substantially.
Previous research has hinted that babies delivered by c-section fail to acquire some of the microbes from their mothers that vaginally delivered children gain. This observation has led some parents to swab infants born by c-section with vaginal fluids, in an attempt to restore any missing microbes.
Manual scar tissue mobilization and cupping can help to minimize the shelf-like appearance. Both techniques essentially lift and move tissues that are stuck which can reduce the indentation and thus minimize “shelf.”
In most c-sections, the bladder and intestines are moved aside so the ob-gyn can keep them safely out of the way while delivering the baby and repairing the uterine incision. Those organs won't be moved outside the body, though.
Your postpartum belly won't instantly go back to how it was before you were pregnant – it's a process that can take months or even years, while some bellies may take on a different shape permanently. Some moms may experience a bulge caused by diastasis recti, a separation of the abdominal muscles during pregnancy.
After the baby is no longer inside your body, your body will work to naturally get rid of that extra fat, but it might take a few weeks before you see results. Think of it this way - it took a full nine months for your stomach to stretch enough to accommodate your baby's growth.
It's never too late to repair your diastasis recti. With the proper exercises, you can fix your ab separation years after you've delivered your last baby.
For many women with prolonged or severe diastasis recti, it's much more than a cosmetic concern. The weakened abdominal and pelvic muscles can lead to difficulty exercising, lower back pain, incontinence, constipation, and painful intercourse. The tissue can also tear, causing a hernia.
The most common symptom of diastasis recti is a pooch or bulge in your stomach, especially when you strain or contract your abdominal muscles. Additional symptoms include: lower back pain. poor posture.
In most cases, recti diastasis usually heals on its own over a postpartum period of 6 weeks to 3 months.