The Body Changes After Giving Birth No One Tells You About

It’s only natural for your body to go through some significant changes while you’re expecting. It is something every mom-to-be is prepared for, but what happens to your body after you give birth? We asked fresh moms to be brutally honest and tell us about the problems they’re struggling with.

The only certain thing you can bet on is that your body will never be the same. Is this betting a sin? You shouldn’t feel bad for thinking about this. After all, you have to be in good shape and healthy for your baby. With that in mind, let’s break the silence and tell you the truth about your new mom body. This way, you can come up with a good plan for dealing with these issues before the changes happen.

Abbs

You’ll notice one of many changes in your abbs — they may never be the same. After childbirth, you may experience diastasis recti. This means your abdominal muscles separate, which can cause a ‘pooch’ or a ‘mummy tummy.’ This issue may be fixed by enrolling in some fitness programs; however, many doctors claim the only true solution is to have surgery. You have three options here — go under the knife, join the gym, or get used to it.

Hair

Another thing to remember is the fact that your hair quality might change for good. During pregnancy, many women experience hair loss. Sometimes, this problem can pass on its own, but in most cases, the hair never really recovers. Some moms noticed that besides the issue with volume, they experienced changes in texture. This goes both for thickness and texture — some women recover just fine, while others struggle and have to visit dermatologists and hair stylists frequently.

Bladder

This is one of the most frustrating changes, since you may partly lose control over how, when, and where you pee. Now, we are not saying you have to wear a diaper all the time, but you can experience a few drops leaking while you’re running or laughing or when you sneeze. This is the result of ‘stress incontinence.’ However, there have been cases where the exact reverse thing happened — some women had had a problem with a small bladder and had to pee every half an hour, and this changed after pregnancy.

C-section Scar

Many moms think of their c-section scar as a badge of honor and take pride in it. Still, the mark is placed so low that the sun never gets to check it out. Sometimes, you can actually feel the itching sensation down there, years after it’s fully healed, like phantom pain. In the first couple of years, the scar can be deep red or purple.

Tattoos

Do you happen to have tattoos or piercings on your stomach? At the time you decided to make them, you probably didn’t think a lot about how they would look after your skin stretches. Let’s be honest — they will never look quite the same after carrying a new life in your belly.

Feet

Compared to your old self, or your pre-mommy life, your feet may go through some changes. However, this may only be a temporary state, so that’s good news. It’s actually a common thing for your feet to enlarge during pregnancy. They are likely to go back to normal after a couple of months.

Vaginal Tearing

This is a ‘hot’ topic on many baby showers. Is this just a myth? Sadly, it’s an ugly reality. Tearing does happen to most women. Will this state remain permanent? It depends on a person, but it’s likely to go away after a couple of months, and you can always talk to your doctor to see if you can help the process of healing.

Menstrual Cycle

You got used to your period and the mood swings you get while in PMS. Well, there is a great possibility that this will change after the baby arrives. Sometimes, the flow can become very heavy. Some moms even report their flow becomes so heavy that their regular tampons are no longer sufficient, so they have to switch to a combination of a menstrual cup and pads.

Did all of this scare you? Well, don’t be scared. All of the things we listed above are something every woman goes through on her motherhood journey. And many of these changes are reversible if you have a big enough desire to get back in shape. Besides, is there a feeling that compares to hearing your little bun cry for the very first time? You are giving the world another part of yourself and should be goddamn proud of it! Remember, you are not the only woman going through these issues.