The Best Way to Tighten Loose Skin After Pregnancy

Congratulations on your new baby! Now that he or she is in your arms, you may have noticed that your body has changed in many ways. It can be disheartening to see that even after your baby is here, your belly is still bulging. Despite what you may think from watching TV shows where new moms are magically back to their pre-pregnancy weight immediately after giving birth, it takes a lot of time to get rid of your “pregnancy pooch.” A pregnancy pooch is the sagging skin on your belly. How fast your skin tightens usually depends on how active you were during your pregnancy, but other factors play a part too like your genes and bone structure, how much weight you gained, etc. Here are some ways to tighten your belly after giving birth.

STICK TO THE BASICS

There are many tummy exercises after pregnancy that will help you eliminate the pregnancy pouch. As you ease back into it, start slowly and don't push yourself too hard. Begin with pelvic tilts and simple ab contractions: Lie down on your back with your knees bent, feet on the floor. Slowly tighten your abs and tilt your pelvis toward your head. Tighten the pelvic floor as you do this.

As you become more comfortable, start working some basic crunches into your routine. With your back on the floor, put your feet on the floor, knees bent, and place your hands behind your neck to support your head. Press your lower back into the floor, engage your abdominals, then lift your head and shoulders off the ground. Repeat 10–15 times. As you become stronger, add difficulty (lift your feet off the floor during reps, for example) and variations (like tilting your legs to the side and reaching for the opposite knee as you come up to tone the oblique muscles on the sides of your torso). Working different muscles is essential for losing that belly fat after pregnancy.

An exercise ball is a great tool for tummy exercises after pregnancy. Ball crunches work like regular crunches, but you'll be adding the element of balance, which makes your moves a bit more challenging. If crunches just aren't your thing or you want more of an overall workout, try yoga or Pilates, both of which place an emphasis on a strong core.

WHAT IF YOU HAVE HAD A C-SECTION?

After giving birth via cesarean section, you may have a c-section pooch. If you’re not familiar with this term, a C-section pooch refers to any extra skin or fat that gathers above the bikini incision line after a C-section. Many women find this bulge to be resistant to diet and exercise, which can be very frustrating. While following a healthy diet and committing to regular physical activity can help reduce the C-section pooch to some extent, the depth of C-section scars makes this area of excess skin and fat particularly challenging to reduce. Treatments that only address the surface of the skin and fat, such as laser, liposuction, freezing of fat, or injections beneath the skin, will not correct the C-section pooch. Phoenix plastic surgeon Dr. Larry C. Leverett, M.D., FACS, shares that fabulous results can be achieved with abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) with limited liposuction and that “lesser attempts are likely to be wasted money, time, and effort”. Dr. Teitelbaum agrees that the C-section pooch is very straightforward to repair, either on its own or in combination with some sort of a tummy tuck. The surgeon can also contribute to the overall appearance of the scar that will inevitably appear after this procedure. Dr. Teitelbaum explains that it’s very important for a surgeon to make a clean, perpendicular incision and be extremely gentle with the edges. By avoiding trauma during surgery, the amount of damaged tissue will be minimized, resulting in a narrow wound that should heal into a clean, straight scar.

Plastic surgery can be the answer for many women who are frustrated with the appearance of their C-section pooch and want to regain their pre-pregnancy bodies. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that while plastic surgery will correct the underlying issue (the improperly healed fascia), there will still be noticeable scarring on the skin, as is the case after any surgical procedure. This is where NewGel+ can help. NewGel+ provides you with a line of high-quality, clinically proven silicone gel scar treatment products. In fact, NewGel+ offers the widest variety of silicone gel products available, including sheets, strips, shapes, and two tube sizes of topical silicone gel. Our silicone strips, sheets, and gel are perfect for tummy tuck scars. Unlike products found in pharmacies that are only a few inches long, the variety of lengths offered by NewGel+ provide plenty of options for the coverage you need. Plus, the strips can be cut to fit whatever size scar you have. If plastic surgery is your answer to get rid of your C-section pooch once and for all, trust NewGel+ for your post-op scars to reduce, flatten, and fade scar appearance.