Can Pregnancy Damage Your Abdominal Muscles?

You have finally reached a point where you have decided that you do not want any more children. As much as you love your kids, you want to focus on raising them, rather than having more. In addition, you have also worked hard to get your body back into shape following your pregnancies. Unfortunately, you may find that, despite countless sit-ups and crunches, you have been unable to regain that flat abdomen you had before your first pregnancy.

Damage to your abdominal muscles during your pregnancy and delivery may be the reason that you have not been able to regain a flat midsection following pregnancy. How did this happen, and what options might you have to fix that damage? Our staff at Jefferson Plastic Surgery has treated many prospective patients with this problem.

Changes to the Body during Pregnancy

During the first trimester of pregnancy, your body undergoes tremendous changes in preparation for the second and third trimesters. Part of this involves production of hormones that thin out and loosen up the normally tight connective tissue (the linea alba) between the right and left group of abdominal muscles. As this tissue stretches, there is more room available for the uterus and the fetus growing inside.

Once you have delivered your baby, your body stops producing those hormones, so the connective tissue should gradually shrink over the course of six to eight weeks after delivery. However, in some cases, the tissue becomes stretched to the point that it will not completely shrink back to its pre-pregnancy size, leaving you with a distended abdominal pouch. This condition is known as diastasis recti. If you had multiple pregnancies, carried twins or multiples, are petite, or were older when you became pregnant, you will increase your odds of developing this condition.

Treatment for Diastasis Recti

The best treatments for diastasis recti should actually start before you become pregnant. Core-strengthening exercises, such as yoga or Pilates, will provide stability and support to your abdominal muscles, linea alba, and pelvic floor. Once you become pregnant, look for ways to continue your exercises, but modified specifically for pregnancy.

You should also work on maintaining good posture. Your abdominal muscles should be engaged to hold your core upright for standing and sitting, so that you do not slouch or slump through your midsection. This will also help strengthen your abdominal muscles and linea alba, as well as help reduce lower back pain that can be common during the third trimester of pregnancy.

If you are still unhappy with the shape of your abdomen, a tummy tuck cosmetic surgical procedure may help you reach your goal of attaining a pre-pregnancy shape. This procedure is designed to remove excess skin and underlying abdominal tissue, as well as tighten up loose abdominal muscles. Your surgeon will start by making a horizontal incision from one hipbone across to the other, following your panty line. The skin and tissue are then lift, the underlying muscles are tightened up, the skin and tissue are repositioned with the excess removed, and then everything is sutured back into place.