During pregnancy, the belly stretches to unbelievable proportions. After delivering their babies, women may be shocked by the loose skin that remains on their tummies. They may not understand that having loose skin is normal after pregnancy, they should not feel ashamed about it.
However, the loose skin may make them uncomfortable, clothing may not fit as well and the loose skin may cause infection or irritation of the skin. In addition, it can affect one’s self-esteem. The following guide can help women prevent and tighten sagging skin after delivering their bundles of joy.
Causes of Sagging Skin after Delivery
From the time a child is born, their skin constantly grows, stretches, and changes over time. In case the skin gets some injuries, it heals itself and rarely leaves marks behind. The skin also regulates the body temperature. Adults have enough elastin and collagen that enables the skin to expand during pregnancy.
After pregnancy, it may be impossible for women to retain the size and shape of their bellies as they were before the pregnancy. However, they should not despair. There are several things they can do to prevent and tighten loose belly skin after delivery.
How to Tighten Sagging Skin after Delivery
Pregnant women and those who have already given birth should consider as many of the following pointers as they can in order to get rid of their sagging tummy skin.
1. Consume Healthy Meals
Pregnant women and those that have just given birth should always eat healthy diets for their loose skin to regain its elasticity. It will also enable their skin to get the necessary nutrients for it to remain healthy. They should include fruits, leafy vegetables, and other beneficial nutrients in their diets since they improve the skin’s health.
They should also consume foods that contain healthy fats such as nuts, avocado, and seafood since they are suitable for the excellent health of the skin. Foods such as eggs and white meat are good protein sources, and provide for healthy skin.
2. Always Stay Hydrated
Women should always stay hydrated during pregnancy and after delivery since drinking enough fluids enables them to have good health and healthy skin, they should drink around eight glasses of water each day. They also need to consume water-rich fruits since they help the skin retain its moisture and increase elasticity.
3. Exercise Routinely
After delivery, women should embrace a healthy lifestyle since it contributes to healthy skin. It is always advisable for women to speak to healthcare professionals before engaging in any fitness activities.This is because they should not engage in activities such as running and jumping before their pelvic muscles recover entirely.
When the doctor has given the go-ahead, one can engage in cardio exercises to improve their skin elasticity. They may go for walks, dance, jog, ride bikes, hike, or do any other activity that could help them exercise. One should choose the exercises they enjoy doing, most fitness activities will tighten the loose skin around the tummy.
4. Consider Getting Non-Surgical Procedures
The medical sector has different non-surgical procedures that women can choose to tighten loose skin after pregnancy. Although the treatments produce excellent results, they require time for going to appointments and working on the procedures. They may also be expensive, and the women may need to redo the procedures later since the results may not last forever.
Women who consider the non-surgical procedures should do extensive research before settling on any of them. Some of them have side effects that the women could avoid if they opted for natural options such as keeping fit and eating healthy. They should also consult their doctors concerning the best treatment they should use on their sagging bellies.
It may never be possible for women to remove the evidence that they were pregnant at one time. However, there are several things they can do before and after delivery to tighten the loose skin around their belly. They should consume healthy diets, drink enough fluids, engage in some exercises, non-surgical procedures, among other things, to restore their firm belly skin. Although they may never have the kind of belly skin they had before the pregnancy, they should always appreciate that the belly held their adorable baby.
Taylor Haskings is a freelance writer born in Denver, Colorado. She graduated with a bachelor’s in English from the University of Colorado, Denver. She enjoys hiking in the Colorado Rockies and loves the fine arts, such as playing the violin. Her true strengths include networking with others, and expressing herself through the written word.
