Photo Credit
Your body goes through a lot of changes during pregnancy, so you shouldn’t expect it to return completely to normal after you’ve given birth. There will be certain things about your body that will remain changed even after your baby is born, so continue reading to discover what you should expect.
Vaginal Changes
After giving birth, your vagina may look very different than it did before you got pregnant. The skin may be tender and stretched following delivery, and physical changes in the skin surrounding your vagina could also become apparent. Thankfully, there are many experts, such as David Ghozland, who can perform a vaginoplasty to get your skin to look more youthful and tighter after you’ve had children.
Belly Changes
Your belly grew substantially while you were pregnant, so you should not expect that your belly will go back to its pre-pregnancy size right away. It could take anywhere from six to eight weeks before your uterus returns to its normal size, so your belly will need quite a bit of time to tighten up again. Focus on eating right and exercising, including exercising your core, to help tone up the baby bulge that remains after you have given birth. And, most importantly, be patient.
Leg Changes
Your lower body can also be affected by your pregnancy. Your legs, in particular, may be swollen and puffy during your pregnancy, and that will go away rather quickly after you have given birth. But some women will end up experiencing twitching in the legs after they have their baby. Also, the varicose veins and spider veins that may have developed during your pregnancy may never completely go away.
Urinary and Bowel Changes
When you were pregnant, you had a baby pressing up against your bladder, so you felt the need to urinate more often. Without that pressure, you will not be urinating as often anymore, but the pressure that is put on the urethra while delivering a baby could make post-pregnancy urination harder. You might develop a urinary tract infection or incontinence. Also, constipation may continue being a problem even after you’ve given birth, and hemorrhoids or an episiotomy might make your bowel movements painful.
Breast Changes
While you are pregnant, your breasts will become larger, and they will also be sore and swollen from all of the milk they have produced for a couple of days after you give birth. It will take about four days for the swelling to go down, unless you are breastfeeding. Then what you will likely notice is that your breasts start to sag because their skin has been stretched. Following your pregnancy and breastfeeding, you may even notice that your breasts become smaller by about a cup size.
In addition to the bodily changes listed above, there are other ways in which a woman’s body will transform during and after pregnancy. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions regarding what you should expect and what is considered normal so that you can put your mind at ease.
