Body changes after baby

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First at 31, second at 34. Currently 9 months PP with #2. I'm 5'6 and same exact weight as when I conceived (124) but body feels very different. Way more flabby, especially my stomach. I had a big perky booty which is definitely flatter now. My C cups went to saggy B's. Stretch marks on my hips, a varicose vein behind my knee. Lost a ton of hair post-partum with my second, which is slooowwwllly re-growing but looks insane because it's sticking STRAIGHT up around my temples and part where the new growth is sprouting.

My husband wants a third. Me, not so much. Not sure I want to find out what's gonna happen with another pregnancy!

I declined a fourth pregnancy because the varicose veins get much worse with each subsequent pregnancy. No thank you!

[Anonymous]

I had two c sections at 41 and 43. I am 5’10” and only 5 lbs from pre baby weight. I still look 4 months pregnant five years after my first. Definitely wider ribcage and pooch. Also tilted pelvis / posture thing pp mentioned.

[Anonymous]

C sections are rough on your body

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:C sections are rough on your body

Yes but my hips didn’t spread at all and I wonder if it’s bevause I didn’t deliver a baby through the birth canal.

[Anonymous]

Mine went back to normal after 2 kids but it took a lot of time, like 3 years, probably because I nursed for a very long time. The only long term change is that I have to wear tampons now. By the way I nursed each child for 3 years and my boobs are the same - 30 E and no sagging. Breast changes happen because of pregnancy and no nursing / pumping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:C sections are rough on your body

Yes but my hips didn’t spread at all and I wonder if it’s bevause I didn’t deliver a baby through the birth canal.

Same here and had the same wonder! Also, c sections aren’t that bad on your body. The only lasting effect for me was some scar tissue that would be painful once a month around my period, after my second c section.

[Anonymous]

Same. Hips, bigger. Ribcage, wider. My feet are a half size longer, and a letter grade wider. Oh, and my nipples are those lovely pencil erasers. But the ones that you can screw out and make extra long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My small boobs got even smaller.

SAME. Omg they're seriously tiny

Weird. My boobs became even bigger...C to d cup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:C sections are rough on your body

But do you have hemorrhoids? Stretched out vagina? Pee a bit when you sneeze?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:C sections are rough on your body

But do you have hemorrhoids? Stretched out vagina? Pee a bit when you sneeze?

...nope! Nope! And also no, but...sneezing when you pee is generally from pelvic floor weakness caused by pregnancy itself, not delivery. Will add that lots of people (including several friends I know who had c sections) get hemorrhoids DURING pregnancy, not from pushing (and the majority of people who push don't get hemorrhoids).

PP's hip-spreading theory is also wrong, that happens during pregnancy. It happens to some people, and not to others - genetics, mainly.

Try not to be so aggressive and defensive, it makes you sound like you're not at peace with your own decisions. Finally, for all we know PP's "c sections are rough on your body" was in response to the actual question asked

[Anonymous]

Ribcage is wider
Feet half a size bigger
Breasts are smaller (and flatter)
Already thick waist is thicker

But no stretch marks and good pelvic floor and abs, so I'll take it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:C sections are rough on your body

But do you have hemorrhoids? Stretched out vagina? Pee a bit when you sneeze?

Would you like it if I asked "Byt do you have an unsightly permanent scar? Do you have a fatty shelf?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:C sections are rough on your body

But do you have hemorrhoids? Stretched out vagina? Pee a bit when you sneeze?

...nope! Nope! And also no, but...sneezing when you pee is generally from pelvic floor weakness caused by pregnancy itself, not delivery. Will add that lots of people (including several friends I know who had c sections) get hemorrhoids DURING pregnancy, not from pushing (and the majority of people who push don't get hemorrhoids).

PP's hip-spreading theory is also wrong, that happens during pregnancy. It happens to some people, and not to others - genetics, mainly.

Try not to be so aggressive and defensive, it makes you sound like you're not at peace with your own decisions. Finally, for all we know PP's "c sections are rough on your body" was in response to the actual question asked

Absolutely NOT TRUE that this is "generally" the case. Vaginal delivery is the culprit. Massive trauma to the pelvic floor and levator ani in particular. But I understand there's a lot of misinformation out there. Even medical providers don't know what the hell they are talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:C sections are rough on your body

But do you have hemorrhoids? Stretched out vagina? Pee a bit when you sneeze?

...nope! Nope! And also no, but...sneezing when you pee is generally from pelvic floor weakness caused by pregnancy itself, not delivery. Will add that lots of people (including several friends I know who had c sections) get hemorrhoids DURING pregnancy, not from pushing (and the majority of people who push don't get hemorrhoids).

PP's hip-spreading theory is also wrong, that happens during pregnancy. It happens to some people, and not to others - genetics, mainly.

Try not to be so aggressive and defensive, it makes you sound like you're not at peace with your own decisions. Finally, for all we know PP's "c sections are rough on your body" was in response to the actual question asked

Absolutely NOT TRUE that this is "generally" the case. Vaginal delivery is the culprit. Massive trauma to the pelvic floor and levator ani in particular. But I understand there's a lot of misinformation out there. Even medical providers don't know what the hell they are talking about.

Eh, the pelvic floor PT I saw for a check up said that it's severe tearing, episiotomies, or instrumental delivery that increase risk for lasting pelvic floor damage following vaginal deliveries. I know that's still many women, but it's far from everyone. I'm another who didn't have C-sections and also has no lasting pelvic floor damage (or wider hips, or hemorrhoids). There's misinformation on both sides.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:sneezing when you pee is generally from pelvic floor weakness caused by pregnancy itself, not delivery.

Alas, no. There are several studies that show that women who gave birth vaginally have a higher rate of incontinence, years later.

From https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26760002

"One third of the interviewees complained of some type of urinary incontinence, and half of them presented stress urinary incontinence. Cesarean section, only when not preceded by contractions, was not associated with stress urinary incontinence. The body mass index is only relevant when the stress factor is present."

From http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa021788

"The risk of urinary incontinence is higher among women who have had cesarean sections than among nulliparous women and is even higher among women who have had vaginal deliveries."

From https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3681820/

"Parity is a known risk factor for stress incontinence. Primiparous women have three times higher prevalence of stress incontinence than their age-matched nulliparous controls [8], and risk of stress incontinence surgery increases with increased parity [9?]. Recent evidence suggests that mode of delivery has a significant impact. In a retrospective cohort study of parous women, the odds of bothersome symptoms of SUI doubled among women who had experienced at least one vaginal birth compared with women who delivered exclusively via cesarean "

and so on.