Postpartum belly fat: Why new mothers need a different approach to losing abdominal weight

Postpartum belly bulge is not always excess fat. Read on to learn what Dr Priyanka Sharma says about diastasis recti, exercise, breastfeeding and healthy weight loss.

New Delhi: Losing weight after pregnancy is often treated as a straightforward goal, but a postpartum abdominal bulge is not always simply excess belly fat. Pregnancy can stretch abdominal muscles and connective tissues, while factors such as diastasis recti, changes in muscle tone, bloating and, in some cases, a hernia can affect how the abdomen looks and feels after delivery. The approach to postpartum weight loss may also need to account for the type of delivery, breastfeeding, sleep deprivation, pelvic-floor health and overall recovery.

Dr Priyanka Sharma, Senior Consultant – Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Cocoon Hospital, Chandigarh, explains to News9 Digital why new mothers should not automatically associate a persistent abdominal bulge with weight gain, how pregnancy changes the abdominal wall, why certain exercises may aggravate symptoms and what a safe return to exercise can look like.

Postpartum belly is not always excess fat

A visible abdominal bulge after delivery can have several causes. “No. A postpartum abdominal bulge is not necessarily caused by excess fat. It may result from subcutaneous fat, visceral fat, diastasis recti, stretched connective tissues, bloating or, less commonly, an abdominal or umbilical hernia,”........

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