Experienced mothers know that returning to their pre-pregnancy shape or weight is a tedious, though not impossible task. It takes time and effort, plus a lot of determination and self discipline.

Regaining your figure is a problem even for women who don’t gain a lot of weight. No one comes out of the delivery room looking slimmer than when they went in, except for a few very lucky ones. Part of the reason for that protruding abdomen after birth is the still-enlarged uterus. Another reason is the leftover fluids and the stretched-out abdominal muscles and skin, which may sag for a lifetime unless a concerted effort is made.

Easing Into Exercise

As a general rule, it is best to wait six weeks before returning to a strenous exercise routine. But if you gave birth vaginally with no complications, you can start a simple regimen such as daily walking a few days after giving birth. Six weeks after an uncomplicated birth, you can begin more vigorous exercises such as swimming, jogging or even weightlifting.

For women who have had a Caesarean section, they will need more time to rest before working up to a normal routine within three months. They also have to be extra cautious about resuming abdominal exercises and should consult their doctor before starting any exercise regime.

The following ground rules for postpartum exercises are targeted at healthy women who have had uncomplicated vaginal deliveries:

• Start each exercise with a warm-up.
• Keep your exercise session brief and frequent rather than one long session recovery time.
• Take short rests between exercises (the muscle build-up occurs then, not while you are in motion).
• Don’t exercise more than recommended, even if you feel you can.
• Quit before you feel tired. If you overdo it, you may develop a dislike for exercise or be unable to exercise again.
• Do not do knee-chest exercises, full sit-ups or double leg lifts during the six-week postpartum period.

The skin is the largest organ in the body and is composed of superimposed layers. The epidermis, the outer protective tissue, is in a state of constant renewal, cells divide and migrate, differ and die. The dead skin falls off, leaving the fresher under-layer. When the connective tissues break down, stretchmarks begin to appear.

Stretchmarks result from an impairing of the connective tissue fibres in the dermis. They can occur anywhere that rapid or excessive growth of either fat or muscle exceeds the elastic properties of the skin. They are likely to appear on the abdomen, buttocks and thighs. The marks may first appear as pink, purple or red stripes on the skin. As they age they become lighter, until they finally whiten.

The Lines of Pregnancy

About 50% of the pregnant women have reddish, slightly depressed skin markings, called striae gravidarum (the “lines of pregnancy”). These are present on the skin of the abdomen and sometimes on the breast and thighs by the third trimester. After delivery these markings gradually change to silvery colored lines which shrink down as the contracting abdominal and breast skin firm up. These are “permanent” scar or stretchmarks of the pregnancy. Their cause is unknown. There is no way to either prevent or eliminate them completely, and creams and ointments sold for this purpose cannot alleviate the problem altogether but mainly function by lightening the marks.

In many women (primarily those with dark hair and complexion), the skin of the midline of the abdomen becomes pigmented from the pubic bone to close to the tip of the breast bone. The dark line curves around the unbilicus. Neither the cause nor the significance of this line is known, and it rapidly disappears after delivery.

Other Skin Marks

It is quite common in pregnancy for brown patches to appear on the face and neck. They are known as chloasma or the “mask of pregnancy”. They usually disappear after giving birth.

In Caucasians in particular, tiny red spots commonly appear on the face, the neck, the upper chest and arms. On inspection with a magnifying lens, each red dot is seen to consist of several tiny blood vessels branching from a central feeder. If pressure is gently applied to the center with, for example, the point of a pencil, the entire network is deprived of its blood supply and blanches. These are “spider hemangiomas”, as they are sometimes called, and are believed to be related to increased estrogen levels during pregnancy.

Why some women have these spots and others do not, is not understood, and their significance is not known. They usually disappear sfter birth. Another transient skin change is redness of the palms. Like “spiders”, this redness is believed to be related to the estrogen levels. Its significance is unknown and the phenomenon disappears after delivery.

The deep layer of the skin which is less supple cracks when overstretched resulting in blue-red stretch-marks that fade into silvery streaks with time but they will remind the woman of her first pregnancy.

These marks develop over the breasts, abdomen, derriere and thighs of over 75% of women and no amount of oil will make an obvious difference. the only preventive measure is perhaps, to watch one’s diet as stretch-marks tend to appear in over-weight women.

Suggested Weight Gain During Pregnancy

For a typical woman of average weight-for-height ratio before pregnancy, the suggested weight gain is around 11 to 16 kg (about 20 to 35 lbs). An underweight woman should aim for 13 to 18 kg weight gain. For an overweight woman, the suggested range is 7 to 11 kg. As a precaution, all women should discuss appropriate weight gain and a proper nutritional schedule with their doctors.

Weight Loss After Birth

In the first 3 months of pregnancy, most woman gain only about 1 to 2 kg of weight. After that, the average weight gain is nearly half a kilogram (kg) per week. When the child is born, most women lose 5 to 6 kg immediately after delivery. The extra weight that was put on can generally be lost within a year, with good nutrition and normal activity. Read this article for tips on shaping-up after birth.