A few facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n And:<\/strong>\u00a0the pelvic floor is very much affected even if you had a caesarean section because the weight of the baby affects the pelvic floor during pregnancy, and in the case of an emergency caesarean section you probably tried to push the baby out for many hours and went through several stages of labour as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without knowing anything about this mother’s background (pictured above) but based on my own experience, I can say the following about her:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What I can’t see, but I know can occur:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n How are the first points connected, and why do I already know so much about her? Well, I don’t actually know her \u2013 the picture was taken from the internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Skin quality depends on genes, age and hormones. Stretch marks during pregnancy are caused by the skin stretching, in combination with the pregnancy hormone relaxin which in turn affects the production of collagen and elastin \u2013 both of which are responsible for preventing stretch marks. Let’s talk about it in general terms \u2013 it doesn’t only affect women who have had a caesarean section:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There are indications that the quality of your skin is related to your pelvic floor. Weak skin tone = weak pelvic floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So to summarise \u2013 the problems, both cosmetic in terms of loose skin and functional in terms of weak muscles, are greater in unfit women who are overweight than in fit women who are not overweight. Unfit and overweight women already have stretched skin before pregnancy due to their excess weight, and lack functional strength in their core and the rest of their body. Lots of women are afraid to start exercising because they think their skin will sag even more. To be honest, yes, there’s a good chance that will happen. Stretch marks don\u2019t disappear, but they fade with time. However, investing in your health is so much more important than how your skin looks. I know, it’s such a touchy subject and I wish I could give a different answer, but I can’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, no one has ever said that fit mothers don’t get stretch marks \u2013 it’s quite common even in this group! \u2013 but with their weight under control, the problem doesn’t become so pronounced or get worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make sure the scar is dry (healed) first \u2013 this takes different amounts of time for different people. Photo<\/strong> iStockphoto<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s time for a post about caesarean sections, stomachs, extra skin and what you can do about it. NOTE! This is a very long post but I hope you\u2019ll understand…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":14772,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[275,278,274,270,106],"class_list":["post-14770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motivation","tag-abdominal-separation","tag-cesarean-section","tag-child-birth","tag-pelvic-floor","tag-aterhamtning"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/trainimal-wp\/4\/2021\/12\/Kejsarsnitt-exempel.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSkin<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The skin is also largely composed of water \u2013 it is water that makes the skin and connective tissue supple. As we get older, the water content decreases, making the connective tissue less elastic.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAbdominal separation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How do I know if my pelvic floor is weak?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
In contrast, women who are fit suffer an almost exclusively cosmetic problem \u2013 as I see it. There isn\u2019t really a functional problem, although all mothers should definitely do core & pelvic floor strengthening exercises, but a purely cosmetic problem, where the skin hasn’t had a chance to recover at a slow pace and has been tightened in a certain area. This makes excess skin much more noticeable.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat should you do if you are unfit?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What should you do if you are fit?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When can I start exercising after a caesarean section?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Generally speaking, you may feel a tightness in your scar during exercises such as glute bridges or where you move your leg backwards or do back bends (which you shouldn’t as a new mother anyway).<\/p>\n\n\n\n