How to Get Rid of Your Baby Pooch

You gave birth months ago, maybe even longer, but no matter how much you diet and exercise you just can't get rid of that baby pooch. First of all, cut yourself some slack. Having a baby is a lot of work and requires so much from your body. You've done an incredible thing and deserve time to relax and love your new role as a mother and celebrate your body and the awesome thing it's just done. Still, that pooch can be uncomfortable and frustrating. More interestingly it might be a condition called Diastasis Rectus Abdominis, which can be helped with physical therapy. 

Diastasis Rectus Abdominis is when the space between your abdominal muscles stretch to make room for your growing baby and never make their way back together. Likely if you're experiencing this you are having difficulty lifting heavy objects, or your baby, because of the extra strain this puts on your belly muscles. You need to be delicate and move with care if you're working with this separation of abdominal muscles and a few visits with a physical therapist can help you change movement patters and start strengthening your abdominal wall. 

The trick with this condition is fighting the urge to over-exercise because you want to flatten out your "pooch." Many forms of exercise can actually make this abdominal separation much, much worse. You'll want to work with a physical therapist on specifically tailored and closely supervised exercises to heal your Diastasis Rectus Abdominis so you can finally move forward with getting your post-baby body back.