Every young mother thinks about the same or even better figure after childbirth. But often, only girls who have given birth experience a more alarming problem - an umbilical hernia, which begins to develop at 8-9 months of pregnancy.
How to remove the belly button after childbirth if it hurts and interferes with a full life? In most cases, this pathology does not require surgical intervention.
- However, if the disease starts, you cannot do without surgery. It is important to contact a surgeon in time by visiting him at the nearest clinic
- Most often, doctors prescribe treatment using simple remedies and exercises for the navel.
The symptoms are obvious
When the belly button hurts after childbirth, it aches, and it itself is significantly enlarged in size, stretched, protrudes and greatly interferes with putting on jeans and skirts, this clearly indicates disorders associated with a hernia.
Every third woman in labor suffers from this problem. For most young mothers, the navel returns to normal on the second day after birth.
- If it bothers you, grows and protrudes strongly, you should pay close attention to this and tell your treating gynecologist.
He will decide whether in this situation it is worth referring the woman to another specialist or whether standard methods of getting rid of an umbilical hernia can be used.
Having become acquainted with photos of the navel in women after childbirth, you can draw conclusions about the condition of your own abdominal area. If among the pictures there are images that strongly resemble your navel, you need to consult a doctor.
The navel is almost normal, but the belly is still large
Immediately after childbirth, a woman’s belly is the size of the fifth month of pregnancy. It returns to normal within a month. In some cases, this takes 1.5-2 months. But at the same time, you should wear a bandage and follow the correct diet.
In order not to gain weight even more, to lose weight gradually, you should not eat in huge portions, and exclude fried and fatty foods. Yes, you will have to forget about your favorite fried potatoes at 8 pm, no fries, no fast food.
Food should be steamed, boiled, or baked. It is important to include in the diet all types of vegetables (but less potatoes), dairy products, fruits, meat, cereals, greens (but not cereals with milk or with sugar or butter).
During this period, you should not give preference to pasta, sweets, and baked goods. You need to eat less bread, drinking carbonated sweet water and a lot of coffee is contraindicated.
Causes of a growing navel
Often the pierced navel increases in size. After childbirth, it becomes inflamed and hurts. But this picture is not observed for everyone.
- Among the reasons why a hernia forms is the prenatal activity of the woman’s body.
In recent months, the uterus develops very intensively. It increases significantly in size and puts great pressure not only on all neighboring organs, but especially on the anterior abdominal wall, where the navel is located.
- His muscles are constantly tense, and a hernia appears.
Why did he turn dark?
There is another problem that besets a number of women: a black navel after childbirth. Doctors attribute this phenomenon to the occurrence of pigmentation.
This is due to a sharp hormonal change in the body. It's no secret that during and after pregnancy, many young mothers develop pigment spots on different areas of the skin.
Unstable hormones also lead to the appearance of stretch marks. When carrying a baby, a woman can rapidly gain weight from month to month, and quickly lose what she has gained after giving birth.
As a result, vertical and horizontal white stripes form on the stomach and thighs. These are stretch marks. They look very unfavorable on the beach, and it is almost impossible to get rid of them with the help of massage or creams.
- As for the dark navel, pigmentation often disappears on its own, six months after birth.
If this does not happen, you should consult a surgeon for advice. In this case, it is often recommended to carry out cosmetic procedures using hardware systems (laser, photoepilation).
What are the dangers of a hernia?
The umbilical tissues are pinched. Often, part of the intestine will end up in the umbilical ring. Without access to oxygen, some areas atrophy, and the intestines no longer work as they should.
This requires surgery, but after surgery in 99% of cases the hernia does not return. But if there is a tendency to navel pathologies, a woman should pay more attention to the way she exercises.
There is no need to lift weights, you should avoid significant physical activity. When playing sports, you need to increase the intensity of your training gradually.
Treatment
Correcting the navel after childbirth is not a quick task. When contacting doctors, a woman is examined and prescribed a course of medications.
If the hernia is at an initial stage, antispasmodics and simple observation are sufficient. The hernia will resolve itself over time.
If the pain intensifies and the navel grows, doctors recommend hernioplasty. The navel area is simply sutured in a couple of areas. There are rare cases when surgeons use implants to get rid of a disease.
Treatment should be carried out as early as possible. As soon as a woman notices that her navel is growing or that it does not return to normal after childbirth for a very long time (more than six months), she immediately needs to go to the doctors.
Photo of the navel after childbirth
SPOTLIGHT, OR HOW TO DEAL WITH PIGMENTATION AFTER BIRTH
Hyperpigmentation of the skin is expressed in the appearance of brown spots of various shapes around the nipples, on the neck, back, décolleté, and sometimes on the face - on the forehead, chin, cheeks or upper lip. Chloasma most often occurs in the second trimester of pregnancy, but in some cases it can occur earlier.
The Alba line - a stripe on the stomach that goes down from the navel - becomes brighter and more noticeable from the first days of pregnancy. Other manifestations of pigmentation usually become noticeable in the third trimester. Breasts are very susceptible to “coloration” - as a rule, the color of the nipples changes, and spots may appear around the areola. Sometimes this happens after childbirth. A “pregnant mask” may also appear - a lighter or darker stripe on the forehead, sometimes spots on the chin and nose, around the eyes or on the cheekbones. If a woman has had freckles before, their number may increase while she is expecting a baby. In addition to what is noted above, pigmentation often appears on the inner thighs.
Sometimes pigmentation occurs as a result of a woman taking oral contraceptives and drugs for the treatment of epilepsy before pregnancy, as well as due to a lack of folic acid in the body. The occurrence of pigmentation can be a consequence of pathological functioning of the liver, pituitary gland, ovaries and other diseases, incorrect cosmetic procedures, and the use of low-quality cosmetics and perfumes.
The condition of the thyroid gland can be directly related to pigmentation, so it is useful to consult an endocrinologist already in the first trimester of pregnancy. Another cause of hyperpigmentation may be a hereditary predisposition. The sun can only worsen pigmentation, so it is not advisable for expectant mothers to stay in the sun for a long time.
Normally, the spots disappear on their own 4–5 months after birth. But, of course, I would like to know whether spotting can be prevented and how to get rid of it if it does appear.
Can it be avoided?
Proper balanced nutrition, proper water regime (you should not drink excessively, but a lot), enough sleep, and a positive attitude can help reduce the risk of spotty coloration.
And of course, you need to remember about the mode of exposure to the sun, outside the peak hours of sun activity: before 11 am and after 18 pm. When exposed to the sun, even during non-hazardous hours, apply sunscreen with a high protective factor. Choose the right cosmetics (without aggressive ingredients) and take only multivitamins prescribed by your doctor.
If spots do appear: recovering after childbirth
The “spotting” that has become boring over months of waiting will fade gradually and will not disappear immediately. If after a few months the age spots do not go away, you should contact a specialist. First of all, see a dermatologist, gynecologist and endocrinologist. If you are currently breastfeeding your baby, you should discuss the upcoming procedure with your pediatrician. Once you are sure that pigmentation is not a symptom of a particular disease, you can trust your cosmetologist. One of the best solutions during this period may be a specialized cosmetic product.
Bio-Oil cosmetic oil is a product specifically designed to combat pigmentation. The Bio-Oil oil formula contains natural ingredients such as a quartet of calendula, lavender, rosemary and chamomile oils:
- calendula nourishes dehydrated skin, perfectly softens and moisturizes it;
- rosemary has the ability to even out skin tone and make scars and roughness less noticeable, which allows it to be successfully used to improve the appearance of scars, stretch marks and pigmentation;
- lavender helps keep the skin beautiful and healthy, improves the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to skin cells;
- Chamomile easily relieves itching and inflammation, smoothes out fine wrinkles, and with prolonged use of the oil it can eliminate allergic manifestations on the skin.
...and vitamins!
Vitamins A and E help maintain beautiful skin. Vitamin A is responsible for the freshness and elasticity of the skin, and close interaction with fat-soluble vitamin E enhances the effect.
Bio-Oil cosmetic oil can be applied to the skin before going to work or just before bed. After all, it contains a unique ingredient PurCellin Oil™, which makes the oil consistency light and quickly absorbed, without leaving a greasy film.
You can purchase Bio-Oil® oil in city pharmacies
Navel after childbirth: changes and recovery time
In the last weeks of pregnancy, the navel often protrudes beyond its “hole”. The growing uterus puts pressure on the muscles of the anterior abdominal wall. The skin stretches under the influence of relaxing pregnancy hormones. As a result, after giving birth, a woman discovers that her navel is sticking out. A “hood” of skin hangs over it.
It takes an average of 6-9 months to restore your figure. Over time, both muscles and skin return to normal. But a slightly bulging belly button and overhanging skin may be permanent. This depends on many factors: predisposition to stretch marks, the strength of the abdominal muscles, and the quality of nutrition.
Umbilical hernia in women after childbirth is a fairly common complication. Women with multiple pregnancies are at risk; bearing a particularly large fetus; as well as women after cesarean section. The photo below shows the stages of a protruding belly button.
Stages of development of an umbilical hernia
An umbilical hernia occurs due to overstretching of the abdominal muscles, due to pressure from the fetus on the abdominal wall. Due to the weakness of the muscles of the umbilical ring, its opening expands. This occurs due to a genetic predisposition or physiological characteristics of the structure of the umbilical ring.
In some cases, the impetus for stretching the umbilical ring can be constipation, which is often a concern during pregnancy, especially in the last months.
How it manifests itself
The hernia forms gradually. At the initial stage of the disease, periodic protrusion of the hernial node occurs during physical activity. The navel returns to its place on its own after rest.
Methods for treating hyperpigmentation after childbirth
Chemical peels
The procedure is based on exfoliation of the upper layers of the epidermis due to the action of various acids. Due to this, the skin texture is renewed and smoothed. The choice of peeling depends on the depth of pigment penetration.
Mesotherapy with vitamin C
Microinjections of mesococktail into the dermis with the creation of an intradermal depot of the drug. Vitamin C has a lightening effect on age spots. The course is prescribed individually depending on the age and severity of age spots, age and skin characteristics.
Phototherapy and AFT therapy
The main mechanism is the selective effect of pulsed light on the melanin pigment. There is no damage to the skin and surrounding tissues. After the first procedure, the result is already noticeable. The pigment spot becomes less pronounced. But this does not happen immediately, but about a week after the procedure.
Laser peeling or laser facial resurfacing
Perhaps the most radical method of combating hyperpigmentation. Allows you to remove old, deep-lying pigment spots. The essence of the method is alternating zones of evaporation of the epidermis with intact tissue. Due to healthy skin fractions, rapid healing and restoration of damaged tissue occurs.
As you can see, there are many methods for treating hyperpigmentation after childbirth. The choice of the procedure that is right for you depends on many of the factors described above. For more detailed information, please contact our medical center. We will be happy to help you enjoy the beauty of motherhood! And age spots will not upset you!
Black belly button after childbirth
During pregnancy and the postpartum period, a woman has to put up with many troubles. Among them is a black navel after childbirth, along with a dark stripe on the stomach, darkening of the nipples, the appearance of freckles, etc.
Causes
In fact, the accumulation of dyes in the female body is caused by hormonal changes. In particular, they are caused by additional stress on the adrenal glands.
That is, the darkening itself is explained by an increase in the amount of hormones of the adrenal cortex, but not at all by male sex hormones.
In this case, changes will begin from the earliest stages of pregnancy.
A dark brown streak or black belly button after childbirth is quite normal. Usually all this goes away completely by the time menstruation returns after childbirth.
That is, when the navel protrudes after childbirth or the skin around it darkens significantly, there is absolutely nothing to worry about. All this is caused by banal hormonal changes in the body, which contributes to the accumulation of skin pigment. After a few weeks, all these changes will begin to pass, the navel itself will return to its normal shape, and its color will also return.
Hormonal levels after childbirth
During pregnancy there is a rapid change in hormonal levels. It is this that causes the black navel after childbirth, and even during pregnancy.
Hormones are produced in special glands and cells, then the blood carries them throughout the body. At the same time, the female body produces dozens of different hormones. The most important hormones for women in the postpartum period are estrogen and progesterone. Both are produced in the ovaries in the early stages of pregnancy, then this function gradually passes to the placenta.
An equally important hormone for women is human chorionic gonadotropin, which is produced exclusively during pregnancy. After childbirth, active hormonal changes begin again.
After all, hormonal recovery after childbirth is by no means a simple process. Only at the end of breastfeeding will the body gradually return to its so-called “pre-pregnancy state”.
Hormonal imbalances after childbirth: how to determine
It should be noted right away that a black navel after childbirth is by no means a signal or a consequence of hormonal imbalance. This is a natural and completely normal phenomenon, the occurrence of which during this difficult period is determined by the characteristics of the body of a particular woman.
A real signal of hormonal imbalance is frequent dizziness and abnormal blood pressure, insomnia, severe weight loss or severe obesity, as well as menstruation.
