How to Lose Your “Mommy Middle Muffin-Top”

by General Urinary IncontinenceWomen's Healthcare

In our previous article  we discussed guidelines for healthy weight gain during pregnancy, and healthy weight loss after delivery. One of the main benefits of losing the extra baby weight post-partum is reducing the risk of women’s urinary incontinence. The joy of welcoming your new baby can be marred by always having to run for the bathroom, so making a plan to lose extra baby weight post-partum is a really good idea.

Unfortunately, a lot of women don’t receive the information they need from their healthcare providers on losing baby weight. A recent study (http://huff.to/13pfqxT) indicated that up to 85% of women had not received post-partum weight loss information 4 months after they had given birth!

If you are looking for ways to lose your “mommy middle muffin-top” hopefully the following tips will give you some good ideas.

How to Slim Down Post-Partum
The good news is that the delivery process itself pretty much guarantees you a 10-pound weight loss (the baby’s weight plus placenta and amniotic fluid). You can also expect to lose another 3 to 5 pounds of water weight in the first week after delivery.

To continue that weight loss trend–with every pound loss reducing your risk of women’s urinary incontinence–consider some of these tips.

1. Eat Right
Let your body tell you when you should eat. Another way to put it is, “Eat only when you are hungry.” Women who breastfeed will need more calories, as babies who are exclusively breastfed require between 500 and 800 calories per day. Focus on whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and lean meats. Eat small portions and consume small meals more frequently during the day. If you are not sure you can stick to a diet, consider joining a recognized weight loss program to support you through the process.

2. Return to Gentle Exercise
Check with your healthcare provider about when you can safely return to gentle exercise. Women who have straightforward vaginal deliveries can expect to return to light exercise within days of giving birth. Women with more complicated deliveries (including C-sections) will need to follow guidelines offered by their doctors. Of course, women can and should do pelvic floor muscle exercises during pregnancy and after delivery to keep those muscles toned and fit. Focusing on pelvic floor muscle exercises significantly decreases your risk of women’s urinary incontinence during and after pregnancy.

3. Sleep When Your Baby Sleeps
In other words, get as much beauty rest as your baby allows. Studies show that women who got adequate rest were more likely to lose baby weight more quickly than women who had less pillow time.

4. Hydrate Regularly
Getting plenty of pure water is important post-partum, especially if you are breast-feeding. Hydration is also important as you return to your exercises program. As a bonus, water can also help you feel more full so you avoid snacking on unhealthy foods. Finally, if you don’t get enough water your urine will become more acid, which can irritate your bladder and worsen symptoms such as urinary urgency and frequency.

5. Set Realistic Goals
When slimming down after delivery, a healthy rate of weight loss is about one pound per week. This may seem slow to you, yet this rate of weight loss is healthy and tends to be more permanent. Be gentle with yourself, acknowledge that pregnancy and delivery equal major body changes, and be patient with the weight loss process. Trying to fit into your skinny jeans a few weeks after delivery isn’t realistic for many women. Often, healthy post-partum weight loss can take up to six months so set realistic weight loss goals so you don’t end up judging yourself too harshly.

Hopefully these simple tips on getting rid of your “Mommy Middle,” which definitely decreases your risk of urinary incontinence, will help you lose weight in a healthy manner post-partum. Most importantly, if you are able to avoid or minimize symptoms of women’s urinary incontinence, you will be able to devote your full attention to your new baby!

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Is Your Pregnancy Weight Gain Contributing to Your Urinary Incontinence?

by General Urinary IncontinenceUrge IncontinenceUrge Urinary IncontinenceUrinary IncontinenceWomen's Healthcare

Almost every expectant mother has been warned to expect some symptoms of urinary incontinence during pregnancy–everything from urinary urgency and frequency to actual urinary leakage. As the baby grows and takes up more room in the abdomen, internal organs, such as the bladder, are pushed into an increasingly smaller space. The result? Urinary incontinence issues.

But new studies show that it’s not just baby who contributes to women’s urinary incontinence during pregnancy. Excessive weight gain during pregnancy is another issue to consider. Whether a woman is pregnant or not, she is at risk for urinary incontinence if she carries too much extra weight. Every extra pound below the collarbone and above the pelvis puts downward pressure on the bladder and urinary system, causing symptoms of urinary incontinence.

Gain the Right Amount to Reduce Risk of Urinary Incontinence
During pregnancy many women fall prey to the idea that they are “eating for two,” mistakenly believing that this means they can eat twice as much as they normally do. Not so.

In fact, women who have a normal body mass index (BMI), or who started at a normal weight before pregnancy do not need to increase their caloric intake during the first trimester according to the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The same organization recommends that women at a healthy weight increase calories by 350 calories per day during the second trimester, and 450 calories per day during the last trimester. Women who start out under or overweight should work with their healthcare providers to adjust these calorie guidelines accordingly.

Eating the right number of calories during each trimester should result in healthy rather than excess weight gain, which decreases a woman’s chance of urinary incontinence symptoms both during pregnancy and after delivery. According to the Institute of Medicine, underweight women (with a BMI of 18.5 or less) should gain between 28 and 40 pounds. Normal weight women (BMI between 18.6 and 24.9) should strive for an overall weight gain of 25 to 35 pounds, while overweight women (BMI between 25 and 29.9) need to gain only 15-25 pounds. Obese women (BMI of 30 or higher) are encouraged to gain just 11 to 20 pounds.

Studies show that women who gain more than the weight recommended by the Institute of Medicine tend to have more trouble losing weight post-partum (http://bit.ly/15o3ait). Again, the excess weight is a definite contributing risk factor to women’s urinary incontinence.

The Importance of Shedding Baby Weight
If you don’t think that a few extra pounds of baby weight puts you at risk for urinary urgency, frequency, or leakage, consider these studies. In one study, overweight women with urinary incontinence who lost 8 percent of their body weight saw a 47 percent decrease in leakage accidents. Other studies demonstrate that losing 5 to 10 percent of excess weight is as effective for alleviating urinary incontinence symptoms as any other form of conservative treatment.

If you are unsure of how much weight you should gain during pregnancy, and how much weight you should lose after delivery, ask your healthcare provider. We stress that you may need to ask your healthcare provider because some may not volunteer that information.

In one recent study, only 42% of women received information on appropriate weight gain from their healthcare providers, while 22% of overweight women were advised to gain more than the recommended amount of weight (http://huff.to/13pfqxT). According to Glenn D. Braunstein, M.D., many healthcare professionals may be hesitant to broach the subject of weight gain because of the sensitivity of the topic. Others may simply feel ill-equipped to handle the conversation. That is why it is important for you to ask for the weight gain and post-partum weight loss information that is appropriate for your situation.

Dr. Braunstein points out that asking for this information before your baby is born is important because chances are that you will be too busy or tired to raise the subject after delivery. Yet, excess weight is a significant risk factor for women’s urinary incontinence. If you don’t want urinary urgency, frequency, and leakage to interfere with the joy of mothering your new baby, get your weight gain and weight loss facts straight before delivery. Then, have a plan that will help you achieve a healthy level of weight gain during pregnancy, and lose the excess baby weight at a healthy rate post-partum.

Stay tuned for upcoming articles on how to shed the “Mommy middle” after delivery to reduce your risk of post-partum urinary incontinence.

If you enjoyed this post, we invite you to check out our book, leave a comment, contact us, download our free ebook, or interact with us on Twitter and Facebook.