If you are turning around in the mirror to find a much flatter butt after your baby is born, it's probably not all in your head!
"Mom butt" refers to atrophy or weakening of the glute muscles during pregnancy.
And although it is not a medical term or diagnosis, I feel like this is real!
As we grow during pregnancy, utilizing our glute muscles gets more challenging, which can result in them...well...disappearing! Because when it comes to muscles, it really is a use it or lose it situation.
What Happens To Your Butt After Baby
During pregnancy the pelvis widens considerably to make room for baby and to prepare for birth. This can change the length-tension relationship of our largest hip extensor muscle, gluteus maximus.
A healthy glute max provides your butt with a firm and shaped appearance. Without it, we get a much flatter look, often with a heart shape at the bottom, where we might be over-clenching the pelvic floor!
Why It Matters
Although many women will undergo this transformation during pregnancy without any pelvic pain or pelvic floor dysfunction showing up, a lack of glute max will certainly create increased strain on other muscles.
For example, I often see the pelvic floor attempting to stabilize. This is problematic because it can affect bowel movements and ultimately your ability to relax the pelvic floor to allow for birth.
You might also experience proximal hamstring tendonitis, inner thigh tension or pain, hip flexor over activity, and/or low back pain when your glutes are not online.
If you don't notice much in the way of discomfort but you DO notice a new pancake butt postpartum, you definitely want to address it because without proper rehabilitation, you will develop issues overtime.
Can We Prevent It?
Yes, but it takes a LOT of work! We need to be working daily to keep our glutes active and healthy during pregnancy.
You may be wondering, if pregnancy is such a natural event, why does everyone seem to get mom butt?
This probably was not as much of an issue for our ancestors as they were moving the majority of our day and in and out of deep squats.
But for us modern-day pregnant mamas, we will have to make a concerted effort to keep active and perform high-quality glute activation exercises to keep those glutes online.
But the reward for this effort is an easier pregnancy physically and less rehabilitation work to do postpartum!
Conclusion
Mom butt can be a real thing.
But you CAN avoid if intentional and aware. It's worth it to work on keeping glute max on through pregnancy to help stabilize your pelvis and create an easier recovery.
Healthy glutes will also help you keep your pelvic floor healthy.
But if you're like me and didn't even notice your mom butt was developing, fear not. There is plenty you can do postpartum to restore your booty!
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Want to learn more about your pelvic floor or find out if pelvic floor physical therapy is for you? Make sure you check out our blog The Ultimate Guide to Know If Pelvic Floor PT is For You.
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