How to Shrink Your Belly After Giving Birth: 10 Effective Tips
After giving birth, the body does experience weight loss, up to 6 kg.[1] However, this weight loss is not spontaneously followed by the body transforming back to its original state, especially in the abdominal area. This is why many mothers look for ways to shrink the belly after giving birth.
What Makes the Stomach Remain Large After Giving Birth?

During pregnancy, hormonal changes and the growing abdomen, following the fetus's development, can cause the tissue connecting the abdominal muscles on the left and right sides to weaken, separate, and lose firmness. This is the main obstacle preventing the abdomen from returning to its original shape quickly.
How long will the stomach take to return to normal after giving birth? The stomach usually needs at least 8 weeks to recover. However, in some cases, a protruding stomach can take months or even up to a year to resolve.
Solutions to Shrink the Belly After Giving Birth
To speed up the abdominal tightening process, there are several methods you can try, including:
1. Wearing a Corset

Routinely wearing a corset after delivery can be very beneficial for mothers, especially in supporting the recovery process of the abdominal muscles that separated during pregnancy.
A corset helps return abdominal muscles to their original position, reduces swelling in the abdominal area by providing compression, and provides support for better posture. Additionally, wearing a corset for post-cesarean patients can also minimize abdominal pain.[2]
2. Consuming Probiotics

A way to shrink the belly after giving birth without a corset is by routinely consuming probiotic foods, such as yogurt, kefir, and kombucha.
Integrating these foods into your daily diet can help significantly reduce fat in the abdominal area, with a reduction that can reach 3.3% to 4.6%.[3]
3. Consuming High-Fiber Foods

Fiber-rich foods play an important role in maintaining a balance of good bacteria in the gut and supporting the body's fat-burning process.
By consuming fibrous foods, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, potatoes, eggplant, okra, bananas, and oranges, you will feed the good bacteria in the gut and encourage more effective fat burning.
4. Keeping the Body Hydrated with Water

Drinking water regularly not only keeps the body hydrated but can also be an ally in the effort to shrink the belly.
Water has the ability to suppress hunger, making it easier for you to control cravings. Furthermore, water also plays a role in boosting the body's metabolism, helping the calorie-burning process become more efficient and effective.
To meet the body's needs, women need to drink 2.7 liters of water daily.[4]
5. Breastfeeding Regularly

Breastfeeding stimulates the production of oxytocin, a hormone that causes the uterus to contract, which subsequently affects the constriction of blood vessels in the uterus. This process promotes uterine shrinkage, helping the stomach return to a smaller size.[5]
6. Doing Mountain Climbers

Performing exercises that target abdominal muscles is an effective way to get a flat stomach again. One of the postpartum abdominal workouts that focuses on abdominal muscles and is quite easy to perform is mountain climbers.
To do them, position your body as if you are going to push up, then pull your knees toward your chest alternately. To flatten your stomach, you can try 100 mountain climbers, divided into four sets.
7. Doing Bridge Exercises

Another traditional way to shrink the belly after a normal delivery can be done through bridge exercises.
Start by lying down, with both arms at your sides. Lift your hips and hold this position for three breaths, then repeat. Perform 3 sets of 15 repetitions each.
8. Doing Planks

When talking about exercises for a flat stomach, planks are at the top. Plank exercises involve all core muscles and help tighten the stomach.
Rest your forearms on the floor and lift your body using your toes, then hold this position for as long as possible. Start with a duration of 20 seconds and gradually increase the duration.
9. Using Lime Water Poultice

A way to shrink the belly after giving birth with lime is by using it as an addition to a poultice (tapel) made of limestone and eucalyptus. Applying it to the stomach and covering it with a binder for 40 days during the postpartum period has been proven effective in reducing body weight by up to 5.07 kg.[6]
10. Consuming Sido Muncul Postpartum Herbal Jamu

A postpartum herbal tonic to shrink the belly, Sido Muncul Jamu Bersalin, is made from selected herbs effective for reducing a postpartum belly.
The ingredients of galangal, tapak liman leaves, black pepper, pulosari, meniran, curcuma, and aromatic ginger are effective in strengthening abdominal muscles so that the stomach becomes firm and slim again.
Need a way to shrink the belly after giving birth? Complete your recovery process with Sido Muncul Jamu Bersalin, the right choice for a stomach that returns to its original slim shape!
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