It can be a real challenge to get your body back to where it was prior to getting pregnant. Most women put on a fair amount of weight while pregnant, and it can dramatically change the way that your body looks both during the pregnancy and afterward. If you've been working hard to lose the baby weight, but your stomach still looks flabby with loose skin, there's a reason for that. Here's why you're having trouble getting rid of it and what you can do to beat it once and for all.

Weight Gain

Any time you gain weight, your body produces extra skin so that everything internal is fully covered. Since fat takes up space, the body has to respond by building new skin cells. Once the fat is gone, in young and healthy people, this extra skin will gradually be reabsorbed back into the body, restoring a taut and tight look.

Unfortunately, there's a difference when you gain weight with pregnancy. Pregnancy weight gain and bodily changes happen rapidly, which means that the body has to work hard to make those new skin cells. In many cases, it can't keep up, and you end up with skin that's visibly stretched.

The Reality of Stretch Marks

Most women dread stretch marks, and they're not particularly lovely to look at. However, there's a lot more going on with stretch marks than simply a visual indicator that you once carried more weight in your past.

Stretch marks are actually damaged parts of the skin that were genuinely stretched in order to provide enough coverage for your increasing weight. Healthy skin typically bounces back and returns to its original shape, but scarred stretch mark skin doesn't. Any skin that you have that was damaged during your pregnancy will remain loose, unfortunately.

Getting Help

The best way to approach this problem is to deal with the loose skin. It's up to you to lose the weight and to then maintain your new, healthier weight. However, a doctor can help you to get rid of the old skin that you don't need any more with a tummy tuck.

To do this, you'll need to visit with a surgeon. They'll show you how they can create small incisions to lift and reconnect the skin, eliminating damaged parts entirely and tightening up the overall appearance of the body, especially the belly.

This process is fairly simplistic and is a procedure that surgeons perform regularly, so feel free to ask questions about what to expect at all stages, from prep to recovery.

It might seem unfair to have a permanently altered shape after being pregnant even if you've worked hard to get your body back to the way that it was. The good news is, you don't have to let it stay at that. Talk to a surgeon to find out how they can help you.