Surgical Scar (Non-Cesarean)

Ce la Vie (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Complications in Pregnancy, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Question, Submissions, Surgical Scar (Non-Cesarean) 5 Comments

Age: 23
Number of Births and Pregnancies: 1
Age of Baby and Months Postpartum: 6 months

My story begins in March of 2008 when I had an abdominal myomectomy to remove a 3 1/2 lb fibroid leaving me with an scar that was much larger than a c-section scar. Then six short months later I found myself pregnant, a huge surprise to my boyfriend and I. We had just gotten back together after being apart for 2 months while he went to AA and anger management bc I said no I wouldn’t deal with it anymore.

My pregnancy was not the easiest pregnancy. I immediately started to have cramping which lasted well into my 2nd trimester, during which time the cramps turned into premature contractions, they told me I had not allowed myself to heal enough from the abdominal myomectomy and bc the fibroid was on the broad ligament that supported everything.

I was a workout fanatic before and during my pregnancy up until I was placed on bed rest. Bed rest was the hardest thing I have ever had to go through since I am such an active person. Once I was released I walked and walked and even danced at 39 1/2 weeks to get my baby here on time or early. As it turns out she was born naturally on her due date at a healthy 7 lbs 11oz and 20 inches.

After I had my daughter I was not expecting all the loose and saggy skin. Since I was so toned before pregnancy I hadn’t even considered the possibility that my stomach would never look the same. Having been heavy once before as a teenager and then loosing the weight, my stomach was always my pride bc it was completely flat and toned. I didn’t get stretchmarks until my 8th month I cried for a week. I gained a total of 35 lbs and lost 20 in the first two weeks. Now I just don’t feel that I have a gorgeous body anymore or that I should be in better shape by now. O and by the way my mother had major surgery 2 weeks after I gave birth and would have died had I not been in her hospital room. Because my relationship is on a precarious ledge in my opinion it makes it worse because I dread the thought of maybe having to go out into the cruel world with a scared, deflated stomach. But I have my beautiful daughter who is the sunshine in my life. Your life truly does change when you have a baby in every way, I look at my peers around me and they suddenly seem childish and young. I have my good days and bad with my stomach and body image, but Ce la vie. And what a beautiful life this is.

I just have 2 questions:
1: Will the sagging and creasing get any better with time and proper toning techniques or will it stay this way?
2: Will the dark stretchmarks around my pelvis lighten?

Any suggestions or comments are greatly appreciated :) thank you for listening!

My photos:
1: My stomach as it is today
2: Pre-baby
3:My Beautiful Baby Girl
4: A blurry picture of my abdominal myomectomy scar
5: My side profile as of now

Update: 3 Years, 3 Surgeries and 3 Kids Later (Val)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Complications in Pregnancy, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Surgical Scar (Non-Cesarean), Twins, Update 9 Comments

Original entry here.

My kids are now almost 3 and the twins are 19 months old! We have moved to a new town and I struggle with continuing to lose weight. I am now at 182 lbs, but part of it has been gaining muscle! I do 30-40 mins of Tae Bo 4-5 times a week. Eat smaller meals (and HEALTHIER meals) and even though I havent seen the change on the scale I HAVE seen the change in my body. I dont know if Ill ever lose the loose skin, But clothes that were tight on me 3 months ago now look great! (I am in a size 12-13! Size 2 at Fashion Bugg :D WOO HOO!) I had bought a body slimmer and now I can wear my dress clothes without it! I have learned that being a little hungry is ok and how to keep myself motivated. I keep coming back here for motivation and it helps sooo much!

I have also found a great doctor that has put me on BC (should be doubly protected right?) and it has leveled out hormones and has aided in the weight loss. That and I found I was MASSIVELY vit. D deficient. My three year old is in the last photo.

So thank you Shape of a Mother! You have helped me stay motivated!

~Age: 22
~Number of pregnancies and births: 2 preg 3 births

STRUGGLING with looking pregnant a year AFTER I had my baby (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Before Pregnancy, Belly, Cesarean, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pregnant, Submissions, Surgical Scar (Non-Cesarean) 42 Comments

I am now 25 years old. I had my first son in January 2008 when I was 23 years old. I am now 14 months postpartum.

Hey, I had my first baby at 23. A few month before I got pregnant I was 154 pounds. I am quite tall so i was a nice normal size then when i just found out I was pregnant i had put on a bit of weight 180lbs. By 12 weeks ( with morning sickness and everything) I was down to 167lbs and feeling great wasn’t worried about my weight etc. right from the start people thought i was having twins my stomach was HUGE and the rest of me was fairly thin. From 34 weeks i noticed I had put on alot of weight around my face but didn’t think much of it, the rest of me was still normal except for my belly, by this stage HUGE HUGE belly.

Anyhoo I went into labour naturally but ended up having a emergency c section after an hour of pushing as my baby was posterior and quite large. I gave birth to a 9lb 5 oz baby boy he was beautiful. When people came to visit me at hospital towards the end of the first week they started making comments politely about my stomach still quite large and that it hadn’t gone down much. Friends kids started asking me if I had another baby in my stomach and by the 4 week postpartum when I was out shopping a lady asked me ” How long I had to go?” I gave in another month or two and came to the conclusion i had put on soooo much weight during my pregnancy on my stomach and no where else and after the baby was born my stomach kept that pregnant look, it didn’t look like a fat belly it looked like a pregnant one!

The week i gave birth to my son I was 226lbs. I lost a few lbs after the birth but stayed around 204 lbs. for the first 11 months of my sons life, I just couldn’t get motivated. Then I read that if you haven’t lost all your baby weight in the first 10 months you never will.. Rubbish I thought. so I started eating right and just walking 3 times a week from the time my son was 11 1/2 months. By the time my son was 13 months I had lost 28 lbs My son is now 15 months and I am still hovering around that weight and getting ready to push my exercise up a notch to get rid of those extra pounds.

I have a lot of stretch marks, my stomach looks like a prune but hey I’m working on it and feel fantastic with the weight I have lost and so grateful I now look like I have a flabby belly not a pregnant one. lol

Oh also if you notice some scars on my pictures i also had my gallbladder out at around 4 months post.

I hope you all enjoy my photos. I know this website has been fantastic for me in realizing not everyone goes back to a supermodel body after pregnancy.

3 Years, 3 Surgeries, and 3 Kids Later (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Complications in Pregnancy, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Surgical Scar (Non-Cesarean), Toxemia, Twins, Update 8 Comments

When I met my husband I was a 117lb senior in highschool. We got married December after we graduated (I was 18). 4 months into our marriage I found out I was pregnant. My first pregnancy was text book until I hit 37 weeks and Toxemia set in and I ballooned. I was 135lbs when i got pregnant and when I gave birth I weighed 187lbs. Fast forward and I decided to get the Mirena for birthcontrol. Well 2 months into it the IUD perforated my uterus. So we had to have a laproscopic surgery to have it removed. I had lost the weight (down to 140) and then went back up 186 (after antidepressants). When my gorgeous daughter was 9 months old I found out I was pregnant again! On Christmas eve (I was 20 weeks pregnant) I found out I was pregnant with identical twin boys. We were excited and nervous. I had a good pregnancy for twins, I started having contractions at 30 weeks and finally gave birth to my boys (5lbs 2 oz and 5lbs 10 oz). I went in weighing 199 lbs. Then came surgery number 2. I had a tubal ligation before I left the hospital. When the boys were about 6 months old I found out I had a gastral hernia (it was inbetween my belly button and my rib cage). So there was ANOTHER surgery. There has been a lot of stresses (Lost jobs, moving, money, etc…) And I currently weigh 188 (Just lost 4 lbs) I hate being an almost plus size and hate my body. My stretchmarks and scars and the bulges. My husband is so supportive of me, but I used to be the perfect body and now, I hate my body. I look in the mirror and all I see is fat. I am currently working on walking everynight and not eating so badly. But it is so HARD. This website has made me feel better. And those twin post pregnancy pictures I see my body and know im not the only one. I just see these moms that have just had kids and are into prepregnancy jeans and have like 1 stretchmark, and I feel like ive failed. But I have my 3 beautiful kids and a wonderful husband and for now that enough! Maybe a swimsuit body after some hard work?



Updated here.

Pregnant Belly With Scar (Jenny)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Pregnant, Submissions, Surgical Scar (Non-Cesarean) 7 Comments

I went through a bad patch at about 34 weeks pregnant when I took this picture because I had always had a lovely, trim, pure white tummy. After having an ovarian cyst removed by laparotomy at 14 weeks pregnant, I was left with a neat scar, which is becoming more and more noticeable, bumpy and ragged the more my bump grows. Combined with the stretchmarks and putting on 4 stone, I started to feel really down about my body… Then I started sharing pics with other pregnant women and discovered that we all have varying degrees of anxiety about our pregnant bodies, whatever they look like, and are all coming to terms with the many physical and mental changes that herald motherhood, which is such a miraculous process of which the outer signs are just the tip of the iceberg. I am looking on the stretch marks as a badge of honour from my baby, and the scar as a demonstration of his tenacity in surviving the operation. I am due in the next few weeks, so am looking forward to his safe arrival and the new body that I will have after the bump is gone – stretch marks, flabby skin, scars… the lot!



Appendix Removal During Pregnancy (Fiona)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Complications in Pregnancy, First Pregnancy, Pregnant, Submissions, Surgical Scar (Non-Cesarean), Update 69 Comments

Im sending this to you, because when i went through it i had very little resources on the web to draw on, and at the time i found it quite emotionally taxing and hard, and felt quite alone… When i was 26 weeks pregnant i had some upper right quadrant abdominal pain, and i thought nothing of it! Round ligament pain perhaps? I didnt do anything, however about 24 hours later i was in agony, vomiting and writhing on my bathroom floor! My husband called the hospital and we went to A and E, where i was diagnosed with appendicitus, which occurs in roughly 0.1% of all pregnancies, and is the most common cause of surgery in pregnant women. The next morning i underwent an emergency surgery to remove the appendix, however due to the pregnancy i had to remain awake, during what is major stomach surgery – it involves an 8 inch incision, and then removing your large and small intestine in order to find the inflammed appendix, which could rupture at any time! I was awake the whole time, and baby was kicking all the way through! There is a high risk of preterm labour also, so after the operation i spent 10 days in ICU being monitored. During this time, i remained on an an epidural for pain relief (however in terms of pain medication i was given less than an average appendix removal op!) Also i had terrible pain because of excess air within my stomach after the operation… but was able to have my stitches removed about a week after the operation, and was back on my feet (although slowly!) by 2 weeks! The biggest ongoing problem is the stretching of the scar tissue as my pregnancy continued to progress. It was initially very neat and tidy (i was lucky enough to have no infection) but has become quite lumpy and raised as i’ve got bigger … however i hope it will return to normal after the birth! I just wanted to post my story as proof that everything can go ok in an appendix removal during pregnancy! Im currently 36 weeks and baby looks fine! Thanks!




Updated here.

7 Weeks (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Postpartum, Second Pregnancy, Submissions, Surgical Scar (Non-Cesarean) 6 Comments

I’m submitting my photo because I’ve finally come to terms with being a mother in the whole sense of the word, the best I can. I decided to accept the little changes and focus more on the moment, and in this moment, I could never have more joy in my life. I had postpartum depression after my first pregnancy. My second son was born 7 weeks ago, the day I took this picture. I like to say the top half of the stretch marks are from him, the bottom half are from my first. I had a natural delivery that was incredible and having an infant and being experienced this time has made all the difference. So naturally, I’d like to think I’m more accepting of the little things that come along with it. Unfortunately, one of the results of the second pregnany was gallstones, resulting in an emergency gallbladder removal a weeks ago…the three scars and one in my navel are from that operation. I feel incredible and proud of what I’ve gone through and how little I really care about it. I care about my kids. That’s the biggest lesson this stomach has taught me :)



Bed Rest After Childbirth / 8 to 14 in a Year (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, Breasts, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions, Surgical Scar (Non-Cesarean) 16 Comments

I had a diffcult pregnancy to begin with where I gained 45 lbs. The birth was worse. 23 hours in labor pushing for 32 minutes before they realized he was stuck. Tried to move him manually (oh by the way the epidural didnt take all the way) causing me to jump and slam my back off the deliever table resoluting in two large herniated disc that the doctors didnt dignoise till 6 months later. so needless to say i’m not able to work it off i’m not even able to lift my baby boy and it tears me up every single day sometimes three times a day!!!! i hate my body i hate myself!!!!








Beauty Scars of a Mother (Anonymous)

Bonnie (SOAM) Belly, First Pregnancy, Postpartum, Submissions, Surgical Scar (Non-Cesarean), Teen Mom 3 Comments

I stumbled upon your “myspace” and I was hooked, I think it’s wonderful that mothers all over the world are opening up and showing the truth about what most real women look like.

I had my son at the age of 19 and I was so paranoid about getting stretch marks, of course my worst fear came to pass. I remember the first time I saw my son and I knew that he was worth it all, he was perfect and beautiful!

But I started to go down a destructive path of self hate I couldn’t look at myself naked, it would disgust me, and I would cry. It got so bad that I couldn’t have sex unless the lights were out and I had a shirt on, for over two years after my son was born I couldn’t have an orgasm because the sight of me or even the idea of what I looked like would turn me off. At the time I was also in an emotionally and physiologically abusive marriage, after we got separated and the whole dating world opened to me… well my self destructive pattern got worse. It was easy for me to attract a guy, but I thought that as soon as they saw my tummy they would be disgusted, just like I was.
I heard about some scrubs to remove stretch marks, and I would spend hours in the shower scrubbing till my skin was raw and some times would bleed, but I didn’t care, I hated myself too much to care.

I know this sounds horrible, because I love my son and I don’t resent having him, he is every thing to me, the reason I live, he is what pushes me to be succeed, it’s because of him I had the strength to put myself thru college as a single mom working full time and with out the support of any family. (I’m from Spain and my family lives over there) But what I experienced is the raw truth, and it’s not pretty and no mother should feel the need to self mutilate in order to feel whole again.

I have to say that my son is now 8 years old, and I eventually got over most of those issues. While it still bothers me I have come to realize that there are more important things in life then my tummy! I feel that openly talking about this and taking a picture is good for me, it’s thereputic! I look at my son and see this amazing smart caring child and he is a product of my body and soul and while I don’t flaunt my tummy to the whole world … inside I bear my scars with pride!