Why do my pants fall down? Did my baby take my butt?
It’s a very common scenario. You find out you are pregnant. You are excited/anxious/nervous/happy/sad/worried. Your baby grows and develops, and is born. After, you never feel like yourself again. . . but that last part doesn’t have to be true. You can and should feel strong. You do not have to accept incontinence or pain. You do not have to wonder where your butt is and wear a belt to keep your pants up.
Where did your butt go anyway? Did your baby eat it? There are a few possible explanations
1. You are weak
It is not really what anyone wants to hear, but you could just be weak. Your butt could have disappeared because you have not been doing any glut exercises and the muscle is just simply smaller because it has not been worked hard enough.
Your solution: Start doing some glut exercises
2. Yes, your baby may in fact have eaten your butt.
This is a simple equation of calories in versus calories out. Your baby was using your food supply while growing through pregnancy, and after if you chose to feed your baby breastmilk. Your food intake may not have been enough to keep you the same size and give your baby all he/she needed to grow. Many people have extra weight after pregnancy that they are happy to lose, but the weight may or may not have come off where you would like.
Your solution: Put on some weight and exercise those gluts
3. You are tucking your butt under you
You may be walking around clenching your butt to hide your tummy, support your baby when carrying, or to create the stability you lack in your pelvic floor and abs. This puts you in a posterior pelvic tilt (I know big scary technical term) where your butt is under you. It can’t hold up your pants behind you because it is in the wrong spot. Unclench and your butt can start doing it’s all important job of keeping your pants up again.
Your solution: unclench your butt, improve your posture, and strengthen your gluts
4. All of the above
Any or all of these factors could be related in your individual case. This is why it is important to have an expert assess and help you develop a plan to address your concerns and unique situation.