B-shaped belly can be caused by various reasons, including being overweight or obese, not bouncing back from previous pregnancies, less gap between two pregnancies, fascial health affected, and natural belly shape. Being overweight and obese can lead to a B belly with higher risks of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, miscarriage, stillbirth, or back pain during pregnancy. You can try losing weight by adopting a more active lifestyle which will also improve your fascial health. Ultimately, if it’s not harming your pregnancy or you, it’s better to accept your belly shape because there’s nothing wrong with it.
Hurray! You’re having a baby! Sharing your pregnancy news with your family and friends is one of the biggest joys of the journey to parenthood. It all goes very fast and slow at the same time.
There’re many ups and downs a mother experiences during pregnancy; one is the growing belly and its shape.
We all know the perfect D, not only shown as the only belly shape in the media but also preferred by every expecting mother.
But is having a B belly shape that different from a D belly? How does it matter if the shape of your belly is different? Can you get rid of a B belly during pregnancy?
Importance of belly shape during pregnancy
Belly shape has a lot of controversies and myths surrounding it, more than you think!
It’s the one thing you could get shamed for if your belly shape is different from the socially expected D belly. Having a different belly can be difficult, especially when the people around you start judging you.
It’s also a myth that a low-hanging belly means having a boy, and a high belly means having a girl. A belly shape has several myths about the gender of your baby surrounding it.
But when it comes to talking about the belly shape, most people think the D belly shape is the norm, making other shapes like a B belly unacceptable.
A B-shaped belly looks like a crease in your bump and appears divided into the top and bottom half, resembling the letter B.
4 causes of B belly during pregnancy
Knowing how a B belly is formed during the pregnancy is vital in learning how you can take further steps to reduce it and if it’s even possible or needed to get rid of it.
1. Fitness and belly shape
Fitness plays a crucial role in determining the shape of your belly. If you used to be a person with an active lifestyle, then your belly shape would be different from someone who didn’t exercise at all.
When a woman has a toned body, her belly will show later than other women’s.
The tighter the core, the less or later you’ll start showing in the pregnancy. The bump of a fitter woman will also be smaller, higher, and closer to the body.
🏃♀️ If you don’t exercise and have a moderately active lifestyle, your bump will be bigger and broader as your abdominal muscles are already loosened. The more weight you carry, the more different will be your belly shape.
Women with more weight before getting pregnant are likely to experience a B belly shape. But it also depends on body size, so focusing on your individual BMI is more accurate in determining your weight category.
2. Previous pregnancies
If you have carried children before, you know the abdominal muscles expand with each pregnancy.
Although the stomach gets reduced, it won’t be the same unless and until you work out to achieve tighter core muscles after delivering the baby.
The looser your muscles after your first pregnancy, the higher the chances are of getting a B belly during the second pregnancy.
It’s also possible if you don’t wait long between two pregnancies as your stomach doesn’t get any time to shrink.
3. Fascial health affected
Connective tissues beneath the skin are partly responsible for the belly shape, known as fascia. It takes many forms and appears throughout the body, which means keeping it healthy is one way to ensure a belly with the shape B.
In pregnancy, if your fascia isn’t healthy or damaged in any way due to an inactive lifestyle, dehydration, poor posture, unbalanced diet, stress, and injured muscles, it may affect your pregnancy.
Fascia could also be affected by your prior pregnancies. But sometimes, it’s also structured in a way that it does form a B-belly shape during pregnancy.
4. Your belly shape
Not everyone has a supermodel body, and that’s more than understandable and natural.
All bodies are beautiful, and having a B belly doesn’t always mean something is wrong with you.
Someone carrying more weight in their belly (apron belly) might end up with a B belly too.
Can B belly during pregnancy be harmful?
You can have a B belly for various reasons. While some might not be harmful to the pregnancy, others could be, especially when weight is the issue.
Being overweight or obese and carrying a baby can prove to be harmful and raise various health concerns, and they’re at a higher risk of:
- Gestational diabetes leads to a higher probability of cesarean delivery. This form of diabetes can be controlled with medications and lifestyle changes during pregnancy.
- Preeclampsia or high blood pressure can result in swelling and damage to vital organs like the liver and kidneys.
- Miscarriage and stillbirth
- Back pain during pregnancy
A woman with a higher BMI is at higher risk for complications like bigger size at birth which can lead to an injury or problems during the delivery.
It could also lead to preterm delivery, which can cause further complications with organs like the heart, lungs, brain, and gastrointestinal tract.
4 ways to get rid of B belly during pregnancy?
1. Keeping fascia healthy
Keep your fascia healthy so that not only you’re able to reduce the B belly shape but also have a healthier pregnancy.
Daily stretching, drinking plenty of water, and doing cardio, yoga, or any form of exercise will help keep it healthy.
2. Maintaining weight during pregnancy
Another way to control or get rid of B belly is to maintain your weight while pregnant. When you’re overweight or obese and are carrying a baby, there’s a list of health risks.
📌 According to the CDC, a woman who’s overweight should aim to gain only 15 to 25 pounds if giving birth to one baby. If she’s obese, she should aim to gain 11 to 20 pounds during the whole pregnancy.
Just because you didn’t adopt an active lifestyle before doesn’t mean you can’t do it now during the pregnancy. For pregnant women, at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise is recommended.
If you have never worked out, starting with a 30-minute walk each day is a good start.
You can do various exercises but take it slow at a pace you’re comfortable with, stretch, and drink plenty of water.
3. Belly bands
Belly bands are available worn on the belly where your crease is forming, which can help smooth out the bump or even conceal the pregnancy if you wish to do so.
4. Acceptance is the key
While exercising and making lifestyle changes can only do so much to change the shape of your pregnant belly, it might also change throughout your pregnancy.
It does happen that a B shape belly can turn into a D shape belly throughout the pregnancy. It’s a natural shift, and you don’t need to do something to achieve it.
But even if it doesn’t happen, you should learn to love your B belly, as long as there’re no health concerns with its shape.
FAQs
Does a B belly go away during the pregnancy?
The shape of the belly might change during pregnancy. During this time, the belly can go from a B to a D shape. However, it’s a natural shift.
The weight fluctuation during the pregnancy can also change the belly shape.
Why is my stomach hard at the top during early pregnancy?
Your stomach can get hard during pregnancy because it’s caused by the pressure of your uterus growing and putting pressure on your abdomen.
It could also be hard if you eat a low-fiber diet and drink lots of carbonated drinks.
When will I start to look pregnant instead of fat?
Can I lose weight during pregnancy?
Yes, you can lose weight during pregnancy if your BMI is over 30, and you definitely should do so. According to the CDC, a woman with a 25 to 29.9 BMI is considered overweight, and 30 or over means obese.
Women with higher weight are at greater risk during pregnancy for various health issues and tend to develop a B belly shape. Losing weight is recommended if it’s causing problems with pregnancy.
To summarise
B belly shape can be difficult to love because the way D belly shape is widely appraised in the media and by the people. As long as it doesn’t affect your and your baby’s health, you don’t need to worry much.
Bellies come in all shapes and sizes. Learn to love your body and the different belly shape, and know that you aren’t alone in this.
Other mothers have different belly sizes and shape too. Even if someone is making rude comments, you need to pay attention to them and focus on the people who are there to support you.
