How long does it take to return to normal weight after childbirth?

Women will experience many symptoms after giving birth, and most of these symptoms are very obvious, including weight. Women's weight will decrease to a certain extent after giving birth, but the specific amount of decrease depends on the individual, and after a certain period of time, women's weight will return to their previous weight, but many people don't know the specific time. So how long does it take for the weight to return to normal after giving birth?

24 hours after delivery. Most women lose about ten pounds instantly after giving birth. These ten pounds include the weight of the newborn, amniotic fluid, placenta, body fluids and blood lost during delivery, etc. During these 24 hours, your weight will drop dramatically, which is the fastest weight loss after childbirth. Of course, if you gain too much weight during pregnancy, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Two weeks postpartum. During those two weeks after giving birth, you’ll often feel like you’ve been fished out of water. The increased blood volume and interstitial fluid of the mother during pregnancy to nourish the fetus become excess water after delivery, which is metabolized through breathing, defecation, urination and sweating during the postpartum period. Especially perspiration, any activity including breastfeeding, eating, and even sleeping will make your chest and back soaked with sweat. This is a normal physiological phenomenon after childbirth, and it is also another peak of weight loss 24 hours after childbirth.

Additionally, if you continue to breastfeed, your postpartum weight loss tends to be more significant. Because breastfeeding consumes more calories, studies have shown that breastfeeding can help you burn about 500 extra calories per day.

More than two weeks after delivery. At this time, the weight of most mothers enters a plateau period. During this period, I do not recommend new mothers to pay too much attention to the numbers on the scale, because you are still in the high incidence period of postpartum depression. The unchanging numbers or still fat belly may make your mood drop to the bottom in an instant and even make you cry easily. You can monitor your waist circumference every week instead of staring at the weight number every day, and you will find that changes will happen slowly.

A few months after giving birth. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), if you eat a healthy diet during pregnancy, you will be close to or return to your pre-pregnancy weight within six months after giving birth.