Cellulite During Pregnancy

Before I begin this post I want to mention that cellulite is TOTALLY normal, effects nearly all bodies and I definitely had my fair share of dimples pre-baby.

However, during my first pregnancy I noticed an alarming increase of severe cellulite on my thighs and butt that seemed to appear overnight.

I started to research and really found little support about cellulite during pregnancy, so that’s the reason I wanted to open up the topic on this space!

I learned that aside from the usual lifestyle factors that contribute to cellulite (eating poorly and not exercising), there are several mostly uncontrollable factors come into play when you’re talking about cellulite in pregnancy that I thought were worth sharing here.

What Causes Cellulite During Pregnancy:

Weight Gain: during pregnancy, your body packs on the pounds pretty quickly to help grow your baby. The extra fat is necessary and needed by your baby for both pregnancy and lactation, which can lead to the appearance of more cellulite for you.

Water Retention: during pregnancy, we have a tendency of storing an excessive volume of bodily fluids. This leads to water retention in various regions of the body which can create cellulite pockets.

Hormones: hormones play an HUGE role in cellulite development. Estrogen, which plays a major role helping the uterus to grow, blood flow to increase, and breast tissue to grow, also can cause reduced blood flow to connective tissues making way for cellulite to occur. Another hormone, relaxin, helps relax ligaments in the pelvis and the tissues of the cervix in preparation for childbirth. But relaxin also causes diminished collagen production. The less collagen in your skin, the more the fat stored in your body is able to push through the loosened connective tissue, thus more cellulite).

How can you combat cellulite during pregnancy?

I’m not sure you can given the above factors but I’ll tell you what feels food for me: eating healthy, moving my body, staying hydrated and dry brushing a few times a week to stimulate the lymph system.

Will pregnancy cellulite go away?

For me, most of the extra cellulite from pregnancy went away but only AFTER I was done breastfeeding. Even though I had lost most of the baby weight, hormones and the extra fat that did stick around as necessary to nourish my baby were certainly still factors.

I wish I would have known all of this and given myself a little grace. It’s another reason I wanted to touch on cellulite during pregnancy here, because I don’t want it to rob you of your joy during some of the most precious time with your baby!

And if some of those extra dimples do seem to stick around, remember that your body is amazing and helped you carry/create a new life! I know that in the age of body shaming it can be difficult but we need to normalize REAL bodies.