Athletes who decide to become mothers have an advantage over ‘regular people’. This is what some people, including sports specialists, say. The fact that they are pushing their bodies’ limits on a daily basis make the arrival of a pregnancy, one process that their bodies will go through more smoothly. Some of these athletes continue their training and diet regimens well into the months that other mothers-to-be will be resting on their couch.
Stephanie Bruce is one of those athletes. She makes a living as a professional runner. Her body had toned muscles including a six-pack as a result of her job. She endured tough training sessions as part of her preparations for the races she would take part in. She decided to have a child, and then a second one. All this, over a 15-month period.
Now, if you are looking to keep your figure, having two kids over a 15-month period is not the best way to do it.
She indeed lost her six-pack plus other changes that she noticed. She was not that obsessed with maintaining her figure, but it was something that she kind of missed. Most women look to hide the changes that occur during pregnancies, but Stephanie is not like most women.
Nevertheless, she did notice that a deep cavity developing right next to her belly button. She didn’t panic but knew that is was something she would need to address. She went to see her doctor to get the diagnosis for her condition. The results came back, and she was told she had something known as diastasis recti. This happens when the abdominal muscles of a woman move during pregnancy. Initially, she didn’t know what to make of this. She thought, “Muscles move all the time, right? So, why don’t other people get this?”
In her case, her babies needed room to grow. Stephanie got back to running once the pregnancies had concluded. She also found it difficult to reclaim the body that she once had. Her post-baby body caused her to feel confused. She was expecting to have changes in her body because of the pregnancies but nothing like that.
She was confused but that didn’t make her want to hide her body. She decided to share photos of her stomach cavity. Her reason was simple: she wanted other women who were experiencing similar issues to feel reassured that this was not going to be the end of the world for them. What ended up happening was as inspirational as it was beautiful!
