Have you had a baby and looked in the mirror and wondered, “where did my butt go!?”.  A flat butt or “mom butt” as many may call it, is something that commonly happens after having a baby.  The good news is, we can help get rid of mom butt by teaching you how to turn on those butt muscles again! Follow along below to learn four at-home solutions to get rid of mom butt! 

What is “Mom Butt”?

A flat appearance of your butt muscles, the “gluteals” or “glutes”, after pregnancy.

Why does it happen?

During pregnancy, as your belly expands and core muscles become weak, the body finds support by tucking your hips and clenching your butt muscles. A pelvic floor therapist calls this a posterior pelvic tilt position.  

Once your baby arrives, you often stay in that same tucked and clenched position since you haven’t had time to regain core strength. 

So what is the problem with this? 

If your butt muscles are constantly clenching, they will become tight and weak overtime,  creating a “flat” appearance. But don’t worry, stick with us because we have a few solutions on how to get rid of mom butt!

How to get rid of “Mom Butt”

#1 Pelvic Tilts to find Neutral Pelvis

The first step to improving butt muscle strength and appearance, is to learn how to find a neutral pelvis so your butt muscles can start turning on again!  Follow these steps below to learn what neutral pelvis is.

• Stand with feet hip distance apart

• Place the palm of your hand on your front hip bone and fingers on your pubic bone

• Tilt pelvis forward and back

• In neutral pelvis, you will have a flat hand, where palm and fingers line up

• Fingers feel in front of palm = tucked position (posterior pelvic tilt)

• Fingers feel behind your palm = arched position (anterior pelvic tilt)

#2 Improve your Glute Strength

As mentioned above, your butt muscles have likely become weak overtime and now they need strength! These 3 exercises are great at home options with minimal equipment needed to get rid of mom butt.  Remember to make sure you are not clenching your glutes when starting each exercise!

• Bridge

• Feet flat on the floor

• Lift hips to the ceiling

• Squeeze butt muscles at the top

• Squat

  • Feet hip width or slightly wider apart

  • Pretend you are sitting back into a chair, lower butt to ground

  • Push to standing position, gentle squeeze of glutes at top

• Sidelying Hip Abduction

  • Lay on your side, head resting on arm

  • Bend your bottom leg, keep top leg straight

  • Lift top leg towards the ceiling and slowly lower to starting position

#3 Check in with your Posture

It is really easy to stand with your hips pushed forward, butt muscles clenched and back arched.  It will often happen when you are holding your baby, washing the dishes or standing in one spot for extended periods of time.  Do a quick check in with yourself to correct this position.

• Unclench your glutes: Squeeze and relax to help them unclench!

• Find neutral pelvis: Are you tucked or arched, use the tips above to find neutral

Still having a hard time? Maybe it’s time to move out of this position and find a new one! Take a short walk or find a supportive chair to relax.

#4 Relax your Pelvic Floor 

If you have been clenching your butt muscles, you may also have tight muscles in your pelvic floor. Since the pelvic floor, core and butt muscles are all connected, you want to make sure these muscles are also relaxed! To help with this, try these 2 pelvic floor stretches.

1. Happy Baby

2. Supported Deep Squat

If you feel like you need more one-on-one help to get rid of mom butt, we are here to support you! Contact us here to set up a consultation and begin your individualized journey with our specialized pelvic health therapists today.