Mothers, you know the struggle of the post-baby fat, especially around the stomach. The extra fat is not really pleasing and definitely not at the belly. It is a common complaint of newly-turned mothers, and scientists have even come up with a term for it. It is called diastasis recti, it occurs during pregnancy as the growing baby pushes the mother’s abdominal muscles apart in the space around her belly button. In some women, the spot stretches back on its own, while for others the gap stays appearing fatter than usual. It is also called the ‘mummy tummy.’ If you have been wondering how to reduce the pregnancy belly then it is really simple.

It is important for the stomach muscles to align properly so that your tummy appears flat again. There are simple belly exercises which you should try and you can see the gradual change yourself. Some mothers begin exercising to reduce the body fat in general. But this simple routine of 10 minutes can be done at home. You do not need any gym weights and types of equipment’ too. Here is what you have to do.

First, sit cross-legged on the floor with your hands on your belly and take a deep breath. Let your stomach fully expand. Now, when you exhale, suck in your belly muscles as far back as you can toward the ground. Your stomach flattened against your spine, start taking deep breaths and push your stomach back further and further with each exhale. Do so for 10 minutes. Do this regularly.

Over few weeks, you will observe the results. A study conducted by developers Leah Keller, a personal trainer, and Dr. Geeta Sharma, an OB-GYN at Weill Cornell Medical Center-New York Presbyterian Hospital, saw that 63 women had fixed the ‘mummy tummy.’

The stomach muscles get the necessary movement and this is the very basic exercise which you can do at home anytime. There are many other exercises which you can do to get back your abs post pregnancy.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 16, 2018 07:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).