A pendulous abdomen is an abdomen which hangs or sags over your pelvis.
When you have a pendulous abdomen your abdomen bulges and extends outwards and the skin and abdominal muscles lose elasticity and droop.
And often there is an accumulation of fat tissue in the abdomen and the rectus muscles may also separate and create a gap called and known as diastasis recti.
A pendulous abdomen can be caused by weight gain, obesity, multiple pregnancies, abdominal surgery and diastasis recti.
In rare cases a pendulous abdomen can be a sign of underlying medical conditions such as fluid accumulation in your abdomen which is also known as ascites.
If you have any sudden or significant change in the appearance of your abdomen you should see a doctor.
A pendulous abdomen can often be treated with liposuction.
Having a pendulous abdomen can lead to less than ideal baby positions such as asynclitic which is when the baby's head is tipped to the side and means that the baby's head is no longer in line with the birth canal.
It can also contribute to prodromal labor which is long labor without a lot of progress or even sticky shoulders also known as shoulder dystocia.