Motherhood can be a real pain in the butt.
Jennifer Lawrence knows that firsthand, recently opening up about one of the lasting physical changes she’s experienced since giving birth.
“Your vagina will bounce back, your butthole won’t,” the actress said on a recent episode of “Call Her Daddy,” which was recorded while host Alex Cooper was pregnant with her first child.
Lawrence, 36, shares two children with her husband, art gallery director Cooke Maroney. The couple’s first son, Cy, was born in 2022, and they welcomed their second baby boy in early 2025.
While the Hunger Games star didn’t get into the nitty gritty of exactly what happened to her derrière after becoming a mom, she admitted she was “completely unprepared” for what was to come.
“There’s no going back,” Lawrence said. “That thing is coming out.”
To get to the bottom of it, The Post turned to three medical experts to find out what childbirth can do to your rear end — and how new moms can get some relief.
Behind the motherhood woes
“Pregnancy and childbirth put extreme pressures on the pelvic floor and can cause hemorrhoids, fissures and sphincter weakness and injuries,” said Dr. Poppy Addison, a colorectal surgeon at Northwell’s Staten Island University Hospital.
“These are very common problems that typically improve within the first few weeks of delivery but for some people can turn chronic.”
During vaginal delivery, the pressure and straining involved in pushing can cause the veins around the anus to become engorged, leading to hemorrhoids.
After the swelling subsides, some women are left with what’s known as a residual external hemorrhoidal skin tag.
“These are stretched out skin and usually do not go away, though the appearance can change minimally if they’re small,” said Dr. Carmen Fong, a colorectal surgeon and chief medical officer at Bummed.
The muscles responsible for supporting the rectum and controlling bowel movements can also be stretched or injured as the baby makes its way through the birth canal.
“Sometimes they recover completely, but sometimes the stretching or injury leaves lasting changes,” said Dr. Amir Shay, a gynecologic surgeon and the OB-GYN medical advisor for Bummed.
That can mean trouble holding in gas, an urgent need to use the bathroom or difficulty completely emptying their bowels.
And severely weakened pelvic floor support can lead to rectal prolapse, a condition in which the rectum slips down and protrudes through the anus.
“It can go back in, but the prolapse usually doesn’t resolve until surgically removed,” Fong said, though she noted pelvic floor therapy can help.
Then there are tears. In particular bad cases, they can “can go through the butthole and the repair can leave a scar or even a fistula.”
Some women even develop anal fissures — small, painful tears in the skin around the anus — after giving birth, often due to constipation.
C-section surprises
Women who have C-sections can also have hemorrhoids and pelvic floor due to pressure during pregnancy.
And it all happens more often than you might think.
“Studies suggest that roughly one in four to one in three women experience hemorrhoids during pregnancy or after childbirth,” Shay said.
“More serious tears involving the muscles that control bowel movements occur in approximately 3% of vaginal deliveries.”
Fortunately, most women don’t develop ongoing bowel-control problems, Shay said — but those who do may suffer in silence.
“I know women underreport these postpartum symptoms,” Fong said.
How to keep your rear in the clear
The good news is that many postpartum anal and pelvic floor problems can be treated, and some may even be able to be prevented.
“Preventing constipation is one of the most important steps,” Shay said. “Drinking enough water, eating fiber, and using stool softeners when needed can help reduce pressure on the anal area.”
Warm baths and hemorrhoid treatments, including prescription topical creams, can also help ease discomfort.
Fong also recommends pelvic floor physical therapy to strengthen and improve the muscles both before and after giving birth.
“If someone is experiencing constipation, pain or bleeding or anything else concerning, I recommend they come to a colorectal surgeon regardless of the stage of pregnancy or postpartum recovery to discuss an individualized approach,” Addison said.
“We can suggest methods to avoid the problem getting worse throughout pregnancy or how to address it after delivery.”
The bottom line, Shay said, is that women spend plenty of time preparing for childbirth, but far less time learning about what happens to their bodies afterward.
“The vagina isn’t the only area affected by pregnancy and delivery. The anus and pelvic floor can change too, and women shouldn’t feel embarrassed to talk about it,” he said.
“These problems are common, and many can be treated.”
