A lot of women still look pregnant after they give birth...I did. The uterus has to go back to its previous size, and this can cause women to have a bloated looking stomach after birth. Some women are blessed with no or very few stretch marks and will have their old bellies back....others, again like me, had a lot and nothing short of cosmetic surgery will make it flat again, because of the excess skin.
And, I don't know about the water and towels. No hot water was used in the birth of my son, and the only towel used was the one to wipe the sweat of my face
