Motherhood is a wonderful and gratifying experience for women. However, pregnancy and breast feeding brings about myriad of physical changes in women’s body. Breast and abdomen are the most affected areas, although many areas of the body can be affected. Some women carry these changes with pride as a sign of motherhood, but many women wish to go back to looking youthful as they did before their pregnancies.

Changes that are often concerning the women following pregnancies mainly affect breast and abdomen. Majority of women notice a pouch in the lower abdomen and stretch marks that does not reduce despite of weight loss with diet and exercise. This lower abdominal pouch is the excess skin that resulted from the affect of abdominal stretching as the fetus grows in the womb.

Breast can behave differently in women following pregnancy. Majority of the women develop sagging of breasts, some women lose breast volume, while others notice that the breasts have enlarged following pregnancy. All these breast issues can be addressed with cosmetic breast surgeries to achieve youthful looking breasts that are proportionate with rest of the body.

Many women try skin tightening creams, lotions and potions for stretch marks. Many invest in nonsurgical skin tightening technologies. Skin tightening technologies are limited to minimal skin laxity. Women who have significant skin laxity do not benefit from any of these. Many women also develop separation of muscles in the midline of the abdomen which is called as divarication of recti, that further add to protruded belly.  All these concerns in the abdominal area can be addressed with Abdominoplasty aka “Tummy tuck”.

“Mommy Makeover” is a term used to describe a group of cosmetic procedures that many mothers seek following pregnancy and ideally after completing their family. There are multiple variations of Mommy Makeover, and I individualize the plan for each patient depending on their needs

For many women the Mommy Makeover includes the following:

Abdominoplasty: (also known as a tummy tuck); mini-abdominoplasty (mini tummy tuck). In abdominoplasty, the abdominal muscles are tightened and excess lower abdominal skin with stretch marks is removed.

Cosmetic Breast Surgery:

• Breast lift, with or without augmentation: if a woman has sagging breast with or without volume depletion.
• Breast reduction: if the breasts are excessively large and causing discomfort, the size may be reduced.

Liposuction: Stubborn fat is removed from areas like the abdomen (which is often combined with abdominoplasty), back, thighs, arms etc.

Genital rejuvenation: Labiaplasty, vaginoplasty, monsplasty, fat transfer to the labia.

Is it safe to combine multiple procedures in a mommy makeover?

It is a common practice to combine breast and abdominal surgery and it is safe in experienced hands. However, every patient is unique and should be medically evaluated by the surgeon to make sure the candidate is fit to undergo a combined procedure.

Who is an ideal candidate for a mommy makeover?

An ideal candidate is a woman who has completed her family and has achieved a stable weight and a healthy BMI. Like any cosmetic surgical procedure, significant weight gain or weight loss after surgery can compromise the surgical outcome.

How soon after having children can I have a mommy makeover?

Women considering mommy makeover should wait for at least six months after completing breastfeeding. This allows your hormones to return to normal levels and the breasts to stabilize in size and shape. There is also enough time to lose the pregnancy weight. This will allow the surgeon an accurate surgical assessment to optimize surgical outcome.

Can I have more kids after my Mommy Makeover?

Additional pregnancies are possible following mommy makeover and it will not affect your pregnancies or ability to become pregnant in any way. However, the result from cosmetic plastic surgery may be compromised if the tissues are stretched again with another pregnancy. If more children are planned in the near future for instance next 2-3 years, then it is best to postpone the surgery, especially abdominoplasty.  However, if you intend to wait for several years to have more children, then cosmetic surgery can help you enjoy your body during the long interval.

Will a caesarean section or hysterectomy affect Mommy Makeover results?

No, the incision for the abdominoplasty is at the same level on the lower abdomen. In fact, abdominoplasty can remove this scar and skin in order to smoothen the abdominal contour.

How can I maintain the results after a mommy makeover?

You will be able to enjoy the results of mommy makeover by maintaining ideal body weight with a healthy lifestyle. Remember that age related changes continue to affect our bodies.