While maternity can be a very worthwhile experience, pregnancy and breastfeeding have the tendency to negatively change the physical appearance of the mother. Pregnancy can induce a number of changes in different body parts, including the breasts, abdomen, sides, thighs, legs and back.
After childbirth and nursing, you would likely be longing for your pre-pregnancy figure. While diet and exercise may help, some changes done to your body can be stubborn and may not disappear through diet and exercise alone. You would need to use an effective approach like plastic surgery to reverse the effects of pregnancy and nursing on your body.
Mommy Makeover is one of the most recommended and effective plastic surgery options for women who have experienced multiple pregnancies and have no plans to have more children. The procedure reverses and fixes the prominent, undesirable signs of pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing.
The single-session surgery involves the use of multiple procedures to help you get your pre-pregnancy body to make it youthful and vibrant again. Each procedure is particularly customized to the needs and requirements of the patient. The procedure normally comprises of a tummy tuck, breast lift or augmentation, and liposuction.
The tummy tuck helps contour the abdomen; the breast enhancement procedure restores the shape of the breasts, and liposuction removes the excess fat from localizes areas of the body. Combined, these procedures deliver you an enhanced, vibrant, and aesthetically appealing body.
However, it is important to understand that combining multiple plastic surgery procedures involves a longer surgery time, prolonged post-surgery recovery, and more risks, side effects, and complications. One of the biggest challenges for plastic surgeons to perform the Mommy Makeover is the length of time the patient is under the effects of general anesthesia.
Candidacy for Mommy Makeover
The Mommy Makeover surgery is for women who desire to restore their pre-pregnancy figure. In order to qualify for the procedure, you must wait for at least 3-6 months after the delivery of your last child. A good candidate for the surgery is a woman who has stopped breastfeeding for a few months. Your plastic surgeon will examine your breasts to get an idea of their actual size, contour, skin quality, and shape.
It is also important for you to be in good physical and emotional health to qualify for the surgery. If you are suffering from serious health issues like diabetes, heart disease, respiratory problems, blood disorder, and high blood pressure, you would be advised to avoid a Mommy Makeover. Furthermore, you must have realistic goals and expectations.
The Mommy Makeover is not for women who plan to have further pregnancies as pregnancy and nursing can negatively affect the results. It is therefore advised that you postpone your plan to undergo a Mommy Makeover surgery if you want to have more children. Furthermore, the surgery will not be performed during pregnancy, as it can be life-threatening for you and your baby.
Mommy Makeover options
There are a number of plastic surgery procedures that can be used in combination to execute a Mommy Makeover, delivering patients complete enhancement of their body areas affected by pregnancy. However, what procedure will be combined depends on your aesthetic flaws, goals, and desires, in addition to your health and fitness for the comprehensive surgery.
Breast lift
Saggy, loose breasts are the most common side effect of pregnancy and nursing. This occurs as a result of the stretching of the breast skin and loss of tissue density during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The breast lift procedure removes the excess, unwanted skin, fat, and tissue from your breasts, consequently tightening the breasts and making them firmer and perkier.
The results of breast lifting are sustainable and will last for years. However, you must stick to a healthy lifestyle to continue enjoying the outcomes of breast lift for a longer period. Sometimes, breast augmentation is carried along with a breast lift. However, if you are happy with the size of your breasts, you should only undergo a breast lift surgery.
Breast augmentation
While pregnancy normally increases breast volume, breastfeeding does the reverse. Breastfeeding leads to a loss of breast volume and perkiness. Women who have lost considerable breast volume after nursing can choose to have the breast augmentation procedure as part of the Mommy Makeover surgery.
The breast augmentation procedure mostly involves the use of implants to add projection to the breasts. These implants are either made of silicone or saline and come in different shapes and sizes. The implants are placed inside the breasts to increase their size. Most plastic surgeons recommend the use of silicone breast implants as they deliver better and relatively natural-appearing results.
The implants are placed underneath or above the breast muscles through tiny incisions in the breasts. While the results of breast implants are effective, you will be required to either remove them or replace them in future as they are not permanent.
Liposuction
During pregnancy, your body experiences massive changes as a result of the secretion of different glands. This triggers the growth of excess fat pockets in localized areas of the body. The most common areas where stubborn fat deposits get accumulated during pregnancy include the abdomen, sides, flanks, love handles, back, thighs, and arms.
Fat deposits are often immune to diet and exercise, which is why plastic surgeons recommend a liposuction procedure. Liposuction is an effective method to remove the excess, stubborn fat deposits from localized areas of the body. The results of liposuction are permanent as long as you stick to a healthy lifestyle.
Liposuction involves the removal of fat deposits from target areas of your body through the use of a small tube called a cannula, which is connected to a suction pump. The cannula is inserted inside the target area through a tiny incision and moved back and forth, which sets the fat deposits free. Using a suction pump, the loosened fat cells are then removed from the body.
While liposuction can rid the patient of stubborn fat pockets, it cannot treat excess skin or loose muscles. Therefore, a tummy tuck is often used together with liposuction to fix imperfections such as loose skin, muscles, and tissue in the abdomen. When liposuction and tummy tuck are used in combination, it will contour your overall figure and your waist and abdomen will get a beautiful outline as a result.
Tummy tuck
A tummy tuck surgery addresses the loose, extra skin, muscles, and tissue in the abdomen area. During pregnancy, the abdomen stretches as a result of the baby’s growth. This leads to damage of the abdominal wall muscles and after delivery, the abdomen becomes saggy. A tummy tuck procedure repairs the abdominal wall muscles, removes the excess skin and fat, and makes the abdomen firmer and tighter.
The procedure contours the abdomen so that it can accentuate your overall figure. The surgery involves the placement of an incision at the pubic bone, so your surgeon can approach the abdominal wall muscles and repair them. During the procedure, liposuction may also be used to rid your body of stubborn fat pockets. The aesthetic improvements achieved via tummy tuck are sustainable, meaning that as long as you are careful with your lifestyle, the results will stay.
Since a tummy tuck procedure involves greater risks, your plastic surgeon will rigorously examine your candidacy for the procedure. If you are suffering from serious health problems like diabetes, heart disease, blood disorder, blood clotting, or excessive bleeding, you will be ineligible for surgery.
Conclusion
Pregnancy and breastfeeding take a huge toll on the physical appearance of a woman. During pregnancy, the abdomen stretches out, which leaves the abdominal wall muscles damaged and the skin loose. Furthermore, the breasts become voluminous during pregnancy and saggy after childbirth. Pregnancy also triggers the growth of stubborn fat pockets in different parts of the body.
The Mommy Makeover is a very effective plastic surgery option to restore your pre-pregnancy figure. The surgery uses a combination of procedures to treat the different imperfections induced in your body by pregnancy and nursing. The most common procedures in the Mommy Makeover include breast enhancement, tummy tuck, and liposuction.