Mommy Makeover

Becoming a mother is perhaps the most beautiful phase of a woman’s life as it adds a whole new dimension to one’s life. As the pregnancy progress, a woman notices her body blossom into a different form which bears the proof of something beautiful growing inside her.

With the birth of a child, a whole set of responsibilities comes that take the center-stage in not only the woman’s life but the whole family’s as well. Most often amongst all the efforts to keep up with the demands of the little one, it is the mother who remains somewhat uncared for if not neglected. She hopes that her body will regain its pre-pregnant form and lot of efforts are directed towards achieving the pre-pregnancy state.

In today’s times, it is more pressing on the mothers to start looking their best as soon as possible after the child birth. However, there are various challenges which come in the way of achieving back the pre-pregnant state physically. The changes of pregnancy cannot be reversed totally but there are positive changes that can be brought about by seeking the professional help.

Mommy makeover is a collective term that is given to a set of Plastic surgical procedures which are carried out to restore a physical form that is required by the woman post child birth to bring her body back in shape prior the pregnancy. The set of procedures that need to be undertaken will depend upon the problems that are presented during the time of consultation. The most common areas that are a cause of concern post child birth are:

• Tummy: A sagging tummy is the most common complaint. Most often there is little fat excess and more loose skin that has not draped back.
• Altered chest size which could be either increased or decreased chest size that occurs post-lactation. While decreased chest size mostly causes psychological stress and disproportionate body image, increased chest size mostly causes physical discomfort like shoulder pain or back pain besides the limitation of clothing and social embarrassment.
• Irregular and disproportionate fat deposit around the waist, abdomen or thighs and hips that do not respond to diet and exercise.
• Skin changes and facial aging.
• Scar of Cesarean section
• Loose vagina after a normal delivery

Although there are varying opinions available, however, it is largely agreed that at least 6 month’s time must be given post-delivery to do any kind of form changing procedures. Under the effect of hormones, a procedure with the cesarean section or soon after the childbirth is not recommended. A woman must give a good try at losing weight and changing her diet and lifestyle before she resorts to surgery. Although it is not uncommon to operate on women who have given up on changing their physical appearance by diet and exercise and often surgery works as a positive reinforcer for a changed healthy lifestyle.

The surgery doesn’t have any effect on the possibility of a second pregnancy but the effects of the surgery may be reversed by the subsequent pregnancy. Thus, it is recommended to undergo tummy tuck or chest reduction after one has completed her family.

• Tummy tuck or abdominoplasty: The most commonly sought surgery in a mommy makeover. The loose skin of the tummy is removed. It also gives optimum results with stretch marks treatment. Liposuction is also a part of the procedure.
• Liposuction – Excess fat deposited around the tummy and trunk area, hips and thighs are removed by this procedure to provide better contours of the body.
• Chest lift or mastopexy – Sagging chests are lifted by rearranging the areola position and removing excess skin and adjusting the chest tissue.
• Chest reduction – Large size of the chests is a common problem among women today and chest reduction is an ideal solution for them and one of the most requested procedure to undergo.
• Chest implants – It is one of the popular chest surgeries for increasing the size of the chest by using silicone implants.
• Facial corrections – These range from simple acne treatments to facial sagging and aging which can be tackled with anti wrinkle injection, fillers or fat grafting around the face to give a fresh and youthful look to the face.
• Vaginoplasty: Some women also seek a tightening of the vagina post-delivery which has been made loose by childbirth.

This is a brief description of the Mommy make-over. A detailed discussion with your Plastic Surgeon will be needed to suggest what procedures are most suited to tailor to individual needs.