Pregnancy is brilliant – for a start, you get a baby at the end and there’s nothing better than that. Nothing beats holding your first – or fifth – newborn for the first time and gazing at those tiny nails, smelling that new hair and working out which side of the family the genes came from.
Mummy Makeover
However, for many women, pregnancy doesn’t just leave them with a gorgeous newborn baby. It can leave them with weight gain and stretch marks on their abdomen, breasts, back and hips. It can also, in the case of big babies, excessive amniotic fluid or twins, result in damaged abdominal muscles and a so-called apron of skin.
Then there’s the breast changes caused by pregnancy (not so much by breastfeeding, you may be surprised to know).
Exercise Can’t Cure Everything
While other mums at fitness classes are rejoicing at getting into their skinny jeans, some mothers are struggling. They may have lost the excess weight, but they’re stuck with stretched skin, drooping breasts and separated abdominal muscles. No amount of exercise will firm up an “apron” of loose skin or make stretchmarks vanish. If, after a year or so, a woman is still unhappy with her post-pregnancy body and she’s not planning more children, it may be time to consider surgery.
Enter the “Mummy Makeover”
The Mummy Makeover is a recent phenomenon. We’re all familiar with breast augmentations, lifts and reductions, as well as tummy tucks. Most often we imagine them being performed separately, or on completely different people. However, women are increasingly choosing to have both procedures simultaneously.
What’s it all about?
It might sound cutesy, like a mani-pedi, but a Mummy Makeover is a combination of surgical procedures that can help to bring back pre-baby bodies.
Not all women will need the same procedures in their makeover. Some may just need a tummy tuck and upper arm reduction, for example; while others need a breast lift and stretch mark removal. There’s also liposuction and thigh lift options.
Mostly, though, women opt for the tummy tuck and breast surgery combination, often with some liposuction for extra contouring. The surgery is usually performed in one session, although some women may prefer to have it done over two visits.
Are You Suitable for a Mummy Makeover?
You’ve been working hard at the gym, walking and running and you’ve shed most or all of the pounds; however, you can’t reduce your bulging belly or firm up your breasts and you’re starting to feel down about it. You’re thinking about surgery, but you need to know if you’re suitable. Ideally, you should:
- Have completed your family, especially if you’re having abdominoplasty (the tummy tuck); abdominoplasty is expensive and another pregnancy will probably send you back to square one;
- Have lost as much weight as you can before your surgery – surgeons like their patients to have a BMI of less than 30, and
- Be in good health generally, as well as wanting the surgery; women shouldn’t be pressured into this procedure by others.
You should also be realistic about your results – surgery will certainly help to restore your pre-baby body, especially if you have your abs repaired, but some bodies go through more than others to bring new life into the world.
Featured Image Source
