Many women consider having children to be one of the most important and rewarding choices of their lives. But regardless of all the joy that motherhood brings, it is common for women to experience unwelcome and lasting changes to their bodies from pregnancy that can be a source of embarrassment and adversely affect their self-esteem. Mothers are expected to do it all, and there is a common misconception that women should be able to quickly “bounce back” after pregnancy with some dedicated dieting and exercise. What is frequently left out of the narrative is the unexpected challenge that many mothers will face no matter how well they balance everything – getting back their pre-pregnancy body.
Pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding all take a tremendous toll on a woman’s figure, with the most apparent changes naturally occurring to the abdomen and breasts. While diet and exercise are both key elements in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, flabby belly skin, drooping breasts and stubborn baby weight are not reversible through these efforts alone. Fortunately, mommy makeovers have emerged as a package of complementary restorative procedures designed to empower mothers by explicitly addressing each of these areas of concern with less downtime for recovery and subsequently less surgical costs for achieving a figure that allows them to feel good again.
What is a Mommy Makeover?
A mommy makeover refers not to an individual procedure, but rather to a suite of surgical procedures that are entirely customizable to treat any of your unique post-pregnancy concerns, and are performed in a single surgery. You may wish to enhance or lift your breasts, tone your stomach or trim away excess skin so you can love the way you look again- whether you’re new to motherhood or have struggled with your post-pregnancy appearance for years.
Procedures commonly combined for mommy makeovers at Newport Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Associates include:
- Breast Augmentation: Utilizes silicone or saline implants to restore breasts that have lost their shape and volume due to pregnancy and breastfeeding.
- Breast Lift: Raises the breasts, tightens underlying tissue and removes excess skin for a more firm and youthful profile.
- Body Lift: Designed to remove excess skin and fat present on the lower torso and upper legs. Lifts and redefines the belly, hips, back, side flanks, buttocks and outer thighs for a cohesively smooth and uplifted lower body.
- Tummy Tuck: Tightens and repositions abdominal muscles weakened by pregnancy, removes excess, baggy skin and tightens remaining skin for a leaner and more chiseled midsection.
- Mini Tummy Tuck: Less invasive tummy tuck procedure that treats mild to moderate weakened abdominal muscles and loose skin beneath the navel to redefine the lower abdomen.
- Liposuction: Recontours and defines the figure by removing localized fat from the body that is resistant to diet and exercise.
- Smartlipo: Minimally invasive liposuction technique that utilizes laser-assisted technology to precisely target and melts fat from within for easier extraction, requiring less downtime for recovery.
Ideal candidates for a mommy makeover are women who are in good overall health, have maintained a stable weight and healthy lifestyle, and are not considering future pregnancies, as this could alter or even reverse the results of the procedure. If you’re ready to focus more on the better parts of motherhood by making a positive change for yourself, board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Seify is ready to compassionately listen to your concerns and help find the best solutions for you.
Enhance Your Breasts
Loss of breast volume, lax breast tissue and heavy, sagging skin are some of the most common concerns women will face after pregnancy and breastfeeding. A breast augmentation procedure is a safe and effective method of restoring or enhancing the breasts’ pre-pregnancy shape, symmetry and profile through the use of silicone or saline implants.
A breast lift can be performed in addition to a breast augmentation procedure, or as a stand-alone treatment to raise breasts that have begun to fall as a result of lax breast tissue and stretched, loose skin. By improving the breasts’ natural shape and eliminating excess skin, breast augmentation and a breast lift can help you achieve a more youthful and attractive breast profile for years to come.
Tighten Post-Pregnancy Flab
During pregnancy, the abdominal muscles become stretched, and the once firm and taut skin on your stomach can be left looking loose and saggy. While a healthy diet and exercise can help you to shed some unwanted baby weight, it isn’t an effective solution for restoring your skin’s elasticity or spot-reducing stubborn fat from trouble spots like the belly and side flanks. If you find that your stomach is still protruding after your pregnancy and lacks firmness and tone, a tummy tuck procedure, or abdominoplasty, works to tighten weakened abdominal muscles, eliminate excess skin and even reduce or remove the appearance of stretch marks on the lower abdomen.
In a traditional tummy tuck procedure, the underlying abdominal muscles are first repositioned and tightened to restore the structure of your midsection. Dr. Seify will then redrape the skin over the area, trimming away any excess tissue and tightening remaining skin. Liposuction may also be utilized during this procedure to remove stubborn fatty deposits on the stomach and restore your pre-baby contours.
Mothers with limited excess skin and flab present beneath the navel may opt for a less invasive mini tummy tuck procedure to address concerns with their lower abdomen. Similar to the traditional tummy tuck, the mini tummy tuck aims to tighten lower abdominal muscles with mild to moderate flaccidity, and treats less severe skin sagging below the belly button. This procedure is also frequently paired with liposuction to eliminate fatty deposits or the “pooch” that can develop on the lower stomach.
Eliminate Problem Areas
While putting on some extra weight during your pregnancy is natural and provides the nutrients necessary to support your baby’s growth, it can be frustrating when excess fat pockets don’t respond to diet and exercise and stubbornly stick around long after giving birth. While not a weight loss procedure, many women at or close to their goal weight often select to add liposuction to their mommy makeover to effectively eliminate those problem areas that like to linger after pregnancy, such as on the midsection, love handles, thighs and buttocks.
Traditional liposuction techniques work to safely and effectively eradicate fat cells by using an instrument known as a cannula to manually dislodge the fat from your targeted regions and then suction it out of the body. Depending on the size of your treatment area and your desired results, you may also opt for the gentler Smartlipo technique, which uses laser energy to pinpoint and liquefy your most stubborn trouble spots, and even works to tighten lax skin by stimulating collagen production.
Mommy makeovers offer the perfect solution for addressing all of your post-pregnancy aesthetic concerns in one procedure. If you’re ready to reverse the toll pregnancy has taken on your body and restore your confidence – all in one procedure, Dr. Seify is ready to help you design a lasting treatment plan that empowers you to get back the figure of your dreams. Call our office today at 949-407-8265 to schedule your free in-person consultation and learn more.
