Following pregnancy and breastfeeding, women often find themselves facing a number of cosmetic problems that range from excess skin around the stomach to sagging breasts. Rather than being a standardized procedure, the Mommy Makeover is a basket of cosmetic procedures that helps to correct undesirable changes that tend to occur after pregnancy.
The Mommy Makeover procedure is an individual matter, but there are some common procedures that are often combined, including:
- Breast lift surgery
- Breast augmentation
- Tummy tuck procedure
- Liposuction
- Butt augmentation
Women who qualify for a Mommy Makeover procedure tend to have:
- Sagging breasts
- Downward-pointing nipples
- Excess body fat
- Loss of breast fullness and volume
- Weakened abdominal muscles
- Sagging abdominal skin
- Stretch marks
- Protruding abdomen
- Love handles
Considerations
Before you undergo any type of cosmetic surgery, it is important to carefully weigh all of your options so that you make the best decision for your individual needs.
One very important consideration before committing to a Mommy Makeover procedure is being honest with yourself about whether you might have children in the future.
Things like pregnancy and breast-feeding can alter your body in undesirable ways. If you’re considering a Mommy Makeover procedure, but have plans to have another child, you should realize that this could reverse the results of your procedure. Be sure to thoughtfully consider your decision so that you make the best long-term choice.
Choosing a Mommy Makeover
Undergoing a Mommy Makeover has helped many women reclaim their youthful appearance following pregnancy and breast-feeding. As long as you have a positive attitude, general good health, and realistic expectations, you should make a good candidate for the procedure.
Some Mommy Makeover benefits are:
- Enhanced appearance through tummy tuck, breast augmentation, liposuction, and more
- Improved self-confidence and self-esteem
- Enhanced mental health due to looking and feeling better about yourself
The following are some common procedures performed as part of a Mommy Makeover:
Tummy Tuck
After you have gone through pregnancy, you may be left with excess skin in the abdominal area, which can be caused by:
- Reduced skin elasticity
- Excess fat from the pubic bone to the ribs
- Connective tissue and abdominal muscles stretching
What To Expect
Your surgeon will be removing excess skin and fat between your belly button and pubic bone. They will tighten your outermost abdominal muscles using sutures, repositioning the skin near your belly button. They will seal incisions using sutures from hip to hip near your natural bikini line crease.
It is important to understand that this will leave some type of scar, which could be minimized in the hands of a skilled plastic surgeon and proper post-operative care.
Liposuction
Liposuction is another common element of a Mommy Makeover that is helpful for reshaping hips and flanks, as well as places like the chest, neck, thighs, knees and upper arms. Lipos is often performed in combination with a tummy tuck to achieve improved results.
What To Expect
Your surgeon would be injecting a sterile liquid along with a local anesthetic to reduce bleeding and pain. They will form small incisions and insert a tiny tube called a cannula into the incisions. Next, they will be suctioning away the fat using a special vacuum. Finally, they will apply your dressings, after removing your fat, along with a compression garment.
Breast Lift
This is a cosmetic procedure used for restoring the breast to a perkier and more youthful shape. It is popularly used for those who desire a more youthful appearance and do not want to wear a bra. The procedure also makes a good choice for those wishing to correct sagging breasts, nipples, and areolas.
What To Expect
To achieve your treatment goals, you need to be completely honest with your surgeon about your desired size and appearance. Breast lift procedures are helpful for those with droopy breasts, uneven nipples, or excess skin.
The procedure is normally performed under general anesthesia or IV sedation. Your surgeon will be forming some incisions and removing excess skin. Finally, they will reposition your nipple and areola before they close your incisions.
Breast Reduction
If you experienced breast swelling following pregnancy or breastfeeding, you might want to consider a breast reduction procedure as part of your Mommy Makeover. You may also benefit from breast reduction if you have been experiencing rashes, pain, or breathing problems due to having large breasts.
What To Expect
During breast reduction, your surgeon will be forming an incision to reposition your nipple and reduce the areola. Next, they will be lifting, reducing, and shaping the breast tissue. If excess fatty tissue led to your breast enlargement, your surgeon may also perform a liposuction procedure. The appearance of a smaller breast is created by the support of sutures within the breast tissue.
A breast reduction procedure normally takes around three hours to complete, after which you will need to wear a surgical bra for several weeks. In about two weeks, you should be able to have your sutures and surgical tape removed.
Breast Augmentation
Undergoing breast augmentation is a great way for women to increase their breast size for cosmetic reasons or to deal with the aftereffects of pregnancy. This procedure offers several options, such as saline implants, silicone gel implants, and fat grafting.
What To Expect
Your surgeon will be forming an incision for the placement of the implants. They will also be lifting your breast tissue for placement of the implants within a created pocket inside the chest area. You have the option of having your breast implant placed either underneath or on top of the pectoral muscle. Your surgeon will first go over the considerations involved with both choices.
In some cases, women may prefer to undergo a breast augmentation combined with a breast lift, particularly if they prefer larger breasts.
If you do not want saline or silicone breast implants, some surgeons can perform a small liposuction procedure and use fat taken from your own body. A fat graft is a minimally invasive procedure requiring sufficient fat from your body for the success of the surgery.
Can a Brazilian Butt Lift and a Mommy Makeover be performed at the same time?
Most Mommy Makeovers involve a liposuction procedure. So it makes sense to put that liposuctioned fat to good use by incorporating it into a Brazilian Butt Lift.
However, there is one caution about performing a BBL at the same time as a Mommy Makeover, and it has to do with patient recovery. Following a BBL procedure, you’ll be advised to keep off of your hindquarters and sleep on your stomach. But if you’ve also undergone a tummy tuck procedure, you may not have the option of sleeping on your stomach. So you may be better off waiting until you recover from your tummy tuck before getting a Brazilian Butt Lift.
Your Personalized Mommy Makeover
Once your plastic surgeon has evaluated your skin elasticity and health status, they will go over some options with you and provide you with their recommendations for your personalized Mommy Makeover. You may also be discussing any risk of complications associated with the form of anesthesia that you would be receiving.
After undergoing your Mommy Makeover, be sure that you carefully follow all of the instructions provided by your plastic surgeon. This should allow you to recover quickly and completely from your procedure so that you can take pride in the enhanced appearance provided by undergoing a Mommy Makeover procedure.
