Mommy Makeover is a popular name for a combination of cosmetic procedures to reshape the breasts and abdomen after pregnancy. If you have one or more children and have breastfed for months at a time, it may have taken a toll on your body. Flabby muscles and skin, as well as stretch marks in the abdomen and sagging breasts with no volume, may be the result of having children or major weight loss. Many women work hard after delivery to lose weight and tighten muscles, but often diet and exercise are not enough to get your pre-baby body back. This can take a toll on your self-confidence. 

A Mommy Makeover addresses a woman’s post-pregnancy body in one surgical session. The most important surgeries are the abdominoplasty or tummy tuck and breast surgery. These are each major surgery, and when done at the same time, may take from three to six hours. This is considered reasonable for major surgery. For some women, it may take more than one session to get the results they want.

Liposuction for fat removal is another common procedure in a Mommy Makeover. It is often used in conjunction with the abdominoplasty to remove pockets of fat around the tummy that simply will not go with exercise. You may be interested in other treatments that can be combined with a Mommy Makeover such as skin tighteners, cellulite treatments and stretch mark improvement.

There is no Mommy Makeover that can withstand another pregnancy. If you plan to have more children, we recommend that you wait until you are finished childbearing and breastfeeding before considering a Mommy Makeover.

Breast Enhancement

There are several surgical procedures that can return your breasts to a more youthful appearance. Whether they are too large or too flat, we have the solution. Breast reduction is a procedure that will remove breast tissue from your breast and reshape it to the right size and proportions. The incision is made under the breast and around the areola.

A breast lift may be recommended if your breasts are the right size but have stretched and sagged. Once this happens they may become less firm and perky. A breast lift reduces the stretched skin and remodels the tissue so the breasts sit higher.

Breast augmentation, called mammoplasty, is recommended for women after breastfeeding when their breasts shrink in size and lose volume. To increase the size and give a fuller, rounder appearance, breast implants may be the best option. Implants may be filled with sterile salt water or silicone gel. According to our surgeon’s recommendation, the implant will be placed under the pectoral muscle or under the breast tissue on top of the pectoral muscle.

Tummy Tuck

Along with the breasts, the abdomen takes the most stress from pregnancy. Not only does it stretch for the baby, it changes with weight loss and gains during and after pregnancy. The abdomen is one of the hardest places on the body to tone with diet and exercise. When they do not provide you with the figure you want, a tummy tuck is a good option. It is also called a lipoabdominoplasty because it is combined with liposuction to remove fat.

A tummy tuck requires serious recovery time, so make sure there is someone to take care of your children for a week or two until you are back on your feet.

The surgery starts with an incision made at the pubic bone. The scar will be concealed by underwear and swimsuits. The skin and tissue are lifted and the abdomen muscles are tightened. The excess skin and tissue are cut away before it is replaced. This will also reduce or remove the appearance of some stretch marks. With proper care, your firm tummy will last for years. There are several types of tummy tuck such as:

• Full abdominoplasty
• Belt lipectomy which also tightens the waist
• Small tummy tuck, which is an abdominoplasty with a smaller incision
• Reverse tummy tuck in which the incision is made from the stomach to the breastbone

Liposuction

While some fat deposits may be removed during surgery, liposuction may be used to remove others. It will give your body a smooth contour around your hips and abdomen. Liposuction uses a tiny hollow tube that is inserted through a small incision into the fat that is sucked out. It may be done in several areas around your hips and thighs to make them look slimmer and smoother.

When you have a consultation with your doctor, you can discuss the different procedures included in a Mommy Makeover. You will learn what may be the best combination of your issues and about realistic expectations. Since a Mommy Makeover includes multiple procedures that are done in one surgical session, it may require longer recovery time than one procedure would require. There could also be more bruising and swelling that would happen with one procedure. It is recommended to expect two to four weeks recovery time. However, getting the procedures done at one time will save time and money in the end. 

You are a good candidate for a Mommy Makeover if you are finished childbearing and breastfeeding, have good overall health and have spent some time after delivery using diet and exercise to improve the appearance of your body. We recommend that you wait six months or more after delivery before having surgery. It is also important to have stopped breastfeeding so that the surgeon can see the correct position and size of your breasts.

The surgeon may also recommend non-invasive treatments to tighten skin and reduce the appearance of cellulite. Skin tighteners may include topical creams that stimulate the generation of collagen. Skin tighteners are not as effective as surgery and need to be repeated regularly to maintain the results.

Dr. Douglas Steinbrech, a plastic surgeon board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, was selected by the Consumers’ Research Council of America as one of America’s Top Plastic Surgeons. He performs breast augmentations and other procedures in Manhattan and Los Angeles.