How Soon Is Too Soon For a Mommy Makeover

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were 3,952,841 babies born in 2014, which equals around 10,829 daily.  Behind each of those new, smiling faces is a tired mother who put in nine months of serious effort.

In addition to dealing with a demanding bundle of joy, there are many pressures associated with post-pregnancy. You may feel pressure to return to a post-pregnancy size, insecurities associated with sagging breasts, and disappointment at a lack of immediate results. Even if you bounce back to the weight you were before pregnancy;it is unlikely that your figure will naturally return to the same shape. The same amount of weight can be distributed very differently after giving birth.

What Is A Mommy Makeover?

The Mommy Makeover is a combination of cosmetic procedures that lessen or reverse the long-term impact of  pregnancy on your body. These methods include but are not limited to:

Breast Augmentation – After pregnancy, you may experience sagging and deflation of your breasts. This change is particularly the case after breastfeeding. If you chose to breastfeed your child, your breasts might have expanded while you were lactating. It is not uncommon after you have finished breastfeeding for deflation of the breasts to occur. Breast augmentation can reverse this by enhancing the body contour and adding fullness to breasts. In this procedure, either saline or silicone gel implants are placed behind the breasts.  The implants are placed either underneath the breast tissue or behind the chest wall muscle.

Breast Lift – A Breast Lift is performed to reposition sagging breasts and provide perkiness. Like a Breast Augmentation, a Breast Lift can also reverse the effects of post-pregnancy sagginess and deflation. The excess skin is trimmed, and the supporting tissue is tightened to support a contoured breast.  The traditional Breast Lift involves an anchor type incision.  However, with the short scar technique, the scar does not go across the entire lower crease.

Tummy Tuck – During pregnancy, the skin on your stomach stretched significantly.  Giving birth immediately takes the pressure off your belly. However, you should not expect your skin to automatically contract to its pre-pregnancy state, especially after multiple births or births of multiples. Even after returning to a satisfactory weight, many women find that flabby skin and stretch marks due to weight gain can last for years. A Tummy Tuck can flatten and shape the abdomen and waist by removing excess fat and skin and tightening the underlying muscles. Stretch marks below the belly button can also be removed.  Some women may also notice a small hernia at the belly button. Often, a hernia can be repaired at the time of a Tummy Tuck.

Labiaplasty – Misshapen or enlarged labia minora can cause discomfort during intimacy or when wearing snug clothes. A Labiaplasty reduces and improves the size and shape of the labia minora, labia majora or both. Reshaping this tissue can reduce genital discomfort and decrease the prominence of the labia.

Liposuction – Some women have difficulty losing their baby weight. Liposuction can help address problem areas that diet and exercise miss. Unwanted areas of localized fat are removed from nearly any area of the body.  

How Soon Can You Get A Mommy Makeover?

Mommy Makeovers are recommended after a minimum of six months post-delivery and breastfeeding. There is no upper limit on how long you can wait to get one. Regardless of whether you now have a toddler or an adult child, you can undergo a Mommy Makeover.

Depending on what procedures you want, the exact timeline may vary. Combining these operations into a single surgical plan can sometimes cause your total recovery time to decrease.

First, you probably only want to consider undergoing a Mommy Makeover once you are finished having children. The Mommy Makeover is intended to return the body to a pre-pregnancy state, and another pregnancy may stretch the tummy and breasts again. To see lasting results, you should not have a Mommy Makeover if you plan to have more children.

If you smoke, you must stop smoking at least three months before and after the surgery. Smoking significantly increases the likelihood of complications and can complicate your healing process.  

Tummy tuck candidates should be in good physical condition, follow a healthy diet, and exercise regularly. Your lifestyle and habits should also support the surgery, or the benefits could disappear.

It is also important to be close to your ideal weight before undergoing a Mommy Makeover. The preferred Body Mass Index (BMI) is less than 30.  These are cosmetic procedures, not bariatric ones. If you plan on losing more weight, do so first. This weight loss will prevent you from needing to repeat your Mommy Makeovers to manage the new loose skin.

If you are breastfeeding, wait at least six months after stopping to receive a Breast Augmentation or a Breast Lift.

Recovering From A Mommy Makeover

All the procedures that make up a Mommy Makeover are invasive. Undergoing a Mommy Makeover will need you to schedule adequate recovery time. Your ease of recovery will depend on your conditioning and how well you prepare ahead of time.

The amount of time you need to recover from a Mommy Makeover will vary depending on the procedures that you have done. The more procedures you have done, the longer it may take to heal fully. Do not expect the full results of the Mommy Makeover to appear overnight.  It can take anywhere from six months to a year for your body to heal and adjust to its new figure. Despite the difficulties that go along with surgery, a recent survey found 97 percent of women feel happier after undergoing Mommy Makeover procedures.

For a speedy recovery, you should refrain from typical household duties for an average of around three weeks. If you are a new mom, this will impact your infant’s schedule. Do not try to push through the pain to help your baby. It is not safe for either of you. Instead, schedule family and friends to help before your surgery. Resting is important after surgery; however, you must make sure to move regularly to keep the blood flowing and prevent blood clots

There are multiple phases of recovery, and you will require different things at different stages of the healing process.  The first two to four weeks you may need pain medication and to restrict your movement. After that, you may begin increasing the intensity of your activity. It will take two to three months to return to normal.  Your scars will take at least six months to mature but will continue to fade for many years after.  You can expect to see your final results after about six months.