Mummy Makeovers: Options To Get Your Pre-Baby Body Back
The old adage used to be that one should love oneself as one is but modern day millennials and older generations are seeking to give nature a helping hand with the help of plastic surgery. According to worldwide industry organisation IMCAS, around $10.7 billion was spent on cosmetic procedures, with some of the most solicited surgical procedures including breast augmentation, liposuction, rhinoplasty (nose reshaping), eyelid surgery, and tummy tucks. Sometimes, more than one of these procedures is involved. This is the case with ‘mummy makeovers,’ increasingly seen as a shortcut to achieving one’s pre-baby physique.
How does pregnancy change the body?
Nine months of pregnancy can produce many changes in the body, owing to factors such as rapid weight gain during pregnancy and weight loss once the baby is born, coupled with the extent to which skin stretches to accommodate a baby. Common complaints among new mums include stretch marks, excess skin and fat in the belly area, and loss of volume or loss of firmness of the breasts. Plastic and aesthetic surgeons often recommend a number of different makeovers for new mums, which actually differ vastly in scale and cost, depending on the area targeted. Treatment may simply involve laser or surgery, depending on the plan formulated by the patient and her doctor.
Surgical mummy makeovers
Surgical mummy makeovers often involve a breast lift or augmentation and tummy tuck. For a breast augmentation, surgeons can use a combination of implants and fat obtained via autologous fat transfer from other parts of the body (for instance, the buttocks). The use of this technique enables surgeons to lend the breast a natural look. In a tummy tuck, meanwhile, surgeons often focus on uniting abdominal muscles which may have been separated during the birthing process. Excess skin is then tightened, which also rids the body of stretch marks.
Taking it further
Some mums opt to have other popular surgeries, including a butt lift or augmentation. The Brazilian butt lift, made popular by some curvy celebrities, is one of the fastest growing surgeries on a global scale. Like the breast lift, it sometimes involves the use of both implants and fat, though sometimes fat grafting is sufficient.
Non-surgical approaches
Laser and other non-surgical approaches can also be used to target issues such as stretch marks. Fraxel laser, for instance, delivers optimal results. Women who find that they have stubborn fat in an area such as the abdomen, back, or ‘love handles’, meanwhile, sometimes opt for ‘fat freezing’ as a way to reduce volume.
New techniques and increasing specialization in everything from butt lifts to scar removal mean that there are many options for those who find that despite exercise and a sound diet, they continue to have stubborn problems that can do with a little help from a plastic surgeon. Mummy makeovers may be a buzzword in the media of late, but they essentially comprise a series of procedures that patients may demand depending on their circumstances.
