The Mommy Makeover: What Is It And Where Do I Get One?

Every woman has concerns about their appearance after pregnancy. Will I lose the weight? Will my stomach every return to normal? Will my breasts ever be the same again? It is the price women pay for having children. The babies are worth it but the strain on our bodies is severe. In fact, the older a woman is at childbirth, the harder it can be for her body to bounce back after a pregnancy, up to 18 months by some accounts. If it is a repeat pregnancy or, worse, a back-to-back pregnancy the recovery can drag for years. Whether from natural childbirth or a c-section, the stomach can appear distended or loose skin can hang while breast-feeding can cause the breasts to sag and lose their natural shape.

Enter the mommy makeover. This may sound like a simple afternoon that includes lunch with friends, a haircut and some fresh makeup but it is much more involved than that. A mommy makeover is actually a three-pronged surgical attack. Plastic surgeons perform a breast lift (mastopexy) to revive sagging breast and return them to their upright position and, occasionally, include an augmentation to replace any loss in breast tissue from years of breast-feeding.

Next, doctors perform a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty), which is a procedure that removes excess fat and skin left behind from pregnancy. Sometimes, no matter how hard you exercise and how many situps you do, nothing will make that pouch disappear. Surgeons can hide the incision in existing c-section scars or just above the pubic hairline so that it is not noticeable to the casual observer at the pool. And, last but not least, moms undergo selective liposuction to clean up any last bits of baby weight. Sometimes this is called body-sculpting. 

A mommy makeover can be done at any local hospital but the issue is recovery. In fact, it can be very difficult for moms to have adequate recovery time when there are small children in the house. Many moms will find it hard to resist the urge to pick up a toddler, run a vacuum or do a load of laundry, which is the main reason many are turning to medial tourism for a mommy makeover.

Cosmetic surgery in places like Brazil and Thailand is a combination of top-notch care and rock bottom prices. The airfare, resort stay and medical procedure can oftentimes total less than half of the cost from a U.S. physician. In fact, many mommies are banding together for the ultimate girl’s weekend and traveling to exotic locales to have these post-childbirth makeovers together. Recovering in a posh resort with a good book, lots of naps and close friends sure beats dirty diapers and spaghettios.