When Should You Get a Mommy Makeover?
When Should You Get a Mommy Makeover?
Pregnancy transforms a woman’s body in many ways, affecting her appearance. While these transformations are something to celebrate, they can also leave a new mom yearning for her pre-baby body. For moms who want to look and feel more like themselves again, a mommy makeover offers an attractive solution.
A mommy makeover includes a combination of surgical procedures to address the ways pregnancy changed your body. Patients commonly focus on improving breast and abdomen appearance post-pregnancy, with procedures such as breast augmentation and a tummy tuck. But a mommy makeover is customized to suit you and consists of any cosmetic procedure you want to have done.
For example, your makeover might also include liposuction, buttocks augmentation, and labiaplasty, depending on your wants and needs. Overall, a mommy makeover is all about how you want to look and feel, and a surgeon will recommend procedures to help you reach your goals.
If you’re healthy and ready to feel confident again in your favorite clothes, you might be excited to contact a surgeon. Before you book a consultation, you’ll need to consider timing first. In this guide, we’ll show you everything you need to think about when choosing the right time for your mommy makeover.
Is There an Age Limit for a Mommy Makeover?
As long as you’re in good health, you’re never too old for a mommy makeover. Many adults decide to improve their appearance and give themselves a confidence boost through cosmetic surgery. According to the 2020 Plastic Surgery Statistics Report, Americans aged 30 to 39 years old underwent 2.1 million cosmetic procedures, including surgical and minimally invasive procedures. Individuals aged 40 to 54 make up 45% of cosmetic procedures with 6.1 million. Your doctor will evaluate your health before determining if it’s a good time for a mommy makeover.
If you’re a young mother, you can also benefit from a mommy makeover. Overall, the right age for plastic surgery is the age you are when you decide you want it. But you’ll need to give your body some time after pregnancy before getting surgery.
How Soon Can You Get a Mommy Makeover?
The best time to get a mommy makeover is at least six months after giving birth. You may need to wait a year or longer before you’re ready and based on what procedures you’re considering. In general, it’s ideal to meet the following criteria before getting surgery:
1. Your Body Has Fully Healed From Childbirth
Whether you had a vaginal delivery or a cesarean section, giving birth is traumatic for your body. As with any physical trauma, your body needs to heal. This healing phase, known as the postpartum period, allows your body to adjust to its new post-birth state.
During this period, you may experience abdominal pain until your uterus returns to its normal size. If your doctor had to cut or add stitches to your perineum during childbirth, this area will also be sore and need to recover. Even if you had an easy delivery, you’d need to rest your body as much as possible during this time.
For some women, recovering from childbirth takes about six to eight weeks, while others might need months to fully feel like themselves again. In either case, it’s essential to delay a mommy makeover until you are fully healed. Getting surgery too soon after giving birth would not be safe, and any reputable surgeon would advise you to wait.
2. You’re Done Breastfeeding
Since pregnancy can lead to sagging, flatter breasts, many women opt to have breast surgery as part of their mommy makeover. This choice may include a breast augmentation, which can be used to restore the size, symmetry, and shape of your breasts, or a breast lift to give your breasts a more youthful look. If your breasts are large and causing discomfort, you may wish to get a breast reduction during your mommy makeover.
Regardless, it’s recommended to wait three to six months after you’ve stopped breastfeeding to have surgery. Your breasts need to no longer produce milk and return to their regular size and shape before you get surgery for the best results.
If you want your makeover to include an injectable treatment, like Botox, it’s also recommended to wait until you’re done breastfeeding. If you chose not to breastfeed, you should wait three to six months after delivery for breast enhancement or reduction surgery.
3. You Aren’t Planning to Have More Children
Before you get a mommy makeover, you need to consider if you want to have more children. If you get pregnant after your makeover, your abdomen and breast skin will stretch again and may reverse some or all of the results from the procedures you had done. Many women wait to have cosmetic surgery until they decide they no longer want children. According to the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, the average age of cosmetic surgery patients is 41.
If you do get pregnant after a mommy makeover, you can have cosmetic surgery procedures done again to restore your body. Because additional procedures come with another recovery period, most patients prefer to preserve their first makeover results by avoiding pregnancy and major weight fluctuations.
4. You’re Ready to Lose Stubborn Fat
Many women develop stubborn fat deposits in their abdomen, hips, and thighs during pregnancy. If you have fat deposits you’re unable to lose with diet and exercise, you might consider getting liposuction with your mommy makeover.
During liposuction, your surgeon will use a tube called a cannula to suction out unwanted fat cells. Liposuction can remove fat from a patient’s belly, thighs, hips, upper arms, buttocks, face, and other body regions. Depending on your goals, liposuction may be part of a tummy tuck procedure.
Know that liposuction removes pockets of fat but does not address significantly loose skin or stretched abdominal muscles, often resulting from pregnancy. A tummy tuck will remove excess skin and tighten abdominal muscles for a toned figure. That’s why a tummy tuck with liposuction can produce exceptional results.
Also know that liposuction is not a weight-loss procedure. Doctors recommend being within 30% of your ideal weight before getting liposuction.
5. You Have Enough Time to Recover
You may need weeks to months to fully recover from your mommy makeover. While this doesn’t mean you’ll need to spend the entire recovery period in bed, you will have to avoid some activities and likely need help around the house.
How much time you need depends on the procedures you have done. For example, a tummy tuck has a longer recovery time than other procedures because it involves the abdominal muscles. You can expect to feel sore for the first week or two after a tummy tuck and will need to rest at home.
Breast augmentation typically involves a much shorter recovery time than a tummy tuck. With this procedure, you can expect to feel better in about a week and have a complete recovery in around two to six months. Your doctor will give you precise instructions to help you recover from any procedure.
If you have a desk job, you might be able to return to work in about two weeks after your surgery. If your job is physically demanding, you should wait a month or more before getting back to work.
If your children are still young, you’ll require full-time help with child care as you recover from a tummy tuck. You’ll also need assistance with shopping, cooking, caring for pets, and any other activities that require lifting, bending, standing, or straining, at least for the first few weeks after surgery.
Overall, you should plan to take time off work and get assistance with household tasks for about three weeks. A full recovery can take up to a year, depending on how your body handles the surgery.
No matter what your mommy makeover includes, make sure you have family members or friends available to help you through the healing process. If you haven’t been able to enlist helpers, it’s a good idea to postpone your makeover until you have adequate support.
6. You Are Physically and Mentally Healthy Enough for Surgery
Patients need to be physically healthy before undergoing a mommy makeover. If you have health conditions like diabetes or heart or lung disease, you are at increased risk of complications, such as infection or blood clots. Although this doesn’t mean you can’t get cosmetic surgery, your doctor will consider if a chronic health condition is under control and whether it’s worth the risk.
If you plan to get a tummy tuck, you also need to be at least 10 to 15 pounds from your desired weight for six months to a year before you get surgery. Weight fluctuations can undo the benefits of surgery, so you’ll want to be at a stable weight.
It’s also vital that you are mentally healthy before having a mommy makeover. A mommy makeover is a big commitment, and you may not feel like yourself after surgery until you recover. During your recovery, you may experience ups and downs, so it helps to be emotionally stable before committing. If you struggle with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, or other mental health problems, consider speaking with a therapist before surgery and giving yourself enough time to feel ready.
7. You Quit Smoking
If you smoke, you’ll need to quit before having surgery. Smoking decreases circulation, which increases the risk of complications and slows the healing process. Your doctor may recommend you quit smoking at least six weeks before your mommy makeover. It’s also important to stay smoke-free during your recovery. Dr. Brought will also advise you to avoid any alternatives that contain nicotine, such as gums, patches, or vaping. The breakdown products of nicotine have a negative impact on wound healing and significantly increase the risk of postoperative complications.
If you need assistance, consider speaking to your doctor about medications to help you quit smoking. You can also check out online resources for helpful tips or join a support group so you don’t have to do it alone.
8. You Have Realistic Expectations
In general, patients feel thrilled with their new physique after a mommy makeover. Still, it’s crucial to have realistic expectations for before, during, and after your surgery. A mommy makeover is not a weight loss solution, for instance, and you’ll need to eat a healthy diet and exercise after surgery and recovery to keep results lasting as long as possible.
To help yourself set realistic expectations, make sure you understand the details of each procedure you plan to have done. Know what the procedure and recovery entail and what the results will likely be. Create a list of questions to ask your plastic surgeon and research on your own. A few questions to ask include:
- What does the procedure do and not do?
- What are the risks and complications related to each procedure?
- How much time will I need to recover?
- Will I experience pain, and how will it be managed?
- What types of activities do I need to avoid during my recovery?
- When will I notice the final results?
- How long do the results last?
- How much does a mommy makeover cost?
- Will I have scars?
- What will the scars look like?
When you know what to expect, you can fully enjoy your new look and make the most of your experience overall.
9. You Have Found a Surgeon You Feel Comfortable With
Getting a mommy makeover is a big decision, and any surgery needs to be taken seriously. Be sure to select a surgeon who has experience performing the surgeries you want, is board-certified, and makes you feel comfortable. When you meet with a surgeon you’re interested in working with, make sure to ask plenty of questions, like:
- What experience do you have performing the procedures I want?
- What are your qualifications?
- How many years have you been board-certified?
- Who else will be involved in my health care?
- What exams do I need before surgery?
You’ll also want to check patients’ reviews and testimonials and look at before and after photos so you know what to expect. Cosmetic surgery is both an art and a science, so choose a surgeon who can offer the look you want.
Schedule Your Mommy Makeover Consultation
A mommy makeover is an exciting transformation that can help your confidence soar and give you your ideal appearance. The first step to this life-changing transformation is to meet with a board-certified surgeon for a consultation. At Southern Plastic & Reconstructive Surgical Institute, Dr. Nathan Brought and his team look forward to answering your questions and guiding you through each step.
Dr. Brought is a Nashville-area board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in cosmetic and reconstructive procedures. If you’re ready to restore your body and feel like a younger, more confident you, schedule a consultation with Dr. Brought by completing our online form or calling us at 615.724.9818.
Sources:
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- https://www.sprsi.com/contact
