Becoming a mum is a life-changing experience but it can take its toll on your body. Lots of women struggle to get back into shape after they’ve had children, even with a good diet and exercise routine (which is difficult at the best of times, but even more so when you’ve got babies and toddlers to care for).
Not surprisingly, many new mums feel the impact on their self-esteem and sense of individual identity. Pregnancy, coupled with the change in lifestyle which is necessary to care for babies and young children, combine to make it very difficult to return to your pre-mum body. And whilst motherhood may be enjoyable, many of us feel it’s important to have a sense of who you are as an individual too.
This may go some way to explain the increasing popularity of what we parochially phrase as ‘the mummy makeover’.
The ‘mummy makeover’ is a catch-all term that encompasses the two most common post-pregnancy areas – the tummy and the breasts and entails enhancing both areas at the same time. It’s a good way to get back into shape once and for all and to start to feel more like your old self.
The abdominoplasty (which you can still have even if you’ve had a c-section) will improve the contour of the stomach and waist and the breast treatment will either involve lifting your breasts or inserting implants to restore volume which can be lost with pregnancy and breastfeeding.
A key benefit of the mummy makeover is that it deals with two problems at the same time, so you can have your surgery, recover and then move forward with your life. You can, of course, have treatments separately but this would involve two general anaesthetics and two periods of recovery. The right choice will depend on personal preference and lifestyle, of course. Try not to be influenced by other people – it’s your body, do what’s right for you.
If you think a mummy makeover could be right for you, it’s important that you time it right so your body is fully recovered from pregnancy. We would always advise waiting until you’ve completed your family because further pregnancies might alter your results. We appreciate, however, that life doesn’t always work in such a straight-forward, linear way so if you do have more children after your mummy makeover that’s no problem but you should be aware that your body shape may change once again and you may wish to consider further surgery.
If you think you’ve completed your family we would recommend waiting a few months before going ahead with treatment as it takes time for the body to settle and recover after pregnancy.
Another consideration regarding timing is whether you’ll be able to get the rest you need post-surgery. It’s difficult to take time out when you’re raising a young family so you’ll need to make sure you’ve got the support of friends and family to help you out with childcare, shopping, cleaning and other everyday tasks. Plenty of rest and relaxation can make a huge difference to your recovery times so it’s important to time your treatment for when your friends and family have the time to support you.
Depending on the extent of the change you wish to make, your surgeon will carry out either a full or partial abdominoplasty.
Abdominoplasty is major surgery involving full anaesthetic and at least one night in hospital. Despite this, it is a great way to make a big difference to the shape of your tummy – a short-term inconvenience for long-term results.
You can find out more about abdominoplasty at Manchester Plastic Surgery here.
If you want to improve the shape and the size, then you would need to consider having implants fitted. Implants can be used to increase volume and/or size – we’ll help you select the right implant to suit your body shape and desired results. If you’re happy with the size and shape of your breasts but they have sagged, a breast lift (mastopexy) treatment is likely to suffice. This is a less extensive treatment than breast implants and can make a huge difference to your appearance.