Child birth can be very hard on a woman, from destroying her body to postpartum depression. It is important to get back on the horse, so to speak, with diet, exercise and pampering, whether you are overjoyed at being a new mother or feel a little empty.
One of the most excessively wonderful things is seeing a cosmetic surgeon for a mommy makeover! This involves a tummy tuck (if needed), liposuction, and breast augmentation. The trifecta of body contouring!
Here is an article from WebMD on Mommy Makeover that tells some captivating captivating stories about getting a mommy makeover:
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Mommy Makeover: A Plastic Surgery Trend
When Lisa Brock, of Lebanon, Pa., decided to get a breast lift and augmentation one year after delivering her fourth child, she had no idea she was embarking on phase one of her “mommy makeover.” She just knew she wanted her old breasts back.
“Before children, I was a full C cup,” she says. “After breastfeeding all four kids, I was less than an A. I was a board. I just hung. Even my mother said she’d never seen anyone that needed surgery more than me.”
Even though Brock was only 29 at the time, she had the surgery and was thrilled with the result. Now, the licensed practical nurse, who is 31, has just gone back for more. This time, she had a tummy tuck.
“God forbid I should have lifted up my shirt and let someone see that bump,” she says, referring to her sagging stomach, which eight months of steady dieting and daily workouts had done nothing to cure. “It’s not fat. It’s just loose skin that I have no control over.”
Brock is part of a growing number of women undergoing mommy makeovers — multiple plastic surgery procedures that restore, or improve, their post-pregnancy bodies.
While it’s difficult to come by exact numbers for mommy makeovers because it’s a marketing term, not a surgical one, Douglas Mackenzie, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Santa Barbara, Calif., says that mothers are by far his largest demographic. He attributes the trend to our obsession with youth as well as the public’s acceptance of plastic surgery. Even the numerous television makeover shows, he says, are merely an indication of a boom that began awhile back.
“Unlike our parents generation, [these mothers] want to stay young and feel young, and preserve the body they’ve had,” he says. “The music they listen to, the restaurants they go to, the clothes they wear, all have a lot to do with it. It’s a new generation.”
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgery (ASPS), 36% of the 9.9 million surgical and minimally-invasive cosmetic procedures performed in 2006 were on patients between the ages of 30 and 39; 29% of them were aged 20 to 29.
“Breast augmentation was very popular during the 1970s and 1980s,” she says. “They called it ‘restoration of the breasts due to postpartum changes,’ and it was done very, very quietly, and insurance paid for it. From 1991 to 2003, there was a hiatus because women were scared that implants were unsafe, so they wanted to see the science. After that, it became safe again, which is why we’re seeing [the upswing].”
Jennifer Malone, 32, is one of those moms. Three months ago, the Jefferson, Ga., real estate agent opted for the postpartum plastic surgery trifecta: tummy tuck; breast lift plus augmentation; and liposuction on her legs, arms, stomach, and lower back.
Later this year, Malone, who has three school-age children, also plans to take advantage of the free liposuction “touch-ups” included in the package.
“I can’t wait,” she says. “And if the boobs start resagging, she’ll relift them for free, too.”
Costs and Complications
Those changes didn’t come without pain, however. While serious complications and death are infrequent, pain from the procedures can be severe, especially in the first several days after surgery.
“I was prepared for the worst, but I was off the narcotics in three days,” says Malone. “The first 24 hours is, by far, the most awful time of your life, though. It was pure hell.”
Still, Malone says her recovery period was surprisingly easy, and her scars are rapidly disappearing. Brock was also amazed at how quickly she bounced back — although the first three days after her surgeries were both very painful.
“Some women bounce back like nothing ever happened,” Mackenzie says. “Some women’s bodies are ravaged after pregnancy.”
For other mothers, it’s an issue of priorities — and a woman’s well-being.
Malone’s younger sister, Joanna Duke, a 28-year-old public relations representative and mother of two in Decatur, Ga., is opposed to mommy makeovers. She believes that many women are trying to solve emotionalproblems with the surgeries.
“It’s like putting a Band-Aid on a larger issue that you’re not willing to work on,” she says. “You need to fix those issues first. Then, if you still have a self-esteem problem — or whatever is driving you to have elective surgery — get it done. But go to counseling first, because nine times out of ten, the people that I know also have emotional issues going on.”
“Liposuction, yes, but I won’t perform invasive plastic surgery on someone who is 30 pounds overweight,” she says. “I require all my patients to exercise and have good nutrition. If you want me to artificially suture your [abdominal] muscles, that’s fine. But you can blow it out again by overeating or overdoing it. So why not just work on it before the surgery?”
Casas offers these recommendations to women considering mommy makeovers, so that they’ll attain the best possible outcome — and maintain those results. She suggests that postpartumplastic surgery patients:
- Achieve their desired target weight first.
- Make sure they are exercising at least 30 minutes per day: a minimum of 15 minutes of interval training and 15 minutes of resistance training, alternating different body parts, on different days of the week.
- Practice superb nutrition.
- Keep alcohol consumption at less than 2-3 drinks per week.
- Quit smoking.
- Establish a no-fail support system for the full recovery period dictated by your surgeon.
This last requirement, she says, is critical.
“The biggest problem with mommies is that they don’t have someone to take care of their babies and their kids, and they don’t take care of themselves,” Casas explains. “I won’t operate on a mother with kids under 5 unless she has someone to take care of her children for at least two weeks. It just doesn’t make sense if you’re going to be lifting and driving and doing the laundry and cleaning house. You’re just going to ruin your results.”
“I just love being a girl and a woman again,” she gushes. “I’m feeling more and more like an individual. My old personality is creeping back.”
Casas reminds those who have had mommy makeovers that nothing is permanent. In addition to the inevitable aging process, some procedures need ongoing surgeries.
“Breast implants, like all medical devices, require maintenance,” she says.
Which is precisely why women like Probasco insist it’s far better to forgo postpartum plastic surgery entirely than begin the never-ending fight against time.
“Everybody ages,” she says. “Hopefully, at some point, our society will honor those changes instead of stigmatizing them.”
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Article: http://www.webmd.com/beauty/treatments/mommy-makeover-a-plastic-surgery-trend
Whether you decide to undergo a mommy makeover or not is a personal decision that can only be determined by you. Don’t let society or spouse pressure you into something you don’t want to do. Beauty comes from the inside out and you are valuable weather you get surgery or not. If you approach plastic surgery with this attitude, you will be a lot better off. If you approach it like it’s going to make or break your happiness, you are going to end up disappointed.