MIAMI, FL, UNITED STATES, March 15, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — Actress Amy Adams was one-time quoted as saying, pregnancy “finally helped me understand what my true relationship was with my body,…it was not put on this earth to look good in a swimsuit.” (http://bitly.ws/ByZe) But that does not necessarily have to be the case, according to noted plastic surgeon Dr. Alexander Zuriarrain1. “Thanks to the ‘mommy makeover3,’ many postpartum women can return to swimsuit status – and feel good about themselves again.”
Mommy makeovers are intended to overcome the physical changes that afflict a woman following pregnancy – such as sagging or deflated breasts; vaginal changes, including a wider vagina; excess belly fat, loose abdominal skin, and separation of abdominal muscles, which creates gaps between the muscles of the stomach; stretch marks across the abdomen; wider hips that are likely due to fat deposits; and skin alterations such as melasma, a condition marked by appearance of dark skin splotches, and more accentuated freckles and moles.
“Depending on the patient and type of cosmetic improvements requested, a woman will undergo a customized menu of procedures, most of which can be performed on an outpatient basis,” explains Dr. Zuriarrain, founder of Zuri Plastic Surgery2 in Miami, Florida.
“A mommy makeover can involve an abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) procedure, liposuction for removal of unsightly areas of fat, breast augmentation or a breast lift, a labiaplasty to minimize the skin folds around the vagina and urethra, Brazilian butt lift, hip augmentation, and skin rejuvenation using a laser or other approaches,” he says.
“One advantage is that most of the more invasive procedures can be performed under general anesthesia within a single, three-hour-to-five-hour session,” Dr. Zuriarrain states. “That means a patient makes only one trip to surgery and goes through only one recovery period of up to four or five weeks, depending on the procedures performed.”
He adds that, for most women, the makeover results can prove physically – and mentally –transformative. An online article reports that 95 percent of women who underwent a mommy makeover rated their experience as “worth it.” (http://bitly.ws/ByZk) The rating was based on more than 15,000 reviews.
Clinical experience suggests the physical improvements of a mommy makeover can last 10 years or more if a woman maintains a healthy lifestyle, eating nutritiously, exercising, and avoiding significant weight gain, Dr. Zuriarrain says.
In addition to a contoured, younger-looking body that hearkens to a woman’s pre-pregnancy days, the most obvious benefit of a mommy makeover is improved self-image, For example, in an article about the psychological benefits of cosmetic surgery, the authors contend that cosmetic surgery “boosts patients’ body image.” (http://bitly.ws/ByZE). Dr. Zuriarrain also points to an online, but unscientific, survey of more than 3,000 mothers, nearly one-third of whom indicated they “hate their bodies.” (http://bitly.ws/ByZY) Almost two thirds worried that their partner or spouse does not like their postpartum body and expressed the sentiment that photos of Hollywood celebrities appearing “super-fit” after a pregnancy “made them feel worse about themselves.” More than half pointed to their stomach as the least favored body area.
Of course, better body image is only one psychological component of a mommy makeover. Dr. Zuriarrain agrees with the author of a 2019 Psychology Today essay that unwanted physiological changes can cause a woman to perceive a “loss of femininity, sexual identity, social power, and social visibility.” (http://bitly.ws/Bz22)
Although the article was directed to the physical signs of aging, Dr. Zuriarrain states the same issues could apply to once-fit mothers who now grapple with the body changes left by pregnancy. “This is particularly true because pregnancies are occurring at a later age and among a nutrition- and fitness-conscious generation, which also is experiencing the effects of aging,” he says.
Other pluses of a mommy makeover are corrections of medical issues that developed as a result of pregnancy, such as diastasis recti abdominis – separation of abdominal muscles. In that same journal, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, study authors state that “tummy tuck surgery with muscle repair can improve back pain and urinary incontinence [issues] after childbearing.” (http://bitly.ws/Bz29) The procedure strengthens and tightens the pelvic and abdominal regions, according to the authors.
Women also should consider the risks involved in a mommy makeover. Those include infection and scarring. “In the hands of an experienced, board-certified cosmetic or plastic surgeon, however, surgical incisions can be made in areas which will hide or make scars inconspicuous,” Dr. Zuriarrain states.
Despite all the benefits of mommy makeovers, not everyone is a good candidate for them, Dr. Zuriarrain advises. He offers the following tips to moms considering cosmetic procedures:
• Delay surgery if planning to have more children.
• If not having more children, wait at least six months after concluding breastfeeding before undergoing surgery.
• Be in good general health and within 20 to 25 pounds of proper body weight based on age and height.
• If smoking, stop – permanently.
• Be prepared for at least several weeks of downtime to recover from a mommy makeover.
• Know the postoperative healing process takes time. Let the swelling subside. Some of the more significant, positive results of the makeover may not become immediately apparent for as long as 12 months after the suite of procedures.
“And keep expectations at a reasonable level. Mommy makeovers will customize and improve your shape and appearance, but they will not guarantee you look better than you did pre-pregnancy or anywhere like the postpartum, swim-suited starlet you saw in a touched-up magazine photo,” Dr. Zuriarrain says.
Bio: Alexander Zuriarrain MD is a quadruple-board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in aesthetic procedures of the face and body. He is the founder of Zuri Plastic Surgery in Miami, FL. www.zuriplasticsurgery.com