Mommy Makeover Cosmetic Surgery Rising Dramatically

By Allan Parungao, MD

Moms willingly make sacrifices for their children -- but now their youthful figure doesn’t have to be one of them. A Mommy Makeover can restore a woman’s pre-pregnancy figure, and give her self-confidence a lift as well.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, more than 325,000 tummy tuck, breast implant and breast lift procedures were performed on women ages 20-39 in 2006. This represents an 11% increase in "Mommy Makeover" procedures over 2005 statistics, and is more than five times higher than the 2% overall growth in cosmetic surgery procedures during that one-year period.

What is a Mommy Makeover?

A Mommy Makeover is a combination of plastic surgery procedures to rejuvenate a woman's figure after pregnancy, childbearing and breastfeeding. Depending on a woman's needs, her Mommy Makeover may include a breast lift and/or breast implants, a tummy tuck, liposuction and even an eyelid lift or facelift.

The most common complaints among women who have had children are sagging breasts or loss of breast volume, and stretch marks and/or loose skin over the abdomen. Today, even women who had never thought about plastic surgery are having Mommy Makeovers.

"I never used to understand why anyone would spend money on plastic surgery," admits Rachel, age 34, a mother of two. "But when a friend who had a tummy tuck and a breast lift came over one day and I saw the results, I thought again!

"I wanted to get something done for my saggy stomach," Rachel recalls. Then she thought about the unevenness in her breasts after breastfeeding and said to herself, "If I’m going to get a tummy tuck, I may as well get my breasts done, too."

Rachel had a tummy tuck and breast implant surgery, and is thrilled with the results. "I was a B cup in one breast and a C cup in the other," she says. "Now I’m a firm D. And it’s incredible how flat my tummy is!"

When is the right time for a Mommy Makeover?

Some women choose to have several procedures done at the same time. Others prefer to have separate procedures eight to 12 weeks apart. It's advisable to wait at least six months after giving birth before having plastic surgery. Nursing moms should wait six months after their baby is weaned.

Feel like you did before you had kids

Patient satisfaction with Mommy Makeover surgery is especially high. After a Mommy Makeover, women are thrilled as their jeans fit better, their breasts are more beautiful and they look in the mirror and see the figure they had before children.

In Rachel's case, it was a matter of realizing what was important to her. "I realize now that different things make different people happy," she explains. "For me, it wasn’t clothes, it wasn’t jewelry, it wasn’t vacations. I have to be happy with myself first, and now I am.

"For the rest of my life, I’ll always be a mom and I’ll always have to put my children first," Rachel concludes. "A Mommy Makeover is the one thing in my life I had to do just for me. And I don’t think that was too much to ask for."

Allan J. Parungao, MD, is an Oak Park, Illinois plastic surgeon board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. He is author of A Woman's Guide to Cosmetic Breast Surgery and Body Contouring (Addicus Books, 2006). Visit Dr. Parungao's web site at http://www.parungao.com or call his office at 708.660.3223.

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