Exploring a booming trend: the “Mommy Makeover”

As a father of three, I can attest to the fact that children are among life’s greatest treasures, but as far as bringing them into the world is concerned, not much is said on birth announcements about the physical cost to the mother for giving birth. For many women, the initial joy of childbirth is later joined by another emotion: worry, as they realize that many of the changes their bodies went through during pregnancy do not seem to revert back to their normal state. They find themselves confronting stretched and sagging breasts, stomachs with loose and permanently damaged skin, accompanied by weight gain on the hips and thighs. What’s worse is that repeated pregnancies can augment the damage.

Since the beginning of time, these results were “accepted” as part of being a mother, largely due to the fact that there was little recourse. In recent years, however, many women are no longer accepting it. As a plastic surgeon in Newport Beach, every week, I consult women on what is commonly referred to as the “Mommy Makeover.”

Many women feel affected psychologically after childbirth. A combination of stretched skin and stubborn pockets of fat leave many feeling undesirable, unmotivated and frustrated, especially if they are working out regularly and still can’t manage to reclaim their pre-motherhood bodies. Every week, women of all nationalities, size and shape, come to me to explore their options and reclaim a sense of confidence and self-assurance that may have been lost post-pregnancy.

The most commonly requested procedures include tummy tucks and liposuction, as well as breast lifts, with or without implants, to resurrect sagging breasts that have also lost volume. This is not unique to Orange County - statistics back up the trend and the boom in recent “Mommy Makeovers” may be attributed to more women having children later in life and also the affordability of plastic surgery, once a luxury available only to the very wealthy.

The effects of childbirth are so pronounced because the skin, like a coiled spring that’s been pulled past its breaking point, has lost its recoil. This leaves the breasts sagging, the stomach skin loose, and stomach muscles weakened and spread apart. Combining that with the weight gain of pregnancy often results in a slippery slope to other bodily woes, like “love handles” and “saddlebags.”