By Plastic Surgeon Dr Dirk Kremer.

Pregnancy is often an emotional time for many women, and it’s not just the stress levels and hormonal changes that must be faced. The body also experiences many changes throughout the duration of the pregnancy, such as fluctuating weight and the development of stretch marks. During this time, many women can experience a drop in their confidence and self-esteem, meaning they will often seek outside measures in an attempt to feel better about themselves and restore the sense of their pre-pregnancy self. One of the outside measures that some pregnant women investigate is plastic surgery procedures.

In most cases, plastic surgery is an elective medical procedure, and few plastic surgeons will perform a procedure during pregnancy, and rightly so. Unfortunately, there have been cases where women have not revealed that they are pregnant or think they may be pregnant before the surgery is scheduled, though pre-op blood tests should reveal the truth. It is generally advised that women wait at least 6 months post-pregnancy before undergoing any plastic surgery procedure.

Following the pregnancy, women will want to experience the joys of being a mother, but a time will come for many when they feel to the need to fix some of the unwanted bonus gifts that pregnancy has brought upon their body. Some women feel their new post-pregnancy look is far from flattering, with physical changes taking place such as skin laxity to sagging or deflated breasts. Fortunately, there are plastic surgery procedures that can quickly address these problems. Today, cosmetic procedures are more affordable and accessible than they ever used to be, with less attached risks, making them more attainable to everyday women.

Some of the most popular post-pregnancy plastic surgery procedures are:

Breast augmentation

A common problem for women during and after pregnancy is sagging and deflated breasts. This is due to the tissues of the breasts often shrinking and losing their tension following pregnancy. Thankfully, a breast augmentation procedure can help restore the breasts, resulting in more natural and aesthetically pleasing proportions. Often, we find that a breast uplift (mastoplexy) is needed as a single procedure, or in combination with breast implants. It’s also worth noting that going through another pregnancy after you have had this breast procedure can affect the results of your breast augmentation, therefore, you may want to consider waiting until you’re confident that you won’t be having any more children.

Many studies have typically shown that breast implants will not affect the safety of lactation, and the silicone cannot make its way into breast milk and put the baby at risk, even if the breast implant were to rupture. While it is safe for your baby, there could potentially be some complications that you personally experience during breastfeeding, such as some loss of sensation in the nipple and/or breast region.

Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck)

The skin is stretched considerably during pregnancy, and after delivery of your new-born baby the skin and muscles will lose elasticity, leaving many women with unwanted sagging skin on the lower area of the abdomen. An abdominoplasty procedure, commonly known as a tummy tuck, will restore and adjust the abdomen wall. During the abdominoplasty procedure, the excess skin and fat from the middle and lower abdomen is surgically removed, as well as abdominal muscle being repaired if required. Stretch marks, where possible, will also be removed. The result is a flatter stomach and a smaller waist, which can help boost your post-pregnancy confidence and self-esteem. Scarring from the surgery is usually hidden with ease underneath underwear or a swimsuit. As with breast augmentation, another pregnancy can affect abdominoplasty results. The same abdominal area will be stretched during every pregnancy, therefore, it’s worth considering whether you should wait until you’re confident that you don’t want any more children.

A complete mummy makeover

In some cases, women turn to plastic surgery following pregnancy for a number of different problems that they would like to address. A cosmetic procedure could prove to be the solution to many, if not all, of the problems you’d like to amend. Procedures such as liposuction, and the aforementioned abdominoplasty, breast uplift and/or breast augmentation can be used collectively to target all of the problem areas, providing you with a body that you feel much more comfortable with, while allowing you to enjoy all aspects of motherhood without having to feel self-conscious about your own physical appearance.

If you’re pregnant or have given birth recently, and feel you may be interested in learning more about the cosmetic procedures that we offer, then don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today. We can arrange a consultation with you at our Harley Street office in London, where we will be able to offer you personalised expert advice and discuss the possibilities of the plastic surgery procedures that are available to you. If you’d like to call our London-based office, you can reach us on 0845 519 7232.