Restoring Your Breasts and Body After Pregnancy
Baby Fat
If you have had a baby you may notice that you gain weight slowly
during the first trimester. During the second and third trimester,
you will gain the majority of your pregnancy weight.
Many women fear the inevitable weight gain and physical changes
of pregnancy, even though it's normal and healthy. The average
weight gain with pregnancy can range from 25 lbs to 50 lbs. The
best weight gain with pregnancy is a gradual weight gain over
the nine month period. For some pregnant women this is not possible
as women gain weight at different rates. The weight gain, distribution,
and physical changes of pregnancy vary from woman to woman.
Your postpartum shape will mostly be affected by how much weight
you gained during pregnancy. If you gained too much weight during
pregnancy or developed poor eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle,
you may have more difficulty losing the weight after the baby
is born.
Weight loss solutions after giving birth:
- Breast-feeding
- Eating a healthy, well balanced diet that is low in fat, high
in fiber, and rich in vitamins and nutrients
- Exercising four or more times a week for at least 30 minutes.
Regular cardio and aerobic exercises that elevate the heart
rate are best for burning calories needed for weight
loss.
- Weight training is recommended for toning and tightening the
muscles and body.
Physical changes to the breasts and abdomen
Pregnancy can produce physical changes in the most private parts
of our bodies. Not only does the abdomen experience major changes
so do the breasts
and hips.
Due to hormone fluctuations with pregnancy and size changes,
the breasts are affected before, during and after pregnancy. The
breasts usually start increasing in size after the first 8 weeks.
Some women's breasts may increase as much as one or two cup sizes.
After pregnancy or when breast feeding is completed the breasts
size will likely decrease. This decrease can leave the breasts
droopy without volume.
Breast size changes and breast feeding can cause changes to the
size, shape and appearance of the breasts. After or during pregnancy
the breasts, abdomen and hips may also develop stretch marks.
After giving birth some women see loose skin and stretched abdominal
muscles which may cause the abdomen to stick out. No matter what
areas of the body are affected by pregnancy the appearance can
be improved with plastic
surgery.
Plastic Surgery Solutions
Have no fear, Dr.
Corbin is here. As a board
certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon with over 20
years experience he has helped many women restore their bodies
to pre baby form after child birth. Generally, Dr. Corbin recommends
women wait to have plastic surgery after pregnancy once their
hormones are back to normal and they have lost as much of the
,baby fat they can. The patient will get the
best results if they are at their ideal or close to their ideal
weight, according to Dr.
Fred Corbin.
Surgery Selection
The patient's surgery selection will depend on what aesthetic
improvements the patients want to make. Some patients chose to
have breast
surgery along with a tummy
tuck to get their pre baby body back. Other women may only
need to do one or the other, a breast surgery or a tummy tuck.
In some cases of mild skin laxity some patients may be candidates
for abdominal Thermage treatments to tighten the skin and stimulate
collagen in the skin. Some women store extra fat on their hips
with pregnancy and may benefit from liposuction to remove the
extra fat.
Breast Surgery
Surgery options for women post pregnancy may be a breast
lift with or without an augmentation. The goal of plastic
surgery is to give the patient the optimum result. If a patient
has droopy
breasts, excess skin and droopy enlarged
nipple areolars then they would most likely benefit from a
mastopexy
(breast lift) to tighten and remove the extra skin, restore
perkier
breasts and also to decrease the nipple areolar size.
Some women's breasts have Pseudoptosis
following pregnancy and breast feeding. This is when the breast
size has decreased and the breasts are left looking deflated.
The nipples sit above the inframammary
crease therefore the patient generally would not benefit from
a breast lift. Usually a breast
augmentation will restore the fullness to the breast and give
the patient with Pseudoptosis a good surgical outcome.
In women whose breasts are droopy, the nipples are pointing down
or are below the breast crease and the shape lacks volume these
patients would be candidates for a breast
lift with implants.
Tummy Surgery
In addition to the breasts, following pregnancy many changes can
also be seen in the abdomen. If the abdominal walls are lax and
there is extra skin and or stretch marks an abdominoplasty
(tummy tuck) is the surgical solution. With this cosmetic procedure
Dr. Corbin tightens the abdominal muscles and removes the excess
skin, stretch marks and or fat. In some cases, women who have
only a small amount of excess skin would benefit from a mini
tummy tuck. The incisions for this surgery are smaller and
the recovery is quicker due the less invasive surgery technique.
The scars for tummy
tucks generally go from hip to hip depending on what improvements
need to be done. Scars are a big concern for women so Dr.
Corbin hides the scars in places that can be easily covered
up with panties or a bathing suit. If a woman has previous C section
scars they are removed during the tummy
tuck and replace by a new usually less noticeable scar.
Thermage a non invasive choice
Thermage uses radiofrequency energy to tighten underlying tissues.
This procedure is different from the traditional uses of Lasers,
Chemical peels and dermabrasion because Thermage treats the deeper
dermis and underlying tissues, while lasers, peels and dermabrasion
targets the top layers of skin. This option may be good on women
who only have mild skin laxity on the abdomen following childbirth.
Also with natural aging we age we lose collagen in our skin which
causes wrinkles and skin laxity. In addition to tightening the
dermis and tissues Thermage stimulates the collagen in the skin
immediately and also over time.
In order to achieve optimum results, each patient may require
a different amount of light energy applied and a different number
of passes and number of sessions.
The higher the light energy the more discomfort a patient may
feel. Each patients tolerance to pain is different so individual
pain management options are needed. Some patients use a topical
numbing cream that is applied over the area before it is treated
with Thermage. If a patient is doing a large area of the body
and having several passes other options such as light sedation
may be suggested to help the patient feel comfortable with no
pain.
Belly Button Surgery
Belly button changes may be seen after childbirth. Some patients
complain their belly button sticks out too much. It may have been
an innie before pregnancy and afterwards it has become
an outtie. The appearance of the bellybutton can be
improved with an umbilicoplasty surgery. This surgery can be done
with or with out a tummy
tuck.
Liposuction shape contouring
Liposuction or liposculpture
is a procedure to remove localized deposits of fat from the body
to improve body contour and shape. Using small hollow metal tubes
called cannulas fat is removed from areas of excess via small
incisions placed in inconspicuous locations that literally can
heal without leaving a scar. With liposuction, fat that is resistant
to diet and exercise can be easily removed permanently changing
body contour.
Improving the appearance of your body
after childbirth
The combination of cosmetic
surgery procedures varies from patient to patient. It is very
common for women after giving birth to want to improve the appearance
of their bodies with breast
surgery, tummy tucks, liposuction or thermage.
Body sculpting and shaping procedures can be done alone or together.
For the best plastic surgery
results, Dr.
Corbin recommends that the patient not be breast feeding,
be at their normal hormone levels and as close to their ideal
weight as possible.
To see what cosmetic surgery would be right for you call Dr.
Corbin's office at
(714) 671-3033. or Click
here for a complimentary cosmetic consultation. Your personal
evaluation and private consultation are just a phone call away