Pregnancy and childbirth lead to a drastic fluctuation in weight that can leave you with a less defined figure, particularly in the abdominal region. As a result, many women consider a tummy tuck, also known as abdominoplasty, as a means of restoring their pre-pregnancy stomach.
After childbirth, you might be left with loose skin around the stomach and weakened abdominal muscles. A tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) can address both these issues by removing the excess skin and fat from the area and repairing any muscle separation. As a result, you can achieve a flatter and toned stomach with a stronger core.
We recommend that you wait 6 months to a year after giving birth to have a tummy tuck. This period of time will allow your weight to stabilise, your hormone levels to rebalance, and your body to heal following childbirth. Furthermore, it’s important that you are able to fully rest and relax when recovering from tummy tuck surgery, which is often not possible when taking care of a newborn child.
You will not be able to breastfeed after a tummy tuck as the anaesthesia and medications required will be secreted in the milk and can be toxic for the baby. Therefore, you should finish breastfeeding before pursuing plastic surgery.
Before pursuing a tummy tuck, you should ensure you are at a stable weight that you can maintain post-pregnancy, as any fluctuations in weight will alter the results of your plastic surgery. If you’re struggling to lose weight, our nutritionists can design a personalised diet that will help you reach your weight loss goal.
Alternatively, if you have reached a stable weight with the exception of stubborn fat deposits that aren’t responding to diet and exercise, you may benefit from combining your abdominoplasty with liposuction (lipoabdominoplasty).
If you do get pregnant after a tummy tuck surgery, you may lose the results of your plastic surgery, as once again, your skin will expand, your weight will fluctuate, and your abdominal muscles may weaken. Therefore, we advise that you wait until your final pregnancy before having a tummy tuck surgery in order to enjoy the permanent benefits that the surgery can provide.
Yes, a tummy tuck in no way alters your ability to get pregnant and deliver a child. The cosmetic surgery only removes redundant skin and excess fat and, in some cases, tightens muscles that may become separated during pregnancy (a condition known as diastasis recti). However, as mentioned above, a pregnancy may reverse the results of your tummy tuck.
There are a number of different types of tummy tucks, each varying in surgical techniques and degrees of invasiveness. The most common variations are the full and mini tummy tuck.
A full tummy tuck requires an incision in the lower abdomen across the bikini line and around the navel. This allows the surgeon to tighten the loose skin in the entire abdomen while repairing the muscles if needed. Whereas, a mini tummy tuck removes excess skin from just the lower abdomen through a smaller incision along the bikini line.
It typically takes 12 weeks for patients to make a full recovery from a post pregnancy tummy tuck, where they can resume all activities, including intense exercise. However, most patients feel able to resume most of their daily activities sooner, including returning to work 1-2 weeks after the cosmetic surgery and resuming light exercise after 3-4 weeks.
During the tummy tuck recovery period, you may notice swelling, bruising, and some discomfort in the affected area, which will gradually disappear. You will be given detailed instructions on managing your recovery and be scheduled for two follow-up visits with your surgeon to assess your recovery.
You will see the results of your tummy tuck immediately, as the removal of excess skin reveals a noticeably flatter stomach. However, it can take 6-12 months for the final results of your tummy tuck to become completely visible. You will notice a flatter, toned, and contoured abdomen, as the residual swelling will have subsided by this time.
Furthermore, the speed at which the swelling dissipates and results emerge depends on the type of tummy tuck you underwent. Therefore, the less invasive the procedure, the quicker you will see results.
Dr Omar Tillo is a board-certified plastic surgeon in the UK who specialises in performing tummy tucks and other body contouring procedures. He has performed hundreds of cases, which means he has mastered the techniques and artistry needed to customise the cosmetic surgery to the patient’s body in order to create natural-looking results.
If your abdomen has lost its definition following childbirth, book a consultation with Dr Tillo at the CREO Clinic today to discuss a bespoke surgical solution that will restore your pre-pregnancy figure.
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