Six out of 10 women can’t regain a well-toned tummy after having a baby. Stretched skin may not bounce back, and pregnancy fat often sticks around. But the biggest culprits of a bulging belly are weak, separated abdominal muscles.
A tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) is often the best way to reclaim your shape, yet many women wonder if surgery is safe when they plan to have more children.
Unfortunately, there isn’t one straightforward answer. Yes, you can have a tummy tuck between pregnancies. At the same time, some women should wait until their family is complete. The decision depends on each woman’s unique needs.
If you’re considering a tummy tuck knowing you want more children, it’s time to schedule a consultation with Rafael C. Cabrera, MD, FACS, at Plastic Surgery Specialists of Boca Raton. He explains the pros and cons, and if you decide to wait for an abdominoplasty, he can recommend alternative procedures so you can look fabulous between pregnancies.
Let’s look at how pregnancy changes your physique, why you may want to wait for a tummy tuck, and other procedures that help you look your best while still having babies.
You can’t prevent three physical changes that occur during pregnancy and affect your tummy:
During pregnancy, your body accumulates extra fat. This fat isn’t related to your eating habits. It’s essential to ensure your breast milk has enough fat to support your baby’s development and metabolism.
The problem with pregnancy fat is that it can settle in around your waist and refuse to go away despite watching calories and getting exercise.
You already know that pregnancy stretches your skin. Sometimes, stretching damages the tissues, making it impossible for your skin to regain elasticity and return to its pre-pregnancy tightness. As a result, you’re left with loose, hanging skin.
Two sets of muscles run down the middle of your abdomen — they form the six-pack in super-toned people. The left and right muscles are connected in the center by a thin band of connective tissue called the linea alba.
If the linea alba is overstretched during pregnancy, the two muscle sets remain separated. No matter how much you exercise, you can’t improve the damage. Then, you end up with a bulging belly — even if you don’t have excess fat.
Here’s the most compelling reason to wait if you plan to have more children: Another pregnancy can reverse the results of your tummy tuck. Undergoing abdominoplasty doesn’t affect your ability to get pregnant or carry a baby, but you may need to have additional surgery to restore your results.
During a tummy tuck, we remove excess skin and fat and repair muscle damage, giving you a strong, toned abdomen. A future pregnancy will once again stretch the tissues, leaving you with the same problems you had before surgery.
The potential risk of needing another surgery isn’t the only factor you should consider. Other variables affect the timing of a tummy tuck, with one of the most important being when you plan to have more kids.
Most women need to wait at least six months after delivery to have a tummy tuck. It takes that long to learn whether you’ll lose the fat, your skin will tighten, or you’ll have permanently separated abdominal muscles.
If you plan to have your children close together, you won’t recover enough to have a tummy tuck before your next pregnancy.
We also recommend that you return to your healthy weight before having a tummy tuck. Though we can remove nagging belly or pregnancy fat, you shouldn’t have a tummy tuck knowing you still want to lose weight.
Wanting another baby down the road shouldn’t mean putting up with a body that makes you unhappy now. If you decide to postpone a full tummy tuck, we can suggest other procedures to improve your belly.
For example, we could perform a mini tummy tuck now — removing excess skin and fat — and schedule muscle repair in the future. Or you might consider a noninvasive body-sculpting treatment. You can simultaneously eliminate fat and strengthen your muscles with the EMSCULPT NEO®.
Call Plastic Surgery Specialists of Boca Raton today to schedule a tummy tuck consultation. We’re here to answer your questions and help you find solutions that improve your appearance and restore your body.
