Even though many moms juggle work and raising a family with trying to take care of themselves by exercising and eating a healthy diet, some patients considering a mommy makeover procedure at our plastic surgery practice in Portland admit they have a twinge of guilt about putting their needs first.
There’s no need to feel selfish about wanting to regain confidence in your body after having children. In many cases, diet and exercise aren’t enough to reverse the toll pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding take on a mother’s body. A “belly pooch” caused by diastasis recti, stretched abdominal skin, and deflated and sagging breasts may be considered badges of honor by some women, but it’s okay if you’re ready to give those badges a new look.
As a mom myself, I understand the feelings of women who are frustrated because they’ve done everything they can to look and feel healthy, but they remain self-conscious about wearing a bikini or taking off their clothes in front of their spouse. It doesn’t help to read stories or hear people suggest that cosmetic surgery is a shortcut to avoid working out.
In this blog post, I’ll explain why being confident in your body can actually improve your mood and, ultimately, make you a better parent.
A Mommy Makeover Isn’t a Shortcut
Patients considering plastic surgery often use resources such as the RealSelf website to read what other women are saying about their experiences. One 33-year-old woman asked if she was “selfish and lazy” for even thinking about getting a Mommy Makeover, which typically combines body contouring procedures such as a tummy tuck and a breast lift or breast augmentation at our Portland practice.
Here are the facts:
Thousands of crunches will never tighten loose abdominal skin, and daily pushup sets won’t help deflated breasts regain their volume or shape. In fact, for women with separated abdominal muscles (diastasis recti) that cause a pooch, certain core exercises may actually worsen the condition.
Being a Confident Parent
It’s important that parents feel good about themselves because they communicate those positive attitudes to their children—both verbally and non-verbally. Confident parents come in all shapes and sizes, but women’s self-esteem is often linked to how they feel about their bodies. A mother who feels confident about her body is often happier overall, and that confidence often spills over into her relationship with her children.
Is a Mommy Makeover for You?
There are a number of things to consider before scheduling a Mommy Makeover consultation. If you have young children at home, you’ll need a reliable support system to help with errands, childcare, and household chores because you’ll need plenty of rest and have limited mobility during recovery. You also will have to avoid lifting your children for at least a week. You should also consider if a Mommy Makeover will strain your family’s finances. We offer financing to help provide access for as many patients as possible. Also, if you’re planning to have more children, we recommend postponing cosmetic surgery.
What shouldn’t influence your choice? Worrying about putting your needs ahead of a partner or children or feeling like you should be happy with your body even if you’re self-conscious. Patients who tend to have higher degrees of satisfaction with their results have realistic expectations about the surgery and understand what is motivating them to get surgery.
It is also important to choose a board-certified plastic surgeon with the experience and expertise to produce excellent results, such as those you can see in our gallery of before-and-after photos of actual patients. You can see that plastic surgery is truly transformational.
If you want to discuss your options with me or one of our other board-certified plastic surgeons, contact us using the online form to request a consultation or call us at (503) 292 to schedule your appointment.
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