Giving birth can be one of the most rewarding experiences of a woman's life. Unfortunately, pregnancy and breast-feeding often result in unwanted changes in a woman's body that no amount of exercise and dieting can fix. The loose muscles and stretched skin improve somewhat over time, but the body never completely returns to the way it was before pregnancy.

It used to be that women were resigned to living with these natural changes in their bodies. Now, however, more and more women are seeking out plastic surgeons to rejuvenate their breasts and tummies to the youthful firmness they enjoyed before having children. These procedures are collectively called "mommy makeovers" or post-maternity breast and body reshaping.

Mommy Makeovers: Breast Lift

The aftermath of pregnancy can leave you with sagging breasts, uneven breasts, lost breast volume, drooping nipples and stretched areolas (the dark skin surrounding the nipple). A breast lift, or mastopexy, is performed to reverse these changes and return a youthful shape and lift to your breasts. This is accomplished by trimming excess skin and tightening supporting tissues to achieve an uplifted, youthful contour. Breast lifts after pregnancy can also reduce areolar size and reposition downward-pointing nipples.

Breast size does not change after a breast lift. Women who desire larger, smaller or more rounded breasts may want to consider a breast augmentation or breast reduction together with a breast lift.

Mommy Makeovers: Breast Reduction

For many other women, however, the breasts remain larger than desired after childbirth. Breast reduction surgery may be the solution in these cases.

One reason women may seek breast reduction after giving birth is to return the breasts to the smaller size they had before becoming pregnant. In addition, breast reduction can relieve the common symptoms of large breasts, such as back and neck pain, rashes, and low self-esteem. Breast reduction achieves these goals by removing fat and glandular tissue and tightening skin to produce smaller, uplifted breasts.

Mommy Makeovers: Breast Augmentation

Pregnancy and breast feeding can also cause involution of the upper aspect of the breast or breast atrophy, changing the shape and decreasing the size of the breast, especially the upper breast. Breast augmentation can subtly lift the breast and fill the skin envelope and give a rounder more youthful appearance. Breast augmentations are combined with breast lifts when the patient requires a significant skin excision and desires a larger cup size.

Mommy Makeovers: Tummy Tuck

Perhaps nowhere else on the body is pregnancy more unforgiving than in the abdomen. Pregnancy can leave you with loose skin, stretch marks and a protuberant abdomen that no amount of exercise will correct. A tummy tuck, also known as abdominoplasty, can help.

Tummy tucks help to flatten and shape the abdomen by: 1) tightening the muscles of the abdomen, 2) removing excess skin and stretch marks, and 3) excising and suctioning fat from the abdomen. The result is a firmer tummy and a more defined waistline.

Mommy Makeovers: Liposuction

New mothers may find that they have pockets of fat that don't respond to diet or exercise. They may also find that they have lost definition in their waistline. Women who had Caesarian sections may also suffer from areas of fat hanging over their surgical scar. Each of these post-maternity body changes can be improved through liposuction.

Liposuction sculpts the body after pregnancy by removing undesirable, diet resistant fat from the abdomen, waist, hips, buttocks and/or thighs. It offers the opportunity to slim and contour areas of the body that did not "spring back" to their pre-baby tone. With liposuction, you can minimize areas of fat caused by pregnancy and enhance the curve of the waistline.

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We know your children are worth all the suffering of morning sickness, back pain, and stretch marks, but now it's time to take care of you.