Mommy Makeover

A mommy makeover is a customizable series of surgeries designed to shape, tighten, and tone the body after pregnancy. After having a baby, a mother’s focus tends to be absorbed by their newborn’s needs. Once their baby is a couple of months old, many mothers are ready to embrace their new normal, but their bodies do not look or feel the same. And while motherhood comes with an unlimited number of joys, it also includes aesthetic changes that diet and exercise can’t readily resolve. 

Board-certified plastic surgeon Michael J. Yoo, MD is proud to offer a collection of customizable mommy makeover surgeries at his Beverly Hills and Newport Beach locations. With these procedures, his patients can return to their new lives ready to embrace motherhood, while feeling happier and looking their absolute best! To see how Dr. Yoo can help you achieve your desired physique in less time, schedule a consultation. Speak with a member of his team directly, by calling Beverly Hills at (949) 861-3340 or Newport Beach at (424) 209-9925.

Before and After Photos

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Happy, Healthy Moms

Bringing new life into the world is a marvel of the human body. But after giving birth, you might look in the mirror and see some significant changes. Fitness bloggers and health coaches point solely to diet and exercise as the keys to reclaiming that “pre-baby” body. However, this duo often cannot rectify all of the drastic changes pregnancy has. For many mothers, the physical changes in their bodies might be too much for diet and exercise to address. Typically, new mothers see changes in these areas:

Lower Poles of the Breasts

Pregnancy weight gain and the lactation increase breast size. In fact, most women’s breasts increase by 2-3 cup sizes! After milk reserves dwindle, and your baby moves onto bottle feeding, breast shape changes once more, and can often become saggy and deflated. Women also experience changes in the projection of the lower breast, known as the lower pole, and see a  change in the position of the areolae. This can make skin tight tops and restrictive bras feel uncomfortable and look unflattering. But for some women, breast size remains much larger than before, causing chronic back, neck, and shoulder pain. While for others, breasts can become asymmetrical. All of these conditions can be both irritating and detrimental to self-confidence.

Separated Abdominal Muscles

During the third trimester, the fetus applies pressure on the abdominal muscles. This can cause them to separate from a central line of connective tissue called the linea alba. After giving birth, the muscles don’t always naturally retract to their original position, but rather remain displaced. This condition is called diastasis recti, and often results in weak pelvic floor disorders like urinary incontinence. In the center of the mother’s stomach, there is a noticeable bulge that can’t be lost through diet and exercise. 

Excess Skin

Around our mid-section, we might have abdominal skin that has not bounced back. Once skin stretches past a certain point, the collagen and elastin fibers in the skin’s internal network lose their tensile strength. This loss of elasticity causes the skin to remain stretched out even months after giving birth. While some women’s bellies retain their integrity, that is not the case for many new mothers. 

And unfortunately, the demands that pregnancy and childbirth put on a woman’s body aren’t limited to the abdomen. Hormonal changes and vaginal deliveries can cause unwanted effects to a woman’s intimate areas. The labia can become distended, the perineum damaged, and other changes to the vulvo-vaginal area can impact a woman’s sexual health and body confidence.

Hard-to-Lose Fat 

On average, a mother gains around 25 to 35 pounds of baby weight during her pregnancy.^[5] After giving birth, this fat can linger in different areas of her body. Subcutaneous fat is tough to shed because it helps the body regulate heat loss instead of solely supplying muscle with energy. Because it serves this function, subcutaneous fat is harder to burn than deeper visceral fat. So, even though you might follow a strict post-pregnancy diet and exercise routine to lose that baby weight, you might only get limited results. 

Mommy Makeover Procedures

To address each of these cosmetic conditions, Dr. Yoo has a list of procedures that he includes in his mommy makeover collection. During your consultation, he will determine which combination of these procedures is best for achieving your desired post-baby body. 

Breast Lift

Breasts frequently sag and hang lower after pregnancy. Various levels of ptosis, the official name for the sagging severity, can be addressed with a breast lift. In a breast lift procedure, Dr. Yoo carefully excises the sagging tissue from the appropriate portions of the breast and reconfigures the slope of the breast to hang higher on the chest. This allows for a perkier, more even look to the breasts with a procedure that produces minimal, discreet scarring. A breast lift with implants combines the breast lift with breast augmentation, for comprehensive aesthetic improvement.

Breast Augmentation

To resize and reshape the breasts, Dr. Yoo may recommend breast augmentation. With breast augmentation, the patient can choose from a list of customizable implants. This procedure is ideal for new mothers who are looking to add more balance and projection to their breasts that may have changed shape or lost volume during motherhood. Choices for these implants include size, shape, texture, and composition –– all of which Dr. Yoo and his expert team will explain thoroughly during your consultation. We also offer non-implant breast augmentation with autologous fat transfer.

Breast Reduction

For some mothers, larger breasts that remain bigger after pregnancy can cause chronic pain and discomfort. In particular, larger breasts can cause back, neck, and shoulder pain. Breast reduction takes away the weighty tissue and resizes the patients’ breasts to their liking. A breast reduction alleviates aches and pains and allows patients to see their ideal-sized breasts rest more naturally and comfortably on their chest. Dr. Yoo can also resize the nipple and/or areola, as these areas can also change significantly

Tummy Tuck

To address excess skin around the abdomen, Dr. Yoo employs a tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty procedure. First, he makes a baseline incision from hip to hip. If you’re worried about scarring, he can place it under the bikini line, so the waistband of clothing will easily hide any scarring. He then gently pulls the excess skin down and removes all overlapping tissue. Dr. Yoo then relocates the belly button by making a new hole in the appropriate area in the repositioned skin. Once he has fastened the navel to this new location and completed all other suturing, he wraps the abdomen in a compression garment. 

Liposuction

For lingering fat deposits around the body, Dr. Yoo uses liposuction. With liposuction, he takes a thin aspirating tube called a cannula and draws out the unwanted fat cells from their connective tissue. Because liposuction is a simple and quick way of permanently removing fat cells, Dr. Yoo can use it in a number of places, including:

Labiaplasty

Changes to the labia are common after pregnancy and childbirth. Luckily, a labiaplasty is a quick surgical procedure that is safely performed to help patients feel more comfortable. Dr. Yoo carefully trims or excises sections of elongated labia minora to restore and improve the appearance, comfort, and sexual confidence of new mothers.

Don’t wait to get the post-baby body you want! If you’re in Los Angeles or Orange County or you’re coming from farther afield, schedule a consultation with us at our Beverly Hills or Newport Beach location.

Eligible Candidates

For those interested in a customizable mommy makeover, please schedule a personal consultation with Dr. Yoo and his team by filling out this online form. Eligible candidates include mothers who have fully healed from their pregnancies at the end of their family-building stage of life. We ask this because any subsequent pregnancies will diminish virtually all results from your mommy makeover. We also ask that patients quit smoking for the duration of their preparation and recovery for this group of procedures. Lastly, you will need to plan a ride home from a trusted friend or family member, as you will not be able to drive yourself. 

Cost of a Mommy Makeover in Beverly Hills, CA

Since a mommy makeover is a collection of bespoke surgeries, the cost will vary from patient to patient. We will discuss and determine the price of your care during your initial consultation. Let board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Michael J. Yoo provide your very own selection of mommy makeover procedures to transform your post-baby body! Don’t hesitate to call us if you have any questions regarding this, or any of our other services, at (949) 861-3340 for our Beverly Hills office or (424) 209-9925 for our Newport Beach location.

Read more about the different procedures that make up a mommy makeover by reading Dr. Yoo’s blog.

References

1. Gottschalk, A., Van Aken, H., Zenz, M., & Standl, T. (2011). Is anesthesia dangerous?. Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 108(27), 469–474. https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.2011.0469
2. Bagshaw KR, Hanenbaum CL, Carbone EJ, et al. Pain management via local anesthetics and responsive hydrogels. Ther Deliv. 2015;6(2):165-176. doi:10.4155/tde.14.95
3. Gart MS, Ko JH, Heyer KS, Mustoe TA. Breast Implant Procedures under Conscious Sedation. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 2013;131(5):1169-1178. doi:10.1097/PRS.0b013e31828e2196
4. Pollock H, Forman S, Pollock T, Raccasi M. Conscious Sedation/Local Anesthesia in the Office-Based Surgical and Procedural Facility. Clinics in Plastic Surgery. 2013;40(3):383-388. doi:10.1016/j.cps.2013.04.014
5. Cantor AG, Jungbauer RM, McDonagh M, et al. Counseling and Behavioral Interventions for Healthy Weight and Weight Gain in Pregnancy: Evidence Report and Systematic Review for the US Preventive Services Task Force. JAMA. 2021;325(20):2094–2109. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.4230