

I have always been surprised about how well and anatomically driven a tummy tuck holds up.”
#Postpartum tummy tuck before and after skin#
While you might not need a full secondary tummy tuck after pregnancy, Gohar adds: “In certain cases, just a limited revision is necessary that most often involves removal of a slight skin access of the lower abdomen. “For this reason, your doctor cannot guarantee that your abdomen will look the same way it did after your tummy tuck.”īut electing to have a second tummy tuck after childbirth is not unheard of. “Because of the nature and extent of the skin’s stretching during pregnancy, it is very unpredictable how the abdomen will look after weight loss post-delivery,” explains Gopal. ” Getting a second tummy tuck after having children “The skin naturally loses some elasticity as we age and especially with pregnancy. “The method of delivery, whether it’s a vaginal birth or C-section, does not matter.” Adds Green: “The skin’s ability to ‘bounce back’ after childbirth is individual to every person, regardless of whether or not they’ve had a tummy tuck,” he says. “There will be an unpredictable amount of ‘snap back,’” says Smith. Having had a tummy tuck prior to pregnancy doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to slip straight into your pre-pregnancy pants after you deliver, be it soon after childbirth or farther down the line. Will your stomach "snap back" after childbirth? “The real risk is that the rectus muscles can separate again or the re-stretching of the skin and more striae.” (That’s stretch marks to you and me.) That’s why most plastic surgeons will recommend having children first and then do a tummy tuck.

James A Gohar, MD, CEO and OB-GYN at Viva Eve tells Romper.

“Although women should consult specifically with both their OB-GYN and a plastic surgeon, many experts recommend waiting at least six months or so,” Dr. If you get a tummy tuck and then start feeling baby fever, you might want to discuss your options with your doctor to know your options and to see if you should wait a while before becoming pregnant again. What happens to the tummy tuck during pregnancy?Ĭompassionate Eye Foundation/Natasha Alipour Faridani / Getty images If you are trying to conceive or have already confirmed your pregnancy, it’s best to speak with your healthcare provider to go over any potential risks, cosmetic concerns, or even issues relating to your own comfort during the pregnancy. Michael Green, M.D., a board-certified OB-GYN, tells Romper. “You can absolutely safely carry a child after a tummy tuck, but the skin of your midsection may feel tighter than it would for someone who has never had the procedure and increase some of the discomforts of pregnancy,” Dr. Still, you might experience some complications after a tummy tuck, (like a hematoma or an increased risk of infection ), or it’s possible you might have a more uncomfortable pregnancy. Another study found that pregnancy post tummy tuck (even if you’ve had a mesh placement for rectus abdominus diastasis) can be safe for both you and your baby. “There are no safety concerns with becoming pregnant after an abdominoplasty,” says Smith.

Is it safe to get pregnant after a tummy tuck?įor the most part, it is perfectly safe to get pregnant after you’ve had abdominoplasty. Nithya Gopal, M.D., a board-certified OB-GYN, so repairing these muscles can also help to alleviate backaches. “It is also known that the separation of the rectus muscles is associated with exacerbation of underlying back pain,” says Dr. “The diastasis is repaired by suturing the rectus muscles back together.” Not only does this stabilize the abdominal wall, but repairing the diastasis recti offers support to the lumbopelvic muscles, which aids in digestive and urinary functioning, per a PubMed study. “The rectus abdominus (‘6-pack muscles’), are often spread apart by the expanding uterus during pregnancy, leaving a weakened space in the abdominal wall called a rectus diastasis,” explains Smith. Essentially, a tummy tuck will do for your stomach what a bazillion crunches can’t do - get rid of that excess skin that’s been stretched in those last months and weeks of pregnancy.īut if you thought that a tummy tuck only removes excess skin, think again. Darren Smith, M.D., FACS, a board-certified plastic surgeon tells Romper. “A tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty, is designed to rejuvenate the abdomen by removing excess fat and skin as well as reconstructing the abdominal core muscles,” Dr. But what happens if you experience a pregnancy after a tummy tuck? Will all that work (and money) go to waste? Here’s what you need to know. And then, there are those whose bodies don’t. There are some people whose bodies seem to bounce right back after giving birth, with nary a stretch mark in sight.
