I had a patient who after three kids wants a tummy tuck. Her belly was blown out after her second child, and she has back pain, so we knew a tummy tuck was in her future to repair it all after her third child. She wants to do it when her baby turns one.
But she has been reading my blog (Go Bay Area blog reading mommies!) and said, “I know I should wait for 2-3 years until I do surgery, but I don’t want to wait.” I realized I have not been clear. It is true, the most common time I see women after babies is about 2-3 years out. I think that timing is good- you have gotten out of the fog of babydom and given yourself a chance to get back into shape and see what comes back … and what doesn’t. So the flip of that…
When is the soonest? Should you wait?
- Normal blood level. You lose a fair amount of blood after birth. You need 3 months to rebuild your blood store.
- Nutrition. Your baby has spent the last 10 months preferentially getting your nutrients. You need time to restore.
- Sleep. Surgery is a stress on the body. I liken it to running a marathon. If you are sleep deprived you won’t have the reserve to help you heal well.
- Breastfeeding. Breastfeeding continues to take calories, energy, and nutrition for your newborn. I am a HUGE breastfeeding fan. The benefits to you and your child are immense. If doing breast surgery, you need the breasts to be empty of milk, which takes about 3-6 months after you stop breastfeeding. If doing other surgery, you can’t breastfeed at the same time- it would be too tough on your body to devote energy to healing and to your baby, and the medications needed for surgery and healing would get in your milk. Also, see the nutrition point- breastfeeding can deplete you, so you need time after you stop to rebuild your internal stores.
My two to three year window is for women in the dreaded grey zone. The grey zone? Those women who’s breasts and bellies aren’t like they were before babies, but they aren’t so bad. In the right time of day, right angle, or if you stand up straight (posture girls!) you look okay. Those are the women who should wait.
But some women have things time will not help. Particularly for the abdomen, horrible stretch marks, a wide diastasis (separation of the muscles), hernias, and hanging skin won’t go away with time and exercise. Two years will not make these better.
So see your doctor. Every patient and situation is different. I get timing is tricky. Many of you work, have multiple kids, and husbands schedules and other things you juggle. But this is elective surgery. And I know, from the title of this blog, you have an incredible responsibility- you are a mom.
Elective surgery needs to be safe.
There is a time and place for everything. Talk to your doctor.