Mommy Makeover: How to go from baby bump to bikini ready!

March 10, 2025

Introduction

Motherhood: the only journey where you gain the best thing in your life—and somehow misplace your waistline along the way. If you’re a few years past the baby stage and still haven’t quite found your pre-pregnancy body, you’re definitely not alone. Many moms find that the changes from pregnancy and childbirth stick around longer than expected.

That’s where the Mommy Makeover comes in—a tailored combination of procedures that target those areas that might have lost their former tone. Whether it’s your tummy, breasts, or both, this makeover is all about helping you feel like you again, no matter how much time has passed.

Ready to rediscover your body? Let’s dive into how a Mommy Makeover works and how it can help you feel confident in your skin once more.

Surgical Procedures in a Mommy Makeover

Whether it’s flattening that post-baby belly or giving your breasts a much-needed pick-me-up, these procedures are here to tackle the areas that took the biggest hit. Each one is customized just for you, helping you rediscover your confidence and a body that feels more like your old self. Now, let’s dive into how these options can help you turn back the clock (or at least get your waistline to cooperate again).

Breast Lift: Hormonal fluctuations and weight gain during pregnancy cause significant changes in a woman’s body, including altering the shape, volume, and size of breasts. After pregnancy and when you’re no longer nursing, breasts can sag and nipples can droop. Breast lift, also known as mastopexy, is a surgical procedure that removes excess and loose skin and reshapes breast tissue to give breasts a better shape and a youthful appearance. Breast lift also enables repositioning or adjusting the areolas, making your breasts more symmetrical, and giving them a naturally fuller look without adding more volume.

Breast Augmentation using Implants: After multiple pregnancies and nursing, breasts can appear deflated, small, elongated, or lop-sided and misshapen. This is because pregnancy and breastfeeding can alter the symmetry of breasts. Breast augmentation with implants or mammoplasty helps restore a more balanced appearance of breasts by correcting their shape, adding volume, and creating uniform size. Using this surgical procedure, the surgeon makes incisions on the side of your breasts, inserts silicone implant or fat taken from your body and places them either under the breast tissues, under the pectoral or chest muscles, or a combination of the two, to create the desired fuller and perkier results.

Liposuction: To target and remove stubborn localised fat accumulated in the abdomen or thighs after pregnancy, liposuction may be performed. It is a minimally invasive surgical procedure where the surgeon makes small incisions on the skin and inserts a cannula into the fatty layer. The surgeon then moves the cannula around to break up the fat and extract it using a vacuum or syringe. Liposuction is best when the patient is closer to their ideal weight as it allows the removal of small amounts of fat and better contouring to give a more toned and shapely appearance.

Tummy Tuck: Abdominoplasty, which is more commonly known as “tummy tuck” not only helps smoothen and flatten your post-baby belly by removing loose and excess skin but also tightens abdominal muscles that are weakened after pregnancy.

Brazilian abdominoplasty or Lipoabdominoplasty is a more advanced surgical procedure that combines liposuction and abdominoplasty to remove excess skin, tighten abdominal muscles, and improve your waistline, shape, and posture.

Labiaplasty: This surgical procedure is also known as vulval surgery and is undertaken to reduce the size of the labia minora (the flaps of skin around the vagina). Sometimes, women experience discomfort exercising, wearing form-fitting attire, or when engaging in intimacy owing to the existence of excess, enlarged, or sagging tissues. Physiological presentation of the labia minora also influences hygiene and the ability to prevent recurring infections. Women undergo the labiaplasty procedure to correct their labia minora and improve their quality of life.

Another instance that significantly changes the labia minora is childbirth. It can not only alter the labia’s appearance but also result in future discomfort or pain along with the feeling of self-consciousness. Labiaplasty can help address these concerns while also restoring its youthful appearance.

Fat Transfer Augmentation: Fat transfer augmentation can be a choice for women who want to restore breast volume lost after pregnancy and nursing. By performing this surgery, surgeons extract fat from the patient’s body such as thighs and abdomen, purify it, and inject it into their breasts. Their procedure offers a more natural-looking result with limited chances of rejection since the fat is sourced from the patient’s body.

However, it is critical to note that the fat transfer augmentation procedure offers only a moderate increase in volume and isn’t the best choice to address severe sagging or elongation of breasts. It is also possible for the transferred fat to be absorbed by the body or reduced when subjected to exercise well after surgery.

Body Changes After Pregnancy

Sure, motherhood is magical—but so is how your body now defies gravity, logic, and any chance of squeezing back into your pre-baby jeans. Between pregnancy and breastfeeding, everything from your belly to your breasts undergoes major transformations—things stretch, shift, and sometimes leave you scratching your head. Here are a few of the most noticeable changes you might encounter:

Breast Engorgement: Your breasts begin to grow in size much before milk comes in. The changing levels of oestrogen and progesterone trigger the breast tissues and milk ducts to expand. Stretch marks appear as the ligaments supporting breast tissues also loosen to accommodate bigger breasts, nipples might become darker in colour, and the little bumps around the areola might become bigger and more prominent. Moreover, it is estimated that breast size increases two or three times when breastfeeding. The hormone, prolactin, influences milk production in breasts and this makes them appear fuller and much bigger. The stretch marks that appear during your pregnancy may become more prominent due to engorged breasts.

Breast Sagging: After pregnancy and nursing, your breasts will not be making or filling the milk ducts for lactation. Breast tissue tends to shrink back to pre-pregnancy size. So, after weaning from breastfeeding, breasts may appear flatter, less voluminous, and the skin loose having lost some of its elasticity.

While breastfeeding is the predominant reason behind sagging breasts, the asymmetric appearance can also result from changing hormonal balance and your body’s response to these fluctuations, whether or not breastfeeding is done.

Weight Loss: At the end of a pregnancy, there will be an initial weight loss. This can be attributed to the weight of the newborn, placenta, and amniotic fluid from the womb. This is followed by a gradual return to pre-pregnancy weight but this can take anywhere between 6 and 12 months depending on your exercise routine and diet. For some, it could take longer to return to their pre-pregnancy weight if they had gained a considerable amount of body weight during their pregnancy.

Breastfeeding also plays a role in weight management by burning calories during milk production, especially when it is exclusively done for several months. However, additional factors such as pre-pregnancy weight and nutrition can have a direct influence on body weight management despite breastfeeding.

Excess & Loose Skin: Skin elasticity drops after pregnancy. This is because of the skin stretching to accommodate the growing baby and the decrease in collagen (the protein that gives skin its elasticity) production. While skin health and elasticity recover naturally postpartum, some amount of skin may remain loose, especially around the belly.

Stubborn Fat Deposits: Some women may experience fat, especially around the abdomen, that makes their bodies appear out of shape well after pregnancy. Hormonal changes influence fat storage in the body, and because it takes three to six months to return to the pre-pregnancy state, it can be harder to lose weight after pregnancy. The amount of weight gained during pregnancy can also influence how much belly fat remains after pregnancy and it can be difficult to lose despite dieting and working out. Degraded skin elasticity and weakened abdominal muscles can also make weight loss challenging.

Diastasis Recti: Women with multiple pregnancies or big babies may notice a bulge in their midsection. This is caused by the two long abdominal muscles called rectus abdominis (the ‘six pack’ muscles) moving away from each other to accommodate the growing uterus during pregnancy. The connective tissues between these muscles stretch and can become weak over the course of the pregnancy allowing them to separate and take time to bounce back.

Diastasis recti can weaken core muscles, impact posture, and cause back pain and pelvic discomfort. The loosened muscles can also make everyday activities like walking, sitting down, bending over, and lifting objects difficult and make you feel like you’re still pregnant. However, not all pregnant women experience the full extent of diastasis recti and small amounts of separation can be corrected with targeted exercise and posture management.

Why are Women Choosing Mommy Makeovers?

If you’ve tried to regain your pre-baby body naturally and it hasn’t worked or has been as effective, then customised surgery can help address the changes in your post-pregnancy body. Medical professionals recommend waiting a minimum of six months after birth and breastfeeding to recover from it and achieve a stable weight before undergoing a mummy makeover procedure.

Here’s what celebrity influencer and Sunion Health patient has to say about it.

Why Is Mommy Makeover Surgery Worth It?

This surgical procedure can significantly improve a woman’s confidence and self-esteem by addressing the physical changes occurring through pregnancy and childbirth. It can help improve her body image concerns, often leading to a positive impact on her emotional well-being and overall quality of life.

Improves postpartum mental health
Feeling more comfortable in your body goes a long way in rejuvenating a woman’s sense of self. Surgical intervention helps by increasing self-confidence, creating a positive body image, improving mood, and encouraging social engagement and relationships. Its positive impact also helps relieve stress and anxiety emerging from body image issues.

Alleviates back pain & improves posture
Surgical procedures, especially the tummy tuck or abdominoplasty, help improve posture and stop back pain and discomfort by tightening the abdominal muscles loosened during pregnancy. A strengthened core provides support to the spine, thus improving alignment and reducing strain on both the spine and supportive muscles. A strong core also stabilizes the spine and prevents chronic lower back pain.

Diastasis recti repair
The abdominoplasty or tummy tuck procedure also addresses and repairs the distinctly separated abdominal muscles and removes the noticeable postpartum belly. Tightening the abdominal muscles restores the core, strengthens and stabilises it, and allows for a flatter, firmer, and stronger abdomen.

Improves activity levels
Physiological changes emerging from pregnancy and breastfeeding may include loose skin, weakened core muscles, and bigger and flatter breasts, all of which can play a role in restricting your activity and engagement levels. Surgical interventions such as a mummy makeover after pregnancy allow for easier movement, reduced pain, lesser discomfort, better posture, and a greater ability to engage in physical activity. This increases motivation to participate and improves your quality of life.

Boosts physical intimacy
Many women experience changes in their body after pregnancy and breastfeeding, which may affect their self-esteem or how they feel about their appearance. By addressing areas such as the tummy, breasts, or body contour through surgery, a Mommy Makeover can help you feel more like yourself again—physically and emotionally. And restoring confidence in your body can make you feel more comfortable and connected with your partner. This renewed confidence can translate into a more positive attitude toward intimacy.

What Women Want to Know about Mommy Makeover

When is it safe to get a Mommy Makeover after having a baby?
Generally, patients are advised to wait a minimum of 6 months after childbirth to undergo mummy makeover surgery. In these months, your body recovers and heals from the stress of pregnancy and childbirth while adjusting to breastfeeding. Your body is also attempting to manage hormone fluctuations, weight changes, and alterations to your physical appearance. It is, therefore, important for your body to “settle” before performing surgery and making significant changes.
Are all the surgical procedures in a mummy makeover performed on the same day?
Often, the surgical procedures may be combined and performed on the same day. The objective for doing this is to address all concerns in a single session, shorten the overall recovery time for the patient, and help streamline the post-operative process and care. However, the decision to perform all surgeries on the same day also depends on the health of the patient and the complexity of the procedures. If there are health concerns or the procedures are extensive, surgeons may consider performing them in phases.

Can I breastfeed after a mummy makeover?
Yes, you can continue to breastfeed after your mummy makeover surgery. However, the extent of milk production and supply will depend on the extent of breast surgery performed as part of mummy makeover. In other words, if a considerable amount of breast tissues and milk ducts are removed or obstructed as part of surgery, then you may experience a shortage of milk supply. While this will not disrupt your ability to nurse your infant, you may have to consider more ways of feeding than if you were exclusively breastfeeding.

Are the results of a mummy makeover permanent?
Yes, and no. Some of the surgeries performed as part of mummy makeover may have permanent results. For example, fat removed via liposuction can’t grow back. However, there may be new deposits of fat due to weight changes caused by aging and slowing metabolism. It is also important to note that future pregnancies may undo most of the results of a mummy makeover procedure. The longevity of your mummy makeover surgery is influenced significantly by your choice of lifestyle and habits after surgery.

How long does it take to recover from mummy makeover surgery?
It can take anywhere between one and four weeks to recover from surgery, but it also depends on the combination and complexity of the procedures performed. Initially, you may be recommended to take at least two weeks off work to heal from surgery and gradually enter a normal course of life towards the end of that period. It may take six months to one year to see the final results of your mummy makeover surgery.

Successful Mommy Makeovers

Watch this video of celebrity influencer and Sunion Health patient talking about her experience with breast augmentation surgery.

Meticulous execution of the mummy makeover procedure can influence a remarkable transformation in women, make them feel more comfortable in their bodies, and imbue them with more confidence. It can truly help restore their body symmetry, and help align more closely with their ideal. Research your surgeons extensively, communicate your goals and expectations to them clearly, and start on the road to achieving your desired results safely.