How Your Body Changes After Pregnancy

You expect your body to change during pregnancy. Gaining weight, larger breasts, changes to your hair and skin — none of these took you by surprise. But now that your baby has arrived, you may notice the changes haven’t gone away — even after your baby’s first birthday.

At Las Vegas Body Sculpting and Aesthetic, board-certified surgeon Mustafa Ahmed, MD, helps women unhappy with post-baby changes reclaim their pre-baby bodies with a mommy makeover. 

This service includes a variety of procedures, customized to address the specific ways your body has changed. Take a moment to learn about how your body changes after pregnancy and whether a mommy makeover can help.

Common post-baby body changes

During pregnancy, your body changes to grow a new human being. 

Your heart pumps 50% more blood throughout your body, your skin stretches to accommodate your growing baby, and your growth hormones change the way your hair grows. Even your joints and ligaments loosen to help your pelvis prepare for labor.

Some of these changes create lasting effects. Here’s a look at five ways your body may be changed for good after pregnancy: 

1. Non-baby belly bump 

Your abdominal area went through a lot to deliver your baby. It takes about 6-8 weeks for your uterus to shrink back to its prepregnancy size, but the skin, tissue, and extra padding around your middle presents a more difficult challenge. 

Even with a healthy diet and exercise, many moms find it hard to achieve a smooth, toned tummy after they’ve had a baby. A mommy makeover with liposuction can remove the stubborn pockets of fat that just won’t budge. 

2. Smaller, drooping breasts

While pregnancy and breastfeeding may have given you larger, fuller breasts, these changes aren’t permanent. That’s because the extra fat in your breasts is replaced with something called functional tissue that makes breastfeeding possible.

Once you’re no longer producing milk, the tissue atrophies. The result is permanently smaller breasts. In addition, the stretched ligaments and tissues that result from pregnancy cause your breasts to sag — even if you don’t breastfeed. 

A mommy makeover can include breast augmentation and/or a breast lift to address these changes and give you back your pre-baby breasts.

3. Wider hips

The same hormone (relaxin) that helped your pelvis prepare for labor and delivery can bring unwanted lasting changes to your hips. With this change to your bone structure, any extra weight you carry highlights your wider hips. 

Liposuction during your mommy makeover can remove the stubborn, hard-to-lose fat from your hips and give you a slimmer silhouette. 

4. Uneven breasts 

Almost all women have slightly uneven breasts. For some women, this change becomes more noticeable after pregnancy and breastfeeding as the functional tissue dies and leaves your breasts less full. 

There are options for evening out disproportionate breasts, such as breast augmentation and fat transfers. Dr. Ahmed and the team at Las Vegas Body Sculpting and Aesthetic work with you to select the right procedure for you. 

5. Saggy stomach skin

The skin on your stomach stretches significantly to make room for your baby. If you go through more than one pregnancy, it stretches again and again. The result? Long after your baby’s birth you have loose, sagging skin. 

Diet and exercise can reduce underlying fat, but it can’t help your skin snap back into place. Tummy tucks address this problem. During this procedure, Dr. Ahmed removes the saggy skin and improves the contouring of your abdomen to give you a more shapely middle. 

It’s best to wait until your family is complete and you’re maintaining a stable body weight before undergoing a mommy makeover. Dr. Ahmed and the team evaluate your health history, physical condition, and lifestyle factors to see if you’re a good candidate.