Does Pre-Baby Surgery Help A Post-Baby Body?

Kate Hudson and Victoria Beckham both gave birth to healthy babies just last weekend. We expect to see these mommies out and about, sporting newly toned figures in the very near future.

The stars make it look so easy. But for those of us who aren’t A-list actresses or former Spice Girls, plastic surgery is sometimes helpful post-pregnancy. Many women even opt to have plastic surgery before getting preggers. However, most doctors believe this doesn’t have much of an effect on how quickly, or well, the body will recover.

• If you had liposuction, you may have a better chance of not gaining weight in the treated areas but you still can gain weight in other parts of the body-liposuction removes fat from a specific area and it can’t return there. For example, if you had your inner thighs treated, you probably won’t regain weight there. “Liposuction is not a guarantee that you won’t gain weight in certain areas of the body during pregnancy nor does it mean that the body will return to normal any quicker. It really depends on what part of the body was treated-saddle bags should remain the same (after pregnancy) and not be affected but the stomach is not void of experiencing changes,” says Orange County, CA, plastic surgeon Al Aly, MD.

• If you had a tummy tuck, your stomach may, or may not, bounce back into shape quicker. “A tummy tuck should really be saved for after pregnancy to get better, longer-lasting results,” says New York plastic surgeon Elie Levine, MD. Pregnancy puts stress on the abdominal wall and muscles, which may need to be tightened surgically again. Also, during a tummy tuck, excess skin is removed, and it’s likely that the increase in weight and stretching of the skin can cause more laxity. “When a woman has a tummy tuck and then gets pregnant, the muscles stretch and the skin will sag, potentially causing the results of the surgery to become partially undone.”