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How Long Should I Wait to Get a Tummy Tuck After Pregnancy?
Thanks for the great question - In our East Bay practice there are several things we look for when performing a tummy tuck after pregnancy in order to insure a great result. The first is that you are at or close to your ideal body weight. Many times pregnancy pounds take some time to come off. Patients get a better result when most of this weight is gone. Second - a new baby can be a big strain on the household. Surgery can make that more difficult. Issues like having enough help around the house, having an alternative to breast feeding (pain medication and anesthesia may cause your breast milk to be unsafe for a newborn) and other issues all need to be factored into the timing. Find a board-certified plastic surgeon who will take the time to discuss all of the issues with you. If you're still packing some of those pregnancy pounds your surgeon can talk about ways to slim down safely so you get your best result.
Clinical Context
After pregnancy, the uterus shrinks back over about six weeks, but the abdominal wall recovers more slowly. Stretched skin and the connective tissue between the abdominal muscles continue to remodel for months, and some muscle separation (diastasis recti) can narrow on its own during this time. Waiting allows swelling to settle and gives your body a chance to finish its own healing before surgery, so your surgeon can plan a procedure based on your actual anatomy rather than a still-changing one.
