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Non Surgical Skin Tightening for the Tummy?
Unfortunately there are no great solutions for the problems that you raise. These are extremely common problems after childbirth. There are several issues: Post-pregnancy abdomens commonly suffer from "rectus diastasis". This means that during your pregnancy the muscles that make up your six pack have actually separated and moved towards the sides of your abdomen. This causes your core to look significantly less tight. Unfortunately working out will not correct the position of the muscles. Pregnancy also stretches the skin. Tears in the deep layers of the dermis are manifested as stretch marks. They are actually scars where the dermis has torn. Many times pregnancy pounds can be hard to shed and normal work-out patterns can be disrupted because of the new arrival. Extra skin - pregnancy can actually create more skin. Many times your natural skin elasticity will make up for some of this, but when the elasticity isn't there the extra skin can be quite noticeable. Exercise and healthy eating can help with the third issue. The rest are more difficult. There are many marketed creams. None provide significant results. Laser techniques can make small differences but these are usually not effective at addressing the patient's concerns. In our Dublin practice most patients with these concerns require some procedure such as liposuction or abdominoplasty. Explore your options, talk to as many people as you can but beware of the marketing surrounding creams and laser.
Clinical Context
Postpartum tummy changes often involve more than one problem at once: separated abdominal muscles (diastasis), stretched skin, and stretch marks from dermal tearing. Nonsurgical skin-tightening devices work by heating the skin's collagen layer, so they can't correct muscle separation, which lies beneath the skin. That's why energy-based treatments and creams generally show only modest, temporary effects on true postpartum laxity compared with surgical options.
