By Jenny Pashcall
London, England
November 4, 2007
Making Mummy Yummy Again
:: Now there’s no such thing as a pregnant pause for new mothers between giving birth and getting back to shape – they want to return to the slimline look through surgery right away, says JENNY PASCHALL
THERE is a definite baby boom in Hollywood at the moment. While Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera are still refusing to confirm that they are expecting, Halle Berry and Helena Bonham Carter are proud to be pregnant and new celebrity mums include Salma Hayek, Isla Fisher and Julia Roberts.
Then, once baby is born, they will doubtless all soon be parading their knockout post-bump bodies. Indeed, Naomi Watts has already appeared looking amazingly svelte just weeks after giving birth.
The pressure and desire to look good as soon as the bump becomes baby are not confined to celebrities though. A survey by online bank Egg last week revealed that new British mothers are spending an average of £1,062 on making themselves look and feel good.
While they may treat themselves to new hairstyles, clothes and beauty treatments, they are still unlikely to match the astounding transformations effected by their famous counterparts.
So, how do they do it? Most Hollywood A-listers diet and put in the hours with personal trainers, torturing those stretched abs back into shape – but it seems that many of them also have a little bit of extra help. A lot of new mothers are now going from flab to fab as a result of the Mummy Makeover, a body-sculpting service offered by plastic surgeons, specifically geared to the post-baby body.
Dr Lloyd M Krieger, founder and medical director of Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery, is king of the Mummy Makeover in Beverly Hills. His office is a stone’s throw from Gucci, Valentino, Armani and Dior, but his cure for post-pregnancy blues is a lot more permanent than a new handbag or a pair of shoes. He can offer a trimmed, tightened body for women feeling saggy and baggy after giving birth.
Dr Krieger’s Mummy Makeover generally comprises a tummy tuck and some liposuction to the thighs. Two-thirds of his patients also have some breast work – a lift or small implant to firm up the breasts. His patients are mostly young career women who are willing to spend between £7,000 and £13,000 to look the way they used to. “Pressure is now on for everyday people to look good. It’s self imposed pressure; women want to have families and careers and look good,” says Dr Krieger.
“They no longer want to make the choice to have a family or a career or look good. They want to have all those things, including their shape. It’s more a reconstructive procedure since they want to go back to what they had. They say, ‘I used to be able to wear those clothes’.” His “Mummy Makeovers” are done six to 12 months after birth. “The patient should be in stable shape. It’s better to lose the baby fat first,” he says. “So people who look great six weeks after have not had Mummy Makeovers.”
The Mummy Makeover is not longer just a celebrity luxury. Last year, 325,000 American women in their 20s and 30s opted for it.
April Rasmussen, a 34-year-old mother of three, is a mortgage consultant living in St. George, Utah who went to Dr. Krieger.
“I’m fit and active and had not had the results from going to the gym,” she says. “I wanted lipo and a tummy tuck. I also decided to have small breast implants. After three children, I was wearing padded bras to deal with the sag.”
The £7,500 ($15,000) price tag was, she feels, worth it. “I feel so wonderful, I would do it again. It was the best money I’ve ever spent. I would recommend a Mummy Makeover to anyone whose breasts sag or who has flabby tummy muscles.”
Dr Krieger says today’s postnatal tummy tucks are more than de-bulking. “Women want a nice contour, they want to wear their bikinis again.”
Dr Krieger was most discreet about his celebrity patients but he did indicate that we would see several of them at any A-list event in Hollywood. Demi Moore, 44, has admitted to having extensive cosmetic surgery, including a Mummy Makeover. Her sculpted body cost what most of us would spend on a house but she is thrilled with the results. Clearly, so was Ashton Kutcher, her 29-year- old husband.
Britney Spears is keeping mum but her ex, Kevin Federline, claims that she had a Mummy Makeover after her second baby.
So, will the Mummy Makeover make it over here? Consultant plastic surgeon Patrick Malluci, of the London Plastic Surgery Association, believes they already have. A lot of mothers come for makeovers, he says – they just haven’t named them yet. “Mums are my classic patients,” he confirms. And like Dr. Krieger, his patients are young, affluent and body conscious.
“They’ve not given up on themselves. they feel young, sexy and good about themselves. We will do breast and tummy tucks and lipo at the same time, as long as it’s appropriate. Some lipo can take as long as four hours, some only takes one hour.”
Mr. Malluci recommends that patients finish having babies before having the surgery, although there is no effect on subsequent pregnancies. He is keen to ensure his patients will be happy with the results. “Balance and harmony are the key words,” he says. “How do you make the perfect belly button? What makes a nice breast, a nice tummy? Beauty and perfection are different for different people.”
A complete makeover in Britain will cost up to 15,000 (euros). Tingy Simoes, 30, owner of London PR agency, Wavelength Marketing Communications, specialises in aesthetics (her clients include the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons and British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry) and has a warning for anyone considering a Mummy Makeover. “Be aware that the bulk of responsibility lies on the patient’s shoulders to do her homework,” she says.
Tingy has a personal interest in the Mummy Makeover story. She is expecting her second baby in three weeks. “I feel like a Zeppelin!” she wails. “I would consider lipo for my saddlebags and would have my boobs done depending on the state of them after this pregnancy”.
You can read more about our approach to the Mommy Makeover
