Pregnancy After Having a Tummy Tuck

In a perfect world, doctors prefer that a prospective tummy-tuck patient wait until after she is completely done having children before getting the procedure. However, by luck or by choice, some women get pregnant after they have an abdominoplasty.

Why Pregnancy Is Not Preferred

• The reason that pregnancy is not recommended until after child-bearing is because of the way that a tummy tuck is performed. During a tummy tuck, the fascia over the muscles in the abdomen are pulled tightly together with stitches, sort of like lacing up a shoe. Loose skin and some fat are also cut away.

  During pregnancy, the skin and muscles must stretch again to accommodate the growing fetus. This means that another tummy tuck may be needed post-partum. Most patients cannot easily afford the money, recovery time, or medical risk of another tummy tuck.

Pregnancy Effect

• One question many women ask is whether the tummy tuck will keep the fetus from growing. This is not the case. Abdominoplasty does not affect the uterus, only the muscles and skin, which will stretch again. Some women notice that their skin feels tighter with the post-tummy tuck pregnancy than it did with prior pregnancies.

Contacting Your Physicians

• Concerns about post-tummy tuck pregnancies should be addressed with an obstetrician. The plastic surgeon who performed the tummy tuck can also be consulted.