This Mother’s Day, you may want to get mommy dearest something even more glamorous than a spa voucher, Fleming’s steakhouse gift certificate, or box of Ghirardelli chocolates. According to a new survey released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the desires of the most important women in our lives go beyond sweets and hearty food.
The ASPS and Impulse Research conducted a survey that reveals nearly two out of three mothers (62 percent) said that they’d consider a “mommy makeover,” which includes procedures such as a tummy tuck, breast augmentation and/or breast lift if cost were not an issue. If this applies to your mama, perhaps you should return that jar of Nutella and pint of Half Baked ice cream (or merely keep them for yourself) before Sunday.
“In the past we saw a lot of women in their 50s getting these types of procedures. But today we are seeing young mothers in their 30s coming in for procedures such as tummy tucks and breast lifts,” said ASPS President Phillip Haeck, MD, in a press release. “They don’t want to wait years to reestablish how they used to look. They want their prebaby bodies back now.”
According to the survey, these lovely ladies won’t give up their girlish figures without a fight. The research found that tummy tucks increased 85 percent, breast lifts rose 70 percent and breast augmentation increased 39 percent from 2000 to 2010.
Parenting blogger Mir Kamin told The Daily Caller that it’s unfortunate that females resort to surgeries to improve their appearances.
“Despite the increased prevalence of these procedures, they are still non-essential and inherently risky surgeries,” Kamin told TheDC.
Kamin acknowledged that these types of procedures can be rather invasive and even life-threatening.
“I wish no women felt like they needed to change/enhance their looks through surgery, but I would hope that moms in particular realize they’re unnecessarily risking leaving their kid[s] motherless all because they wanted to look different,” Kamin said.
Though she’d pass on the mommy makeover, Kamin doesn’t raise eyebrows at the moms who opt for these sorts of surgeries.
“I try not to be judgey when other women do something I wouldn’t do, but this is something I will never understand,” Kamin said. “Needless to say, no, I wouldn’t even consider this mommy makeover. (For the record, thanks to good genetics I don’t have any tummy to tuck. But I’m sure a plastic surgeon would consider me a great candidate for a breast augmentation/lift, neither of which I would ever want.)”
Catherine Connors, another mom blogger, told TheDC she wasn’t surprised to learn that mothers would mull over the mommy makeover.
“It doesn’t surprise me at all that they’d consider it,” Connors told TheDC. “More moms than you expect would want it, and if you sat down with them privately, they’d probably admit it, especially if no one knew about their surgeries.”
Realistically, Connors said, mothers would be more likely to opt for non-surgical liposuction and less invasive procedures.
“The mommy makeover numbers would probably be even higher if it included less obvious surgeries,” Connors said. “I probably wouldn’t go for tummy tuck but if someone offered me a medical spa or cool sculpting, I might do that. I would jump at the opportunity to have something non-invasive or less obvious.”
Connors added that moms factor their children into these sorts of big decisions, as invasive procedures require a long period of time to heal. Connors said less invasive treatment is more compelling because it’s not as risky or expensive.
“Especially for mothers, recovery time is huge, if you’re actually caring for kids or small children, you might not be able to recover at home without help,” Connors said. “There is also hesitation about the risk involved, we’ve all heard horror stories of liposuction gone bad, and mothers are more inclined to worry about that. Risk and recovery time are primary concerns for moms, and also the cost.”
Some moms openly praise the surgery. Dana Van Gray, one of ASPS’s samples, got a tummy tuck and breast augmentation after giving birth to her last kid. The 38-year-old feels the changes have not only boosted her confidence, but improved her parenting skills.
“I didn’t like my stomach. I started noticing a muffin top and I thought – why wait? I’m young, I’m healthy and I want to look good now,” Van Gray said. “I feel good so I can be a better mom to my kids.”
