Apart from weight gain, there are other nightmares
to deal with post pregnancy - stretch marks, tummy
flab, and droopy breasts to name some. Many women,
working women in particular, find it a tedious chore
to lose fat as they rather spend their free hours
with their baby. Some expert tips and suggestions
to prevent and treat your pregnancy problems are outlined
below.
Problem
Stretch Marks
Silver-like slivers of thinning
skin on thighs and tummy caused by the rupture of
young collagen fibers in the skin.
Prevention: Doctors and dermatologists
advocate moisturizing the belly and thigh and buttocks
areas with cocoa butter and pure vitamin E oil.
Aesthetic Option: Vbeam laser utilizes
intense but gentle burst of light in long pulses
to treat skin conditions.
Expert Opinion: Prescription creams
may help reduce unsightly appearance of stretchmarks
but prevention is always better and for that you
have to take precautions with weight gain during
pregnancy.
Problem Abdominal Flab
Excess skin around the mid-section
is very common after the third pregnancy of if you
gain 15kg or more.
Prevention: nothing much can be
done apart from following a healthy eating regime
and a good exercise plan.
Natural Option: Healthy diet and
some low impact exercise
Aesthetic option: Liposuction,
an invasive surgical procedure where fat is sucked
out, is an effective procedure. There is a healing
period of up to 2 months.
The Alternative: Body by Thermage,
a non-invasive aesthetic procedure is clinically
proven to tighten loose body parts. Radio frequency
waves are used to penetrate skin and cause underlying
collagen to be stimulated and contract. Skin will
begin to tighten immediately thereafter and continue
for another six months.
Expert Opinion: The opinion is
that Thermage is the best treatment for flabby skin.
Results are long lasting; mothers who lose weight
but still have flabby skin can resort to Thermage
to tighten up the skin to pre-pregnancy levels.
Most need only one session.
Problem Post-Partum Weight
Stubborn weight gain in specific post-pregnancy areas
such as waist, hips and buttocks.
Prevention: Prenatal yoga does wonders
to keep your weight in check.
Natural Option: Low-cal diet with
exercise
Aesthetic Option: Bariatric weight
loss program, a highly invasive surgery to trim the
digestive tract, shrink the stomach and reduce the
caloric intake. Usually prescribed by doctors for
the severely obese.
Expert Opinion: beside a sensible
diet and exercise, your doctor can prescribe you some
weight loss pills to help bring about a slimmer you.
Mesotherapy for fat and carboxytherapy are effective
treatments for reducing localized areas of stubborn
fat.
Problem Varicose Veins
Prevention: During pregnancy, put
less pressure on veins by resting often. Sleep on
your left side (decreases pressure on largest vein).
Wear maternity support hose.
Natural Option: For mild to moderate
cases, elevate your feet above heart level few times
a day for at least 15 minutes each time. Severe cases
may need compression stockings - elastic ones that
squeeze your veins and stop excess blood from flowing
backward.
Aesthetic Option: Vein stripping
is an invasive surgery which involves an incision
in the groin area. The offending veins are then disconnected,
tied off and removed.
The Alternative: Sclerotherapy where
'spider' or varicose veins are injected with a sclerosing
solution, so they collapse and fade. It is a quick
procedure (15-45 minutes)and about 5 to 40 injections
are administered per session.
Expert Opinion: If situation doesn't
improve post delivery, laser, vein sclerotherapy or
vascular surgery are suitable.
Problem Vaginal Slackening
During pregnancy hormones cause laxity in the pelvic
ligaments to allow the pelvis to stretch so the baby
can be born. However for some, the stretch can go
beyond the elastic stage and the vagina isn't able
to return to its previous state. Tearing can worsen
vaginal tone.
Prevention: Pelvic exercises or kegel
can lessen vaginal slackening. Perineal massage with
vitamin E oil is also helpful.
Aesthetic Option: Vaginoplasty, a
surgical procedure can tighten the vaginal floor.
This procedure cuts the excess mucosa and tightens
the slack muscles, restoring their integrity so that
they are tight again. However this is an expensive
procedure.
Expert Opinion: Though surgery is
the best option to remove redundant tissue, exercise
is the best remedy for improved muscle tone. A tummy
tuck with a pubic area lift is recommended instead,
where the latter restores the vaginal opening to a
useful position. Pudendal or pubic area lift can be
done 6 months after childbirth.
