Just recently, after a very long day, with a sleeping 3-month-old in my arms I settled into the sofa beside my husband. He proceeded to tell me how the most difficult part of parenting was the first ten weeks and how now things are becoming a breeze.
After hysterically laughing, teetering on crying, for a good 15 minutes I expressed how, as a mother I feel that we are very much still in the most challenging part of parenting and how it will only get worse. The difference is we will adapt, we change, and we learn to balance things, primarily putting our own needs second to our child’s.
Of course, I am pleased my husband is enjoying parenting and not finding it too difficult. For me and for most mothers the impact of becoming a mother and your child suddenly arriving in your arms is both beautiful and totally exhausting.
I am loving being a mother to my 3-month-old, but ever since giving birth I do not feel like myself at all. Emotionally I feel like each day is a rollercoaster between feeling clueless, worrying unnecessarily, all consuming love and raging PMT.
Physically I am a totally different person inside and out. While pregnancy took its toll and had its challenges, post pregnancy is arguably just as tough! My hair is coming out in clumps, my skin looks dull from lack of sleep, and I am spontaneously leaking milk at the most inconvenient times.
I know it is early days, but I feel like nothing will ever be the same again, at least not physically! Post pregnancy and not breast feeding my husband suggested I have some treatments to ‘make me feel like me again’. If I ever needed Botox more, it would be right now. BUT… I am coming to realise my body and its reaction to treatments, ingredients, supplements and more has changed. The once predictable and reassuring result I expected from treatments or special potions simply changes.
Looking into the subject I found very little information. However, I have been told time and time again in clinics UK wide that having children can affect the results of your treatment. And why wouldn’t it! If sunbeds, smoking and even your fluid intake impact your treatment outcomes then your hormones and the huge change to your body that pregnancy induces will of course have an impact.
I have spoken to Georgina East, a leading industry professionals and award winning skin specialist, and asked the burning question; What kind I expect from aesthetic treatments post pregnancy?, And what type of treatments should I go for to feel more ‘me’?
Georgina East
I feel like my face has changed post pregnancy and not just due to lack of sleep, am I seeing things, or can this happen?
Due to our hormones reaching to some of their highest levels during pregnancy and then completely crashing around 3 - 6 months afterwards, our skin, hair and nails go through some dramatic changes.
Our skin can become dry and sensitive, have a grey dull complexion, and our hair can suddenly just fall out. So no, it’s not seeing things, this is our body just changing after it’s been through a massive hormonal change.
How long should you wait post birth to have injectables?
It’s recommended to wait 6 months after birth before resuming any injectables to allow the mothers hormones to return to normal before doing any procedures with injectables.
Can some aesthetics and non-invasive treatments benefit hormonal skin changes? Such as dry skin and sensitivity
Yes, treatments such as SKNfluence will help the skins overall health and help correct dry skin, sensitivity and hormonal skin changes such as acne rosacea.
Results from SKNfluence program of skin care and treatments, courtesy of Georgina East
How can you treat body fat and cellulite? Is this different from how you would treat this pre motherhood?
Pregnancy may make cellulite look worse for a while, because the weight that you gain in pregnancy could make it more noticeable. Hormone changes in pregnancy could also play a part to that.
After you've recovered from labour and birth, the best way to deal with cellulite is to take up regular exercise and eat healthily. If you want to lose weight, do it gradually and steadily, as yo-yo dieting may make cellulite worse.
However, treatments such as Neogen plasma will help reduce the fatty pockets in the areas where cellulite has increased during pregnancy and help rebuild the collagen fibres that create a smooth skin.
What treatments do you recommend for stretch marks, scarring and laxity in the skin?
NeoGen plasma is one of the most effective treatments we use in our spa for exactly these concerns.
These treatments will reduce stretch marks and scarring by resurfacing and restructuring the skin. It also helps create more collagen and elastin in the skin fibres creating a tighter, firmer skin.
Some women experience skin conditions in pregnancy which continue post birth such as acne, oily skin, eczema, and pigmentation can this be rectified with treatments and what do you suggest?
At Grafton Spa we offer our unique SKNfluence treatment programs that offer our clients a compete skin program on a deeper level with a special methodology unique to us.
We help correct the skins Health and heal the skin from within correcting all types of pregnancy and post-natal skin conditions and complaints.
Results from SKNfluence program of skin care and treatments, courtesy of Georgina East
I suffered from a painful pyogenic granuloma on my forearm while pregnant. Although it was removed, it has left a very red scar, and the area is still sore. What can be done to help the recovery?
Our Neogen plasma treatment that we offer at Grafton Spa is very successful at healing scars and isn’t a painful procedure that would aggravate the area. It’s would help aid the healing process with little down time.
It is common to get milia under the eye in pregnancy, what is the recommended treatment?
Milia is common at any stage of life, but most common in hormonal changes,
and around the eye area.
Milia are small bumps made up of keratin trapped under the skin. They can easy and effectively be removed with deroofing. During deroofing we use a sterilized needle to remove the milia from around the eye area.
Georgina runs Grafton Spa and Wellness in Northampton a bespoke private spa and now the Harley Street Skin Transformation Clinic SKNfluence which provides life-changing skincare.
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