Three quarters of moms are reportedly unhappy with their body, in the age of the “Yummy Mummy” In Dubai, where numbers of plastic surgeons per capita top the charts, increasing numbers of women are choosing to go under the knife, according to an Al-Arabiya report.
It’s tough being a new mom: sleepless nights, extra responsibilities. And, all the plastic surgery.
Amongst the smorgasbord of exotic cosmetic surgery options on websites aimed at Dubai’s expat women, like the ominous-sounding CoolSculpting, Brazilian Fat Transfer and vampire facelift, there is one that sounds much more benign: the Mommy Makeover.
“The miracle of childbirth is the most wonderful experience a woman can have,” the advert starts, gently. “You wouldn’t trade your children and the experience of being a mom for anything. But,” – and there’s always a ‘but’ when it comes to plastic surgery – “it’s possible your body has changed in many ways and some may not exactly thrill you.”
The ad goes on to detail the assortment of popular surgery procedures that fall within the ‘Mommy Makeover’ umbrella: liposuction, tummy tuck, breast lift, breast augmentation, thigh and arm lifts…
There are other, more minor procedures that can be thrown in as well, including botox, fillers, something called Zeltiq CoolSculpting, thermage and radio frequency microneedles. You can even get your Brazilian Fat Transfer, where fat residing in areas of your body it shouldn’t is taken and injected into areas it should (i.e. your buttocks).
While this all sounds uniquely painful, the object of the Mommy Makeover is for the patient to get hit with a number of different procedures at once and thereby reduce the cost and recovery time.
Dr. Matteo Vigo is the Chief of Surgery at the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery Hospital. In the three-and-a-half years he has been practicing in Dubai he says numbers of women coming in for Mommy Makeover-related procedures has doubled, now comprising about 40 percent of his workload – around 120 each year.
Some women, generally Westerners, opt for multiple surgeries but the majority, mainly GCC customers, have several procedures done at once – perhaps up to five, depending on the significance of the procedures. “Because they are mummies they don’t have time. Here the money is not a big issue, the main thing is the time. They want to get fit quick, they want quick results,” Vigo says.
Cosmetic surgery in the UAE is increasing in general, recent figures showing with 56 plastic surgeons per million people Dubai has the highest concentration per capita in the world – almost twice the number in surgery-obsessed Brazil.
Dr. Vigo says there are many reasons for this, including Dubai positioning itself as a global and regional medical tourism hub, the concentration of wealth in the region, the influx of foreigners with different ‘looks’, the increased exposure to the body beautiful through traditional and social media, and a greater embrace of more revealing clothing for locals both at home and abroad.
“In business today in every job appearance is important. If you look young, fresh, healthy and your body is fit you have more chance than [an overweight] woman. If someone has to choose between the same level of competence and knowledge etc, they will choose the (fit) one.”
This is all part of the Yummy Mummy phenomenon — a global fixation on women continuing to hold youthful allure well into their maternal years, personified by ever-trim celebrities like Victoria Beckham and Kate Middleton.
As Vigo, who has operated on a number of celebrities both in Dubai and his native Italy, points out, the rich and famous have all the advantages of personal trainers and advisers both pre-pregnancy and after. Then the surgeon’s knife comes into play in 99 percent of cases, he estimates. “They will never admit this but for sure they all do.”
