New Mothers and the "Mummy Tuck": One Woman's Story

When 25-year-old Tycie Fensome gave birth to her son two years ago, she was "devastated" by the effects on her body.

No matter how much her partner Robert, a 30-year-old City trader, told her how beautiful she was, Tycie remained convinced that pregnancy had reduced her to looking "hideous".

"I was aware that as a new mother my focus was supposed to shift towards my son Shane," says Tycie.
But I'd always taken such pride in my appearance, watched what I ate, worked out and loved fashion.

"I shot up from a Size 8 to a 16 during the pregnancy, increasing from a 34B to a 34E. After the birth, my boobs were misshapen and hollow, shrinking to a 32A."

Tycie says the damage to her breasts was extreme and that her body's firmness had "completely gone".

"I felt like a 60-year-old," she says. "I used to switch off the light in the bedroom and wear baggy pyjamas.

"I remember one night bursting into tears and screaming at Robert, 'I'm so ugly I can't sleep with you.' Our sex life really suffered."

Surrounded by images of radiant twentysomething celebrities in magazines who effortlessly regained their svelte, toned figures after birth, Tycie admits her self-esteem plummeted, particularly since she felt that as a young mum she had no excuse not to "snap back" into shape.

"I was looking at celebrities like Katie Holmes and Victoria Beckham who were older than me and thinking, 'They've got kids and got their figures back. What's wrong with me?'"

Last April, ten months after the birth, Tycie resorted to a £4,500 breast lift at the Harley Street Clinic, despite Robert's concerns.

She decided on a new and revolutionary procedure that places half the implant on top of the muscle and half beneath it to give a more natural shape, taking her up to a 32D bust.

During the operation, excess skin was removed and the remaining skin tightened to give a more youthful and firm appearance.

"When I woke up, the pain was excruciating and for the next week I had to be helped with everything, from using the loo to getting out of bed.

"I couldn't even pick up and cuddle my own son when he cried for me, which made me feel terrible."

A year on, however, Tycie is convinced it was the right decision. She can now wear a bikini - something that she presumed she'd never be able to do again.

"When we were on holiday recently and a girl complimented me on my figure, adding that she couldn't believe I was a mum, it was the ultimate confidence boost. I felt like myself again."

Tycie's experience of post-pregnancy cosmetic surgery is not unusual. According to former NHS surgeon Lorraine Ishak, clinical director of cosmetic surgery group Transform, only one in ten women can expect to revert to their prepregnancy shape and size.

It's no surprise, then, that new mothers are "a huge growth area" for Transform, where 80 per cent of those requesting tummy tucks and 85 per cent of those coming in for breast augmentation or liposuction are new mothers.