Get your figure back after a pregnancy

Stretching leaves marks that may cause postpartum depression.
Scripps Howard
Is a post-baby paunch adding to your postpartum depression? With a little help from your dermatologist or plastic surgeon, you'll be looking your best in no time.
Half of all expectant mothers get stretch marks on their abdomen, hips, breasts and buttocks. Technically, these are scars that occur when expanding skin is stretched, which causes tearing deep within the lower layers of the skin. Fresh stretch marks are usually red or pink in color before they fade to white.
A light-based MultiClear treatment is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to diminish the appearance of stretch marks by stimulating pigment production in the telltale white lines. A series of four to six treatments, scheduled twice a week, may yield noticeable improvement, but the treatment is new, so long-term results have yet to be confirmed.
Pampering helps
On the product front, you can pamper your skin and possibly prevent stretch marks from forming in the first place by keeping your skin hydrated. Mama Mio Tummy Rub ($30; mamamio.com) employs a blend of moisturizing oils to maximize skin elasticity as the belly expands.
Twenty-five percent of women who are pregnant for the first time develop raised, wormy-looking and often uncomfortable varicose veins. The good news is that varicose veins may fade on their own by about nine weeks after giving birth. If they don't, there are several treatment options, but nursing mothers should beware. The drugs used in sclerotherapy can pass into mother's milk, so using them is only an option if you're not breastfeeding. Laser treatment might be a better option. Talk to your dermatologist or plastic surgeon about the best leg vein solution for you. On the home front, there are many products designed specifically for leg veins, such as N.V. Perricone, MD's Anti-Spider Vein Treatment ($120; Nordstrom.com)
Loved and lost
You may have loved your blossoming breasts during your first trimester, but odds are you're not so happy with the postpartum drooping and loss of firmness. If you are still breastfeeding, it might be hard to assess what your breasts will look like when you stop; they will almost certainly get smaller and breast tissue will lose its substance, leading to contour changes and sagging.
Women considering breast augmentation or a breast lift after pregnancy should wait at least six months after they're done lactating, because this is the amount of time it takes for breasts to return to their normal state. While breast surgery and implants should not interfere with nursing in the future, they are more likely to have a long-lasting result when surgery is performed after childbearing is completed.
Waiting period
During pregnancy, the abdominal muscles stretch. Exercise, of course, helps strengthen the muscles but can't take the place of a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) in terms of repairing damaged, over-stretched muscles and loose skin. For moms with excess fat around the midsection, liposuction can be safely performed at the same time. Postpartum women considering a tummy tuck should wait six months after the delivery or the completion of nursing, whichever comes later. And most plastic surgeons recommend that women wait until after they are through childbearing before considering this surgery.