Functional and psychological benefits of postpartum restoration surgery: A systematic review

There has been a rise in women seeking surgical help to aesthetically correct postpartum deformities of the breast and abdomen, known as the 'mummy makeover'. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the literature and provide a contemporary evidence base for the positive physical and psychological effects of surgical restoration/rejuvenation of the postpartum body.

A PRISMA compliant systematic review (PROSPERO CRD42023399659) was conducted by searching the PubMed, EMBASE, and Central databases in October 2022 and updated in January 2025. The search was complemented by bibliographic secondary linkage and a narrative synthesis of the literature.

Overall, 1365 articles were screened, and 5 met the inclusion criteria. All studies focused on surgical repair of diastasis recti abdominis and/or abdominoplasty and none of the breast. Overall, 498 women were assessed for physical and 314 for psychological effects of surgical interventions. Analysis reflected a minimum of 85% reduction in back pain and urinary incontinence and statistically significant reduction in trunk dysfunction. Quality of life significantly increased across all the assessed fields, with a 99.5% positive change in self-esteem and 95.2% improvement in sexual life observed post-operatively.

This is the first systematic review to ascertain the functional and psychological value of body contouring surgical procedures specifically in postpartum women. The true extent is likely underestimated, owing to publication titles often being generic and heterogenous in nature. These findings support postpartum surgery being classified as reconstructive and not merely cosmetic. Further studies, with an emphasis on patient-reported outcome measures in the postpartum group, would help facilitate holistic psycho-physical rehabilitation to augment surgery provision.