As a new mom, Kristin Mackey has learned the drill…diaper changing marathons, countless feedings and burpings…but, what she still can’t grasp is the metamorphosis of her body, post pregnancy. “I had some broken capillaries in my face, you get like this little pouch that won’t go away, and some cellulite in some unmentionable places,” says Kristin.

Kristin, mom of 4 month old, Carson, is thoroughly enjoying the little miracle she brought into the world, but as a first time mom she’s also trying to adjust to the person she now sees in the mirror. “I am really looking forward to get into a bathing suit and get into my old clothes, that is really the biggest thing,” says Kristin.

Once baby arrives, not only are women thrown into new and overwhelming mommyhood, which can be jolting enough, add into the mix, getting acquainted with the post pregnancy body. “Some of the more common conditions that women complain about in the post pregnancy period are cellulite, stretch marks, spider veins, unwanted hair on the body, they see a condition which we call melasma or the mask of pregnancy,” explains laser surgeon, Dr. Mitchell Chasin

According to laser surgeon, Dr. Mitchell Chasin, there are several non-invasive and non-surgical options in treating the face and body for common post pregnancy problems. Stretch marks occur in over 90% of pregnant women. Melasma, an abnormal pigmentation in the skin of the forehead and cheeks can also plague the mommy-to-be. Both can be treated with the fraxel laser which delivers multiple beams of light to skin, eliminating old epidermal pigmented cells and stimulates collagen production.
“We are seeing smoothing of the skin, we’re seeing improvements in the skin’s color as well,” says Dr. Chasin.

Many pregnant women cannot escape the 9 months without encountering the oh-so dreaded cellulite… that unwelcomed buildup of cottage cheese-like fat deposits found most famously on the backs of thighs, hips and buttocks. The Velasmooth laser is having great success at banishing the unsightly fat.
“The Velasmooth uses two forms of energy mainly infra-red energy and radio frequency energy to deep heat the tissues and it does that in combination with a hand piece to mobilize the areas of skins affected by cellulite thus improving the texture of the skin,” explains Dr. Chasin.

Spider veins can also come creeping and crawling during pregnancy. “Spider veins are a collection of little groups of capillaries and the very superficial layers of the skin. We find in pregnancy spider veins are caused by increasing volume of circulating blood in a woman’s body as well as increasing pressure in those veins, there are also some mechanical reasons for increasing pressure of the veins, mainly the pressure of the baby in the uterus pressing on large vein structures,” says Dr. Chasin.

As a 40 year old first time mom, Kristin is treating herself to the works. She’s receiving tummy tightening, cellulite and spider vein treatments.
“I already feel better just from certain treatments that I’ve had, like I just feel like I’m on my way back to, my old body, on the road to recovery.”

Dr. Chasin advises women to wait about three months after the baby is born to start any laser regimen. Women should allow their bodies time to heal and regain hormonal balance.

The cost of treatments range from $250.00 to $1,000.00 per session, depending on the type of laser. The spider vein laser treatment runs around $400.00 per treatment.

For more information about these treatments, you can go to www.reflectionscenter.com

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