Exploring Complication Rates: A Comparative Study of Breast Reduction and Combined Breast Reduction with Abdominoplasty.

BACKGROUND: Despite a trend towards combining abdominoplasty with breast reduction surgery, so called "mommy makeovers", the safety of this combined approach has been the subject of debate, with previous research yielding conflicting results. We evaluated the risk for complications and revision associated with adding abdominoplasty to bilateral breast reduction surgery. METHODS: We conducted a 10-year single-center retrospective chart review of bilateral breast reduction patients in Nova Scotia. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to compare the risk for complication and revision in patients with bilateral breast reduction to those with a concomitant abdominoplasty. RESULTS: Of the 1871 patients initially screened, 738 were included. 44 underwent a concomitant abdominoplasty procedure. Compared to the breast reduction alone group, patients with concomitant abdominoplasty were significantly older (47.5±9.9 vs. 42.8±13.2, p=0.004), had a higher BMI (28.1±4.4 vs. 25.8±3.1, p<0.001), and experienced longer operating room times (226±6 vs. 115±3 mins, p<0.001). In multivariate analysis, concomitant abdominoplasty did not increase the risk for breast-related (OR: 0.86 95%CI 0.43-1.7, p=0.668) or total complications (OR: 1.63, 95%CI 0.83-3.19, p=0.154). However, there was a trend towards an increased risk of breast revision (OR: 2.684, 95%CI 0.95-7.6, p=0.062) and a significantly increased risk of total revision (OR: 6.624, 95%CI 2.7-16.1, p<0.001). Moreover, patients with concomitant abdominoplasty experienced more follow-up visits (median: 4 vs. 3 visits, p=0.042). CONCLUSION: In our single-center retrospective analysis, combining abdominoplasty with bilateral breast reduction did not increase the risk for breast, or total complications; however, it did increase the risk for total revisions. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.

Vitamin B12 and Folate Status in Pregnant Females and Their Infants in Norway: Secondary Analysis from the Mommy's Food Study.

BACKGROUND: Vitamin B12 and folate are essential micronutrients important for normal infant growth and development. OBJECTIVES: The aims were to describe vitamin B12 and folate status in pregnant females and their infants according to commonly used status cutoffs and examine the associations between maternal status, maternal supplement use, and breastfeeding and infant status. METHODS: Pregnant females were recruited at 18 wk gestation in Bergen, Norway. Maternal vitamin B12 and folate status were measured at gestational weeks 18 (n = 136) and 36 (n = 116), and infant status was measured at ages 3 (n = 73) and 6 (n = 74) mo. RESULTS: At gestational weeks 18 and 36, respectively, 4.4% and 2.6% of the mothers had plasma cobalamin concentrations <148 pmol/L, 0.7% and 6.9% had methylmalonic acid (MMA) concentrations >0.26 µmol/L, and 3.7% and 30% had folate concentrations <10 nmol/L. None of the females had total homocysteine (t-Hcy) concentrations >13 µmol/L or 3 combined indicator of vitamin B12 (cB12) < -0.5. At 3 and 6 mo, respectively, 4.1% and 5.4% of the infants had cobalamin concentrations <148 pmol/L, 63% and 74% had t-Hcy concentrations >6.5 µmol/L, 59% and 66% had MMA concentrations >0.26 µmol/L, and 47% and 60% had cB12 > -0.5. None of the infants had folate concentrations <10 nmol/L. Several of the vitamin B12 biomarkers in infants were associated with maternal vitamin B12 status during pregnancy. Breastfed infants had lower vitamin B12 status (as indicated by plasma cobalamin, t-Hcy, and cB12) than nonbreastfed infants at both 3 and 6 mo. Use of supplements during pregnancy was associated with better vitamin B12 status among infants at 3 and 6 mo, as indicated by infants' cobalamin and t-Hcy concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: Subclinical vitamin B12 deficiency among infants was common and associated with maternal vitamin B12 status during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Among the mothers, an increase in biochemical folate deficiency was discovered toward the end of gestation. Further studies are needed to investigate clinical consequences. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02610959.

Combined Surgery (Mommy-Makeover) Compared to Single Procedure (Abdominoplasty) in After-Pregnancy Women: A Prospective Study on Risks and Benefits.

BACKGROUND: Mommy-makeover is becoming very popular to help them reshaping their own bodies and restoring self-perception, hardly stressed by childbearing-related changes. However, debate exists in the literature concerning safety and aesthetic outcome in patients undergoing combined procedures. The study aims to shed a light on advantages and disadvantages in mommy-makeover technique compared to conventional abdominoplasty with a particular attention to psychological aspects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In total, 37 women were enrolled at Campus Bio-Medico Hospital in Rome between October 2019 and January 2022. All of the patients were eligible for both abdominoplasty only and mommy-makeover. We proposed to the patients both procedures explaining risks and benefits; then, based on the preference of the single patient, we performed either mommy-makeover (Group A) or abdominoplasty alone (Group B). In order to evaluate patients' satisfaction and safety, multiple questionnaires were administered 9-month postoperatively (BUT, POSAS, visual perception, etc.). RESULTS: The sample analyzed was composed of 37 patients (treatment group = 18, control group = 19). In the pre-post comparisons of BUT-A performed, there were statistically significant differences recorded in both groups and for all observed variables. The significance values were all less than 1% (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Combined surgery proved not to be inferior in terms of patient safety. At the same time, the effectiveness in improving diastasis-related symptoms is fully comparable with single surgery. Treatment group showcases a considerable superiority in terms of body-image perception improvement and overall patient satisfaction. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Abdominoplasty with Combined Surgery.

Abdominoplasty is the fifth most common cosmetic plastic surgery procedure performed in the United States and combining it with other procedures has become more the norm than the outlier. Liposuction is the most common adjunctive procedure, followed by breast surgery, lower back lift, and thigh lift, in addition to hernia repair and gynecologic procedures. The goal of these combination procedures includes creating more global aesthetic improvement while protecting patients from complications, based on consideration of confounding medical variables and increased risks presented by surgery of prolonged duration and exposure.

Perceptions About Disseminating Health Information Among Mommy Bloggers: Quantitative Study.

BACKGROUND: Social media are potentially powerful channels for communicating relevant health information in culturally sensitive and influential ways to key audiences. Moreover, these channels hold promise for promoting awareness and knowledge of health risks, prevention, and treatment by utilizing opinion leaders for message dissemination. Despite limited empirical evidence to-date, early promising results suggest that blogs are a form of social media that should be examined as worthy channels for health communication. OBJECTIVES: This formative study explored mommy bloggers' perceptions about sharing health-related information on their blogs with their readers. It also sought to analyze which topics would be of most interest to mommy bloggers, what motivates them to write about health issues, and how they perceive interest in these topics among their readers. METHODS: This study employed survey methodology, including the use of open-ended questions, the responses to which were coded for analysis. Specifically, a 14-item survey was fielded with mommy bloggers between October 1 and October 28, 2016. Bloggers were recruited through The Motherhood network. A total of 461 mommy bloggers responded to the survey; 163 were removed for low quality responses and incomplete data. As a result, 298 eligible participants completed the survey. For open-ended questions in the survey, a sample of responses were coded and analyzed. RESULTS: The majority of the respondents (87.2%, 260/298) reported that they have written about health issues in the past; 97.3% (290/298) of the respondents reported that they would consider writing about health issues sometime in the future, and 96.3% (287/298) of the respondents reported that their readers like to read about health issues on their blogs. In terms of content priorities for this sample of bloggers, Nutrition and Physical Activity dominate the current conversation and similarly, Physical Activity and Nutrition remain top content priorities for these bloggers for the future. Moreover, 21.3% of the respondents reported that their readers would be interested in these topics. Finally, having a personal connection with a health issue was found to be positively associated with likeliness to write about health issues on their blog (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrates that there are potentially rich opportunities for working with mommy bloggers to communicate with key health decision makers (moms) on important health issues. There is a great support among mommy bloggers for health information dissemination as well as interest for accessing relevant health information from their readers. This presents an opportunity for public health research and communication campaigns to more broadly promote their messages, thereby contributing to their behavior change objectives. Limitations included overrepresentation of white, higher-educated, and younger women. It suggests a need for more targeted engagement of a diverse sample for future work.

Maternidade e sofrimento social em mommy blogs brasileiros / Motherhood and social suffering in brazilian mommy blogs / Maternidad y sufrimiento social en mommy blogs brasileños

Esta pesquisa objetiva investigar o imaginário coletivo sobre a maternidade. Justifica-se na medida em que esta, apesar de suas facetas gratificantes, parece associada, na contemporaneidade, a sofrimentos socialmente determinados. Organiza-se pelo uso do método psicanalítico, operacionalizado em termos de procedimentos investigativos de levantamento, seleção, registro e interpretação de postagens de blogues pessoais brasileiros. A consideração do material permite a produção interpretativa de dois campos de sentido afetivo-emocional: "Sou mãe, logo existo" e "Mãe exclusiva". Tais campos indicam a prevalência, no conjunto do material, de um imaginário coletivo que favorece o sofrimento emocional com pesadas exigências à mulher.

This research aims at investigating the collective imaginary about motherhood. This article is relevant because of motherhood, despite having rewarding facets, appears associated, in the contemporary society, with socially determined sufferings. The use of psychoanalytic methods, here operationalized concerning survey, selection, register, and interpretation investigative procedures of posts from Brazilian blogs compose this article. The consideration of the material allowed the interpretative production of two fields of affective-emotional meaning: "I am a mother, therefore I am" and "Exclusive mother". These fields indicate the prevalence of a collective imaginary that promotes emotional suffering due to heavy demands on women.

Este estudio objetiva investigar el imaginario colectivo sobre la maternidad. Se justifica en la medida en que ésta, a pesar de sus facetas gratificantes, parece asociada, en la contemporaneidad, a sufrimientos socialmente determinados. Se organiza por medio del uso del método psicoanalítico, operacionalizado en procedimientos investigativos de levantamiento, selección, registro e interpretación de publicaciones de blogs personales brasileños. La consideración del material permitió la producción interpretativa de dos campos de sentido afectivo-emocional: "Soy madre, luego existo" y "Madre exclusiva". Los campos en el conjunto del material indican la prevalencia de un imaginario colectivo que, con pesadas exigencias a la mujer, favorece su sufrimiento emocional.

A Thematic Analysis of Mothers' Motivations for Blogging.

Introduction Various forms of social media are used by many mothers to maintain social ties and manage the stress associated with their parenting roles and responsibilities. 'Mommy blogging' as a specific type of social media usage is a common and growing phenomenon, but little is known about mothers' blogging-related experiences and how these may contribute to their wellbeing. This exploratory study investigated the blogging-related motivations and goals of Australian mothers. Methods An online survey was emailed to members of an Australian online parenting community. The survey included open-ended questions that invited respondents to discuss their motivations and goals for blogging. A thematic analysis using a grounded approach was used to analyze the qualitative data obtained from 235 mothers. Results Five primary motivations for blogging were identified: developing connections with others, experiencing heightened levels of mental stimulation, achieving self-validation, contributing to the welfare of others, and extending skills and abilities. Discussion These motivations are discussed in terms of their various properties and dimensions to illustrate how these mothers appear to use blogging to enhance their psychological wellbeing.

Lesbian mommy blogging in Canada: documenting subtle homophobia in Canadian society and building community online.

This article analyzes how lesbian mommy bloggers in Canada are using their blogs as forums for self-expression and a means to form community, as they record their unique experiences as queer parents. Further, it argues that lesbian mommy blogging is documenting a subtle form of homophobia that exists in Canada in terms of social acceptance. Although there is legal acceptance of queer families, society has not necessarily caught up with the law. These blogs show that lesbian parents in Canada still struggle with issues of equality, including difficulties being "out," invisibility, and having to advocate for the non-birth parent.

Genesis of a femme and her desire.

SUMMARY This essay explores the erotically resignified roles of Mommy, Daddy, girl and boy in butch and femme. Using Freud's "Case of Homosexuality in a Woman" and personal narrative, the author focuses on the primal need for family and questions how, rather than why, butches and femmes inhabit these powerful, consensual roles in butch/femme relationships.