Saggy Breasts after Breast Feeding ??
It is a near universally-held concept amongst women that their breasts may sag because they had breast feed. I hear this frequently said during consults with women who want to improve their breast shape or size. The sagginess of their breasts, what we call ptosis, is due to stretched out skin and loss of breast tissue (post-partum breast involution). The combination of more skin and less breast tissue, deflating the balloon so to speak, creates the altered shape of the breasts. The question is…..does breast feeding make this happen?
In a recent study published in the flagship journal of plastic surgery, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, their findings refute this longheld belief. Based on an assessment of 136 women, the authors found that other factors, such as smoking and number of childbirths that a woman has, were more significant causes of breast sagging. Breast feeding did not turn out to be a cause.
On the surface, this seems to make biologic sense. How would a child sucking on a nipple stretch out the entire breast? However, it is clear that breastfeeding does prolong the engorged size of the breast for a time period much loner than pregnancy. Does a longer engorgement phase ultimately sag the breast more than the pregnancy phase alone? Apparently not….at least according to this new study.
Regardless of the cause, improving one’s breast shape after pregancy may require a breast lift, implants or a combination of both.
Dr Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana