Breast-feeding isn't such a drag on breasts
Study says nursing isn't the culprit, but smoking has droopy side effect
By Andrea Thompson
updated 3:51 p.m. ET, Fri., Nov. 2, 2007
Breast-feeding wonât make a new momâs breasts sag, but having more babies might, a new study indicates.
"A lot of times, if a woman comes in for a breast lift or a breast augmentation, she'll say 'I want to fix what breast-feeding did to my breasts,'" said University of Kentucky plastic surgeon Brian Rinker. So he decided to study any possible connection.
Rinker and his colleagues interviewed 132 women who came in for breast lifts or augmentation between 1998 and 2006. On average, the women were 39 years old, and 93 percent had experienced at least one pregnancy. Among the mothers, 58 percent had breast-fed at least one of their children. The average duration of breast-feeding was nine months.
The researchers evaluated the womens' medical history, body mass index (BMI), pre-pregnancy bra cup size and smoking status.
The results of the study, presented this week at a conference of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, showed no difference in the degree of breast ptosis (or sagging) between women who breast-fed and those who didn't.
The main factors that did affect sagging were age, smoking status and the number of pregnancies a woman has had.
Rinker noted that the smoking connection made sense because "smoking breaks down a protein in the skin called elastin, which gives youthful skin its elastic appearance and supports the breast."
Pregnancy also "has a very strong contribution to breast ptosis (sagging)," Rinker said in an email interview. "In fact, our study showed that those negative effects increase with each pregnancy."
Rinker says this finding should alleviate the fears of new mothers over what nursing their child might do to their breasts in the long run and will encourage them to breast-feed because of the health benefits to their infant.
"Women may be reluctant to breast-feed because of this unfounded myth that doing so means the end of youthful breasts," Rinker said. "Now, expectant mothers can relax knowing breast-feeding does not sacrifice the appearance of their breasts."
© 2007 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.
eh, maybe this should go in "feed that baby". idk.
That's interesting. I don't like that changed breasts is listed as a 'negative side effect'
Thats interesting, but i am pretty sure that the reason for the changes in my breasts was from breastfeeding. Im sure it started during pregnancy when they changed in size so rapidly but i think that breastfeeding is definitely the main cause. They go from engorged to empty all the time and i know that thats obviously how the stretch marks came to be, and im pretty sure thats why they are more saggy than they used to be too.
I think its sad that woman are so concerned about the look of their breasts that we actually have to contemplate whether or not to breastfeed because of it. I dont think i realized that changes that it would cause to my breasts when i chose to breastfeed, and although i know it is completely worth it for joshua, i do wish i still had my firm perky boobs back haha.
I was really sad about my breasts sagging, because they used to be my favorite physical feature. There is no doubt in my mind breastfeeding was a major factor. But it helps prevent breast cancer, which IMO is a much bigger deal then sagging.
I started doing a workout about six months ago that have gotten my pecs to grow muscle and my breasts have gotten firmer (but not bigger) It's really cool. I do it at the gym, not sure what the machine is called, but there are two of them I use for that. You push forward with both hands to strengthen your pecs. I think you can even push against the wall, the more force and weight you use the faster muscle will build.
That's interesting to hear. But I don't smoke and my breast were high and firm durning my pregnancy with Ian. After I was done bf'ing they felt . . . . . . . empty. And they got worse after bf'ing Aidan.
i actually agree with this study.
i think many of us are making the assumption that our sagging breasts are due to breastfeeding, but if we breastfed, how can we really know that they would have been any different if we had not breastfed.
i think this study is important for people to hear about because i know many women who do not want to breastfeed because they think it will make their breasts sag. this may say to those who may be otherwise discouraged "hey, your breasts will probably sag regardless of whether you breastfeed your baby or not, so you might as well try it."
in a side note... most of the women in my family did not breastfeed and they have extremely saggy breasts. my mother has 4 children and my grandmother had 9 pregnancies.
Hmmm maybe you're right. I remember when I became pregnant with my son, I got all excited that my boobs would get big again like they had with my daughter, but they didn't. I was so dissapointed. They only became engorged right when he was born, and within a few weeks they were like flapping skin. Ah, well. Excercising is helping a lot though, and I'm learning not to care so much anyway. I still like to see them as mama scars, but maybe I'll start seeing them as pregnancy scars rather than BFing scars.
I know a lot of women who didn't breastfeed and sagged anyways. I agree it's probably more due to pregnancy then it is to breastfeeding. I also agree that it's sad so many women don't even try to nurse based on worries about how their breasts will look.
While I never debated about bfing vs firm boobs I will say that my boobs never grew during pregnancy, they actually shrunk and then became engorged after birth. My boobs are incredibly saggy now. Multiple pregnancies to blame? Im not sure, because before L my boobs were still quite firm and high, and definetely a lot rounder. I think its ridiculous not to breastfeed though for such vain reasons.
This was on the front page of the newspaper today. FRONT PAGE!!
Wow.
Huh. I always thought that it was because of breastfeeding. After S, my breasts were firm and pretty much the same as they were pre-pregnancy. But I never breastfed him.
I didn't stop breastfeeding L until I was already pregnant enough with K that my breasts were filling up again, although I noticed they were much saggier than before. I breastfed K, and I thought it just made them saggier.
I always figured since having S didn't change anything and I didn't breastfeed, breastfeeding must have been what caused them to sag with the other kids.
But the explanation in the article makes just as much sense, I guess.
Hmmm I didint know that