Breastfeeding not only provides the nourishment your baby needs, but also offers a unique bonding experience. However, hormonal changes and the constant filling and emptying of milk can stretch your skin, sometimes leading to deflated and sagging breasts. While these changes are normal, they can significantly alter your appearance. As artist Meghan Trainor noted before announcing her recent plans for a boob job, breastfeeding can leave women with “saggy sacks as boobs.” Here we explore how breastfeeding affects breast appearance and how breast augmentation after nursing can help restore your pre-pregnancy curves.
How Pregnancy and Breast-Feeding Changes Your Breasts
Driven by hormonal shifts, changes in weight, and milk production, pregnancy and breastfeeding can significantly change the appearance and feel of your breasts. During pregnancy, estrogen and progesterone levels rise, leading to breast tissue growth, increased size, tenderness, color changes of the nipples and areola, and potential stretch marks.
Breastfeeding continues to impact the breasts as they go through cycles of filling and emptying with milk. This regular fluctuation can stretch the skin and tissues. As a result, breasts may become smaller, less firm, deflated in appearance, and experience sagging after breastfeeding ends, with the areolas and nipples potentially remaining larger and darker.
Restore Lost Volume with Breast Augmentation
Breast augmentation can help to restore lost breast volume due to breastfeeding by using breast implants to help you reclaim your pre-pregnancy breast shape and volume, as well as the overall shape of your breasts. The procedure involves placing implants either under the chest muscle or directly behind the breast tissue in order to enhance the size and contour of your breasts. Bringing in pre-pregnancy images that highlight your breasts to a breast augmentation consultation can help Dr. Castellano develop a breast augmentation plan that helps you achieve your goals.
When Is The Best Time to Consider Breast Surgery
The timing of your breast augmentation procedure depends on a variety of factors including your family planning stage and how long it has been since your most recent pregnancy. Most surgeons recommend you be at least six months post-pregnancy or breastfeeding to allow the hormone levels to return to normal and the breast tissues settle. In addition, while you can opt for a breast augmentation at any time, it is recommended that you wait until your family is complete. Subsequent pregnancies and breastfeeding can further alter the appearance of your breasts and require additional surgeries to restore the contours of your breast.
When Breast Augmentation Isn’t Enough
While breast augmentation is ideal for replacing lost volume, it primarily targets breast size and shape. If you are experiencing significant sagging, Dr. Castellano may recommend the addition of a breast lift to your implant procedure. This combination allows for an increase in breast volume while also raising the breasts to a more youthful and natural position, eliminating the sagging.
Breast augmentation is ideal if you are at least six months post-breastfeeding and looking to replace lost breast volume. Dr. Castellano and his team will work directly with you to create a treatment plan catering to your needs and goals. Call 813-872-6093 today to schedule your consultation and take the first step towards reclaiming your pre-pregnancy curves.
Author: Dr. Joseph Castellano
Dr. Joseph Castellano is a native Floridian who grew up in the Tampa Bay area. After medical school and residency, Dr. Castellano returned home and has opened a practice in Tampa, Florida focusing on breast augmentation, abdominoplasty, liposuction, facelift, and eyelid rejuvenation. He is a member of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, American College of Surgeons, and American Medical Association
