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Does Breastfeeding Cause Saggy Breasts?
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When my baby is born, I would really like to breastfeed. My worry is that it will cause my breasts to be saggy and have stretch marks. Does pregnancy itself cause saggy breasts or is it breastfeeding?
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 (3 Answers) |
Wednesday 24th of March 2010 02:54:13 AM
Sagging or drooping of breasts is a natural, inevitable process that happens to all women at some point - except to those with fairly small breasts.
The most notable sagging happens with the process called breast involution (Breast involution is a process where the milk-making system inside the breast shrinks because it is not needed anymore. This happens either after weaning, or right after pregnancy if the woman does not breastfeed at all, or during menopause. When the tissues inside the breast shrink, and the skin surrounding it doesn't, the breast can look "empty" and saggy. After weaning, a woman's body does usually deposit fat back to the breast (this process takes months), so that breasts will gain their pre-pregnancy size, but sagging usually remains.), but breasts can start drooping a little at any age, because they do NOT have muscles in them. They have ligaments and connective tissue.
When the gravity pulls the breasts down, those ligaments and the skin can stretch, and so the breast then droops. This depends on the elasticity of your skin and of your ligaments, as determined by your genes and diet, and also on normal aging processes. Obviously large breasts will sag easier since the gravity is pulling them down more. When breasts bounce during active sports, such as tennis, those ligaments can also be stretched or even torn. A good sports bra can minimize that effect.
Another common cause for sagging is when a woman loses weight. When you lose weight, some of that fat disappears from your breasts. Typically the skin and the ligaments inside the breasts do not retract accordingly, resulting in an 'empty' looking breast that then sags. (You could try prevent this by eating foods that provide extra good nutrition for your skin.)
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Monday 15th of March 2010 07:22:09 AM
Absolutely not, sometimes women get shaggy breasts after the pregnancy but it has nothing to do about breastfeed or not or about the pregnancy. I have breastfeed my daughter for 2 and half years and my breasts back to normal and not even move down a bit. other women breastfeed their babies for short time and get shaggy breasts. Saggy breasts are a result of a genetic disposition, you can look behind and see if the women in your family does have shaggy breasts history so you can find if you have the high chancde of have got the dna that makes your body be more likely to suffer of it. Cheers and happy breastfeed.
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Tuesday 23rd of March 2010 02:08:03 AM
It's a very good decision to breastfeed your baby. The nutrition our children needs are all in our milk. I've also proven that my son's immune system was a lot stronger then when I was breastfeeding him than now that he's on formula. Well if you are concerned that your breast will sag after breastfeeding, I doubt it. Mine was exactly the same as they were when I was still pregnant. So don't fear too much. Immediate lost of fat in some cases tend to cause sagging of breast, as we know our breast also consists of fats. And those who don't diet properly sags in most area not only limited to the breasts.
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