Well, this came as a bit of a surprise to me, especially since I have several friends who told me they noticed an almost instant difference in their breasts after they had a baby and breast fed, even for just one of their children, or just their first child.  However, I just read a story on how an interested researcher decided to do his own kind of little study to figure out if there really was a connection between breast feeding and breast sagging, as many of his patients that came to him complained that their breasts were never the same after they had breast fed, and wanted either a breast augmentation or a breast lift. 

A breast lift is actually a similar surgery to an augmentation, because usually an implant of some type is used in both.  With a breast lift though, I believe the difference is that some of the underlying connective tissue is lifted and tightened along with the implant being put in to help force the breast tissue back “up”, which is where it should be! 

He studied mostly women who were an average age of about 39 years old, and took down how many pregnancies they had, and how many of their children, if any, they had breast fed.  As we all know, breast feeding can be rough on the breasts, especially when the child is constantly nursing, as it can make the nipples sore and also sensitive, but it can also cause a lot of loose skin, or so it is thought, when the breasts empty of breast milk and this causes what we think of as sort of a “deflation” of our once full breasts.

Well, he did find a couple of factors that did indeed seem to be linked to breast sagging, and some of them may be surprising.  First, yes, he does believe that pregnancy and breastfeeding can contribute, but that the amount of pregnancies may help determine the severity of the sagging.  However, it’s not really so much the breast feeding, but the amount of pregnancies that affects the sagging, which is counter to what is popularly thought about breast feeding infants. 

Also, smoking is believed to add to sagging in the breasts, since smoking helps to break down the elastin in the skin, which is not only a big component of holding the face up and keeping it wrinkle free and taut, but also a big player in keeping the breasts taut and sag free.  Wow – another reason not to smoke – who knew!?

The other factor that of course affects the sagging status of the breasts is age, which comes as no surprise at all really, since almost everything sags with gravity as we age, as we’re all abundantly and unfortunately aware of, huh ladies?

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Posted in Breast Health by Breast News Girl No Comments Yet