Contrary to popular belief, it is pregnancy and not breastfeeding which makes breasts sag, according to research carried out on US women seeking plastic surgery.
The principle contributor to breast droopiness is getting pregnant in the first place and not nursing your baby. Smoking and age also play a role. Dr Brian Rinker, author and plastic surgeon, said he decided to carry out the study after many of his patients demanded he "fix what breastfeeding did to my breasts". With colleagues from the University of Kentucky, he studied 132 women who had sought breast lifts or augmentation between 1998 and 2006. Most of them had been pregnant at least once. Nearly 60% had breastfed at least once.
The research team evaluated the patients' medical history, height and weight, pre-pregnancy bra cup size and whether they smoked.
There was no difference in breast sagginess between those women who had breastfed and those who had not. However, other factors did play a role. The degree of sagginess increased for each child carried by the woman. Smoking was also identified as a contributor.
"Smoking breaks down a protein in the skin called elastin, which gives youthful skin its elastic appearance and supports the breast," Dr Rinker said.
Other research has found that failure to wear proper sports bras may also play a part in breast sagginess.
Mr Kevin Hancock, a consultant plastic surgeon based in Liverpool said pregnancy often initiated changes to breast size, which could stretch the tissue and make sagging more likely. This can become an issue when the breasts began to shrink when they stopped producing milk - a process known as post-lactation atrophy. However, he said: "There is no evidence that breastfeeding makes any difference to these changes."
November 2007
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