Good News for Perky Breasts

by WiredBerries Editors — November 8, 2007

Nursing mothers needn't worry, says a new study showing that breastfeeding does not increase breast sagging. University of Kentucky plastic surgeon Dr. Brian Rinker and his colleagues conducted the study with patients at UK HealthCare Cosmetic Surgery Associates. The study found that breastfeeding does not adversely affect breast shape.

"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 breastfeeding did to my breasts'," Rinker said. As a result, Rinker decided to find out if breast sagging was a direct result of breastfeeding. The results of their study involving 132 women showed no difference in the degree of breast ptosis (TOE-sis), the medical term for sagging of the breast, than for those women who breastfed and those who didn't. However, researchers did find that age, number of pregnancies (regardless of whether you breastfeed or not) and smoking can contribute to breasts getting saggy.

"Smoking breaks down a protein in the skin called elastin, which gives youthful skin its elastic appearance and supports the breast... so it would make sense that it would have an adverse effect on the breasts," Rinker concluded.

So, whether or not you or your partner plan on breastfeeding at some point in the future, don't base that decision on the "saggy breast myth." You can nurse junior without fear of developing the droop, but do stay away from smoking and accept the inevitability of aging.