Many people who consider breast augmentation worry about how their implants might affect their pregnancy or their ability to breastfeed a baby – or how the changes pregnancy and breastfeeding cause will affect their implants. Here’s what you need to know.
Will my implants change my ability to breastfeed?
For most people, breast implants have no effect on the ability to breastfeed. Implants are inserted in the body behind the breast tissue, including the glands that produce breast-milk – which means that the implants can stay as they are, without ever affecting your ability to produce breast-milk for your baby. Your implants will probably not make breastfeeding any harder or easier.
Read more about our Breast Augmentation & Enhancement Surgery.
Concerns about silicone gel implants in the early 1990s led to a number of studies about the effects of silicone in the body, including studies that sought to find out whether the silicone could get into breastmilk. According to a 1999 survey of the research, which you can read online in the PubMed database, there was little or no evidence that silicone from breast implants affected breast-milk in any way. In fact, one study found that there was more silicone in some infant formula brands than in the breast-milk of mothers who had had implants.
Will pregnancy or breastfeeding change the shape, position, or feel of my implants?
The breasts go through a lot of changes during pregnancy. If you have implants, it’s natural to wonder whether those changes will affect them.
Generally speaking, although the breasts do tend to get bigger during pregnancy, this change in size will not affect your implants. Reports of patients who found their implants painful due to pregnancy-related changes are extremely rare – in fact, many doctors have never met a single person who had this problem. Likewise, breastfeeding should not affect your implants in any way.
Remember, though, that while the shape, size, and feel of your implants does not change during pregnancy or breastfeeding, the shape, size, or feel of your breasts may change. Pregnancy and breastfeeding do change the breast tissue. If these changes are significant enough, you may find that you dislike the size, profile, or feel of your breasts after pregnancy. If this happens, talk to an experienced breast augmentation surgeon about your revision options.
For a free, private consultation about your breast augmentation surgery options in Cleveland, please call our team at The Cosmetic Surgery Center at (216) 264-8100.
About Dr. Goldschmidt
Matthew Goldschmidt, MD, FACS is a cosmetic surgeon with an impressive list of academic and professional achievements. He is board certified by two surgical boards which include the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, for body, breast and facial surgery, as well as the Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery.