One common question we’re asked by our patients and women considering breast surgery is how their implants will be affected by pregnancy. The good news is that none of the changes that happen to the body during pregnancy affect the breast implants themselves, and the vast majority of women can breastfeed as normal without any detrimental impact.
Whether you’ve already had breast implants and now want to start a family or are considering when the best time to have breast surgery might be, here’s what you can expect from your breast implants before and after pregnancy.
How does pregnancy affect breast implants?
Understandably, women who are pregnant or are thinking about starting a family worry about the potential effects their breast implants could have on their pregnancy and vice versa. Thankfully, the presence of implants does not affect your ability to deliver and feed a healthy baby.
In terms of how breast implants look after pregnancy, your body will go through distinct changes. When breastfeeding stops, the breasts return to their normal size but the ligaments and skin that support the breasts may have stretched due to the extra weight. As a result, it may not return to its previous level of elasticity, which can cause some sagging or drooping.
Importantly, the implant itself does not change, so your breasts will return to their pre-pregnancy volume. Post-pregnancy ptosis (breast sagging) can also be less noticeable in mothers with implants. However, some women may be interested in a breast lift, or mastopexy, to lift the breast, remove the excess skin and return them to a higher position. Alternatively, you could get larger implants fitted to fill out the loose breast tissue.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and avoiding excessive weight gain can also help to limit post-pregnancy ptosis (breast sag). Here are some more tips to help you get firm breasts after pregnancy.
Can I breastfeed with implants?
Yes, the vast majority of mothers can breastfeed without any adverse effects caused by their implants. That’s because most breast implants are placed under the breast gland, where they do not affect the nerves or milk ducts that supply milk to the nipple.
Other surgical techniques such as inserting the implants through the armpit or underneath the breast should not have any impact on a woman’s ability to breastfeed. That is backed up by a study of more than 4,500 women with breast implants. It found that most were able to breastfeed without any complications. About 20% experienced insufficient milk production, but that was about the same proportion as the mums who didn’t have implants.
Some implants are inserted through the nipple and areola, and in this case, the breast ducks can be damaged, potentially leading to a reduction in the milk supply. If you are considering having breast implants and want to have children in the future, discuss it with your surgeon as it will influence the technique they use.
It’s also important to mention that it’s not harmful to the baby to breastfeed after having implants.
Can my breast implants sag after pregnancy?
Another common concern we hear from our patients relates to the amount of sagging in their breast implants before and after pregnancy. Breast sagging is a risk of pregnancy and that risk does not increase if you have breast implants.
The likelihood is that in most cases, whether you have breast augmentation or not, the biological and hormonal changes that occur during and after pregnancy will cause some degree of breast sagging. The benefit for those with implants is that they will not experience breast deflation to the same extent as other mothers, as there’s no change in the volume of the implants.
Some women even report that their breast implants after pregnancy look more natural, as some of the fullness at the top of the implant can seem more deflated due to the loss of skin elasticity. However, it’s important to say that every woman and pregnancy is unique, so you can never be sure exactly how pregnancy will affect your implants.
Should I get implants before pregnancy?
There’s no best time to get breast implants. It’s an important decision that patients make based on all sorts of factors, including their motivations for having surgery, their age, their financial health and the stage they’re at in their lives.
However, if you are already thinking about having children, it’s probably worth holding off until your last child is born. That’s simply due to the post-pregnancy ptosis that can change the shape and size of your breasts. Waiting until after your last pregnancy will allow you to restore any lost breast volume, treat loose skin and get a result that you’ll be happy with in the long term.
The obvious benefit of getting implants before pregnancy is that you can enjoy them as early as possible. If children are not something you’re thinking about at this stage and you want to look and feel good now, getting implants before pregnancy may well be the right decision for you. Potentially, you may want to consider revision surgery to resize or lift the implant after you have children.
How long after pregnancy should I get implants?
To achieve the best results, we typically advise that women wait up to six months after they stop lactation before getting a breast augmentation procedure. That gives time for all the changes that will happen to the breasts to occur so they can settle into their final shape.
If you choose not to breastfeed or cannot for a medical reason, you can get implants much sooner. In that case, we’d typically recommend you wait at least three months after the delivery to have a breast augmentation. That will give you time to recover from the pregnancy and allow your breasts to settle after the initial milk and colostrum production.
Want to learn more?
If you want to find out more about how breast implants look after pregnancy or you have any other questions about breast surgery and breast implants, please get in touch. We can provide a free consultation and advise you on the most appropriate route to take.