Breastfeeding does not cause breasts to droop, says cosmetic surgeon

Does breastfeeding make your boobs sag? It's an urban myth that it does. Who would know? A cosmetic surgeon perhaps, who meets women who want the work of gravity reversed?

According to a presentation earlier this month at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons a study: "showed no difference in the degree of breast ptosis (or sagging) between women who breastfed and those who didn't".

In the study, led by surgeon Brian Rinker: "Rinker and his colleagues interviewed 132 women who came in for breast lifts or augmentation between 1998 and 2006. On average, the women were 39 years old, and 93 percent had experienced at least one pregnancy. Among the mothers, 58 percent had breastfed at least one of their children. The average duration of breastfeeding was nine months."

See the LiveScience website report at:
http://www.livescience.com/health/071102-breast-sagging.html

According to the report: " The main factors that did affect sagging were age, smoking status and the number of pregnancies a woman has had."

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Rinker says this finding should alleviate the fears of new mothers over what nursing their child might do to their breasts in the long run and will encourage them to breastfeed because of the health benefits to their infant.

"Women may be reluctant to breastfeed because of this unfounded myth that doing so means the end of youthful breasts," Rinker said. "Now, expectant mothers can relax knowing breastfeeding does not sacrifice the appearance of their breasts."
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Phew. That's a relief.