Strollerderby

They Say: Nursing DOESN'T Make Your Breasts Sag

Posted by Amy S.F. Lutz

You could have knocked me over with a feather when I read about a new study, published in Aesthetic Surgery Journal, that disproves the popular conception that nursing results in sagging breasts - a condition technically known as breast ptosis.

The real causes of sagging breasts, according to the researchers, are far less noble:  increased age, higher BMI, number of pregnancies, bigger pre-pregnancy cup size, and smoking.

Lead author Dr. Brian Rinker expressed his hope that the study would persuade women who were thinking about not breastfeeding their babies because of concerns about sagging to re-think their decisions.


+ DIGG + STUMBLE

Comments

 

ohslowburn said:

Am I the only one who doesn't understand why this is news? I read years ago - 4 to be precise, since that is how old my son is - that it wasn't the nursing but the pregnancy that caused the blowout followed by the shrinkage/saggage.

Didn't know about the smoking/increased age etc....but really, I knew it wasn't nursing.

I think  it was in one of the Sears books.

October 30, 2008 2:52 PM
 

Lynn said:

Yeah,  I knew this too!

October 30, 2008 3:06 PM
 

Janey said:

I was a bit afraid of the effect nursing would have, but there was really no change, not even shrinkage.  That said I never looked "perky" to start with and by the time I was 37 and had my son, sagginess was already an issue.

I, too, read somewhere that it isn't the nursing that makes breasts change, it is the pregnancy and the changes to breast tissue it causes.  I know most women go up at least a cup size during pregnancy.  My theory is that younger women's skin and tissue can bounce back from that better than older women's.  

I imagine the various body changes that come with having babies can be quite distressing for younger, thin women.  I think it is easier for us older, maybe not in great shape women because we already already experiencing the effects of  gravity and time and know they are going to take their toll sooner rather than later.

I also tell my envious smaller busted friends "the bigger they are the harder they fall".

October 30, 2008 3:23 PM
 

Alice said:

I learned this in college in the 80's. Breasts sag a bit after being pregnant because the fat tissues are less dense during the pregnancy to make way for milk production.  But nurse or not, the breasts change during pregnancy so the deed is done by the time the child arrives.  I have heard so many goof balls say they did not nurse cause they did not want saggy boobs.  Well, if that is the case they should adopt!

October 31, 2008 12:04 AM

About Amy S.F. Lutz

Amy S.F. Lutz's work has appeared in dozens of literary journals, including Cream City Review, The American Poetry Review, Puerto del Sol, and Mid-American Review. She and her husband have five children. Amy and her sister chronicle their adventures in communal living in their blog whoelsewantstoliveinmyhouse.com

in

GROUP BLOGS

  • Strollerderby

    The smartest, funniest, most exhaustive parenting blog in the blogosphere.
  • Droolicious

    Modern design for modern parents.
  • FameCrawler

    Your daily baby celebrity fix.
back to blog homepage