Breast Augmentation and pregnancy, the combination is the source of many questions in my San Francisco Bay Area Plastic Surgery Clinic. The answers center around a few themes: timing, breast feeding and how breasts change.
Pregnancy brings many changes including changes to the breasts. If you are considering Breast Enlargement, or if you already have Breast Implants, and you are contemplating pregnancy, this post is for you.
Breast Augmentation and Pregnancy: Timing
If you are done having children, the timing is ideal. The dramatic changes that can occur with pregnancy and breast feeding are over, and the focus is on getting back the breasts you had, or the breasts you always wanted to have. Details like size and shape tend to change slowly with age, but may swing widely with pregnancy. Having this behind you is a big plus in the direction of predictability. Additionally, details like inverted nipples, enlarged nipples or enlarged areolae can also be addressed. The Mommy Makeover can also be discussed if your belly has been stretched and has not recovered to your satisfactionx.
If you are planning to have children whether to have Breast Augmentation now depends on how soon you plan to get pregnant. If you are actively trying to get pregnant, you should wait. Your breasts may change with pregnancy. The changes may be small or dramatic, there is no way to predict. Even from child to child, there may be variation. If you get Breast Implants, and then things change dramatically, Revision Breast Augmentation may be needed to restore the breasts’ volume or shape.
If you are planning to have children later, it may make sense to have Breast Augmentation now. If you consider the immediate gratification of the Breast Enlargement, and you feel you will have enough time to enjoy the results, before possibly needing a touch-up, then go for it. The decision is not purely black and white. Breast Augmentation Revision is not always needed after pregnancy, and Breast Implant Revision Surgery may be necessary, even without becoming pregnant.
Before: This young woman had Breast Augmentation before pregnancy. After two children, the skin of her breasts relaxed, dropping the breast tissue off her Breast Implants. After: Her Breast Implants were exchanged to adjust volume and a Breast Lift was performed to reshape and rejuvenate her breasts.
Breast Augmentation and Pregnancy: Breast Feeding
If you have Breast Implants, there is no reason not to breast feed normally. Breast Implants do not taint the milk, and in many cases, the advantage that breast milk gives your infant is significant. Breast Augmentation may decrease the absolute volume of milk produced. The exact mechanism is unknown, but the easiest way to think about it is that the breast may be tricked into thinking it is already full. The volume of the implant may inversely effect the breasts’ milk production. On the other hand, I have had many women who had Breast Augmentation in their twenties, who later went on to breast feed successfully.
If you are currently breast feeding, and wondering when you can have Breast Enhancement Surgery, it is recommended to wait until the milk has dried up for a minimum of three months. This allows the breasts to finish their post pregnancy changes, and decreases the risks of operating on a lactating breast. However, it is never too soon to have a consultation with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, and in the San Francisco Bay Area, there are many to choose from.
Sometimes Breast Augmentation alone is enough to rejuvenate the postpartum breasts, as demonstrated in the above Breast Augmentation before and after pictures.
Breast Augmentation and Pregnancy: Breasts Change
We touched on this a little above, but breasts do change with pregnancy. Some change very little, some quite dramatically, and sometimes one changes more than the other. If your breasts change a little, then Breast Augmentation after pregnancy will be very similar to Breast Augmentation before surgery. On the other hand, if the breasts increase rapidly in size for lactation, and then shrink, often to a volume smaller than their original size, adjustments will be needed in your Breast Enhancement. These adjustments depend on the size and shape of your breasts.
Size is perhaps the easier of the two to understand. If breast lose volume, more stuffing is required to perk them back up to the desired size. In cases when the breasts enlarge, but do not shrink back down to the original size, it may be advantageous to have a Breast Reduction, especially when the sizes are uneven. When the breasts shrink too much, Breast Implants are used to restore volume and improve both the shape of the breasts and the fit of clothing.
The shape of the breasts is determined not just by their volume, but mostly by the breasts’ skin. When the volume of the breast shrinks, but the skin doesn’t, excess sagging occurs. Breast Augmentation alone may not be enough. A combination of Breast Augmentation and Breast Lift is needed in as many as 40% of women after pregnancy. The Breast Lift is used to reshape the breast and remove the skin excess, while Breast Implants can restore volume and increase the bust.
Breast Augmentation Consultations
If you are considering Breast Augmentation, give me a call at (925) 943-6353, and schedule a private, personalized consultation appointment. It is never too early to get the facts, and there is no better way to get a plan tailored to your needs than with an in-person consultation with an experienced, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon.
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