The emotional and physical toll that pregnancy and breastfeeding take on your body, especially your breast, is significant. Over the years, we have helped hundreds of moms rejuvenate their breasts with breast augmentation. It has an amazing ability to boost your confidence, often when you, a mom, need it the most. So for all the moms out there, we want to help you along this journey. To get started, take a look at this Plastic Surgeon’s Post-Baby Breasts Treatment Guide.
The 3 reasons you have Post Baby Breasts (PBB)
Educating yourself is the first step in making a meaningful change. Motherhood is one of life’s greatest gifts but it doesn’t come without its challenges. PBB is very real and extremely common. A majority of moms we see in our office have notable deflation and sagginess that define PBB. But we have answers. So, to get you started on a more positive path, let’s first break down what causes PBB. Did you know that PBB is caused by three important factors? Reviewing these will help you better understand how we approach breast surgery after pregnancy:
- Stretched ligaments: Milk production and weight gain around pregnancy, not not enlarge your breasts, they stretch the internal structural bands (aka the Cooper’s ligaments). These strength bands, along with your breast skin, maintain your breast shape. No amount of chest exercises or skin treatments after pregnancy can tighten them enough to put the genie back in the bottle. These changes are most often irreversible.
- More fat: Your hormones change after pregnancy and with age. One consequence of this change is that your youthful breast tissue is slowly replaced by less structural fat. More fat in your breasts means less support. But what does this mean for you? After pregnancy, breasts will appear less defined as the fat percentage increases. And these changes are worsened, not improved, with weight loss. This is especially true in the upper part of the breast.
- Skin changes: Whole body swelling, breast engorgement, and weight changes, all stretch your skin with pregnancy. And as the skin of your breasts stretches past the point of no return, it is structurally altered. Usually permanently. What this means for you, is a more saggy and deflated breast appearance, often with stretch marks, and enlargement of your areolas.
Breast augmentation: 3 ways it helps with PBB
Breast augmentation is a transformative procedure that offers a counter-balance to your PBB changes. From deflation, size concerns, and even contour issues, appropriately selected and expertly placed breast implants can turn your mommy breasts into something much more. And the results are often dramatic. But since breast augmentation alone isn’t enough in some cases, here are the PBB changes that it is good at treating by itself:
- Deflation: If you have deflated or uneven breasts, it can be frustrating. Breast augmentation alone offers a powerful solution by increasing the fullness of your breasts. It offers an instantaneous change that is amazingly effective. No more feeling self-conscious!
- Size: The size of your breasts is truly customizable with breast implants. By choosing a specific implant size and projection, we can tailor the results to your body. This adjustable approach guarantees that your personal goals can be achieved, especially for your body’s symmetry and overall proportion. The options are endless!
- Contour: Improving the overall shape of your breasts after pregnancy is where breast implants can make a dramatic difference. Strategically placed above or below the muscle, implants not only fill in your breast but also restore the shape. This is especially true in the upper part of your breasts, above the nipple and areola. It’s a full breast transformation!
Breast augmentation: 3 ways it may not fully address PBB
Breast augmentation alone will not lift or remove sagging skin, remove excess breast tissue, or reposition your droopy nipple and areolas after pregnancy and breastfeeding. Remember, the primary job of an implant is to restore your breast volume and contour. Therefore, with PBB, a breast lift or reduction may be necessary to reshape and lift your breasts while simultaneously improving support.
- Lifting: Breasts sag after pregnancy for all the reasons we discussed previously. Therefore, adding a breast lift to a breast augmentation is often necessary. These results are remarkably transformative when these two procedures are combined but it will increase the scope and costs of the surgery.
- Reduction: A common complaint after pregnancy is that there is too much breast tissue, especially in the lower and outer parts of the breasts. A breast lift or reduction can remove this excess breast tissue while simultaneously reshaping the breast. It is also easily combined with breast augmentation, which will improve the overall contour, especially in the upper part of the breasts. It’s a win-win as you remove the heavy volume below and add some above.
- Repositioning: One of the biggest complaints with PBB is the malpositioning of the nipple and areola. That’s just a fancy way to say that after pregnancy, they point down rather than rebound to a perky pre-pregnancy position. Breast augmentation alone will not lift your nipple and areola. True lifting can only be accomplished by adding on a breast lift or reduction procedure.
Is breast augmentation the answer to PBB?
Breast augmentation is the answer for most of the issues we see with PBB. It increases the fullness of your breast while dialing in your size and contour with fairly quick surgery with instantaneous results. But it does have limitations. Sagginess, excess tissue, and drooping of your nipple and areola will all require the addition of a breast lift or reduction. This will increase the scope of the surgery but will also make the overall results more transformative. If you are struggling with PBB and are searching for a change, schedule an appointment with our office today. We would love to help you get started on this journey of moving forward, and giving back what pregnancy took away: your beautiful breasts.