Breastfeeding after Breast Augmentation Surgery

Many people mistakenly believe that it will not be possible to breastfeed after breast augmentation surgery. That’s not necessarily the case. In fact, most women are able to breastfeed normally. Naturally, if this is a concern of yours, discussing it with your surgeon will be helpful, but where did the idea that breastfeeding is impossible after breast augmentation come from? Here are some of the instances in which breastfeeding after augmentation surgery (and sometimes even without any surgery) may be problematic.

Lack of glandular tissue

If breasts do not develop properly, there can be a lack of the glandular tissue that produces baby’s milk. Clearly, there would be problems with breast feeding even if no augmentation were to be done. If you have small or asymmetrical breasts, talk to your plastic surgeon in Toronto about how much glandular tissue you have and whether the procedure may make it even more difficult to breastfeed.

Nipple incision

The location of the incision will influence your ability to breastfeed. Nipple incisions can reduce sensitivity, making it more difficult to breastfeed. An ethical surgeon will discuss this with his or her patient if she is of childbearing age.

Nipple incisions are less obvious than incisions under the breast, but if milk ducts are cut, milk flow will be affected. In a worst-case scenario, the nerve that communicates the need for hormone secretion needed for milk production could be severed, and can result in overly sensitive nipples or nipples with reduced sensation, all of which could prove problematic.

Pressure on the mammary gland

An implant can put pressure on the mammary gland making it difficult for it to function properly. This is particularly true if the implant is positioned just under the mammary gland tissue. Placing the implant under the muscle and away from the glandular tissue can help to eliminate this particular risk. However, implants will not necessarily do that. If you are considering a significant change in breast size, discuss the breast-feeding implications before making any final decision.

Will implants leak into milk?

Leaking implants are extremely rare, especially in the light of modern improvements in implant design. No matter what, your breast implants cannot present a danger to your infant during breast-feeding. There is absolutely no need to worry about your infant drinking contaminated breast milk because you had an augmentation procedure.

Should you have implants if you intend to breast feed?

This question is best discussed with your surgeon since many individual factors come into play. You should also remember that a woman’s breasts do change in size and shape over the course of time, especially if they have children. If you adopt a “wait and see” attitude, you may even find that your breasts become fuller by themselves in time, making an implant unnecessary.

Generally speaking, however, breast implants do not affect most women’s ability to breast feed significantly. Instead, the most common complaint is that women who did not have sufficient glandular tissue to begin with say that they were not advised of this at the time they went for implants.