In this guide15 sections
- Key Points
- Does Breastfeeding Make Your Boobs Sag?
- How Breasts Change During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
- What Do Breasts Look Like After Pregnancy and Breastfeeding?
- Uneven Breasts After Breastfeeding
- What Makes Sagging After Pregnancy More Likely?
- Will Your Breasts Go Back to Normal After Breastfeeding?
- How to Make Your Breasts Firmer After Breastfeeding Without Surgery
- Surgery for Breasts After Breastfeeding
- When Can You Have Breast Surgery After Breastfeeding?
- Recovery, Scars and Results
- How Much Does Breast Surgery After Breastfeeding Cost?
- Breast Surgery After Breastfeeding at Centre for Surgery
- Frequently Asked Questions About Breasts After Breastfeeding
- References
Key Points
- Pregnancy changes the breast, not breastfeeding. In a study of 93 mothers, breastfeeding was not a risk factor for sagging once age, weight, pregnancies, pre-pregnancy bra size and smoking were taken into account.
- Most women notice a difference either way. In a study of 496 first-time mothers, 75% of those who breastfed and 69% of those who didn’t said their breasts had changed, a difference too small to be meaningful.
- Breasts can end up smaller, larger, emptier or lower. After you stop feeding, the milk glands shrink back, but skin that stretched during pregnancy may not shrink with them.
- Uneven breasts after breastfeeding are common. The two breasts rarely make the same amount of milk, and differences often lessen once feeding stops.
- Give your breasts three to six months to settle. Wait at least that long after you’ve fully stopped breastfeeding before judging the result or planning surgery.
- Surgery depends on what’s changed. A breast lift if your breasts have dropped, implants or fat transfer if they’ve emptied, or both together. Ideally have it once you’ve finished having children.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding change the breasts more than almost anything else in adult life. Many women find their breasts after pregnancy are smaller or emptier than before, lower on the chest, softer, or different sizes from each other, and their nipples and areolas often look different too. These changes are normal and very common whether you breastfed, bottle fed or did a mix of both, and if they bother you once your breasts have settled, a breast lift, implants or a combination of the two can restore their shape.
This guide explains what happens to breasts and nipples during and after breastfeeding or nursing, whether breastfeeding is to blame for sagging, what you can do without surgery, and which operation suits which change. Sagging after pregnancy is one form of breast ptosis; for every cause of sagging, not just pregnancy, see our guide to saggy boobs.
Does Breastfeeding Make Your Boobs Sag?
No. Breastfeeding doesn’t ruin your breasts: the evidence points to pregnancy itself, not breastfeeding, as the cause of the changes most women notice.
The clearest study comes from plastic surgeons in Kentucky who assessed 93 women who had had children and were seeking breast surgery. Just over half said their breasts had changed for the worse after pregnancy. Greater age, a higher body mass index (BMI), more pregnancies, a larger bra size before pregnancy and smoking all predicted how far the breasts had dropped. Breastfeeding did not.
A separate study of 496 Italian mothers asked about their breasts 12 to 23 months after their first baby. Almost three-quarters said their breasts had changed, usually becoming bigger or less firm. Among mothers who had breastfed, 75% reported a change; among those who hadn’t, 69% did. That difference was not statistically meaningful, and bra size before pregnancy made no difference either.
The reason is that the breast prepares for feeding during pregnancy whether or not you go on to breastfeed. The milk glands grow, the breasts enlarge and the skin stretches over nine months. Choosing not to breastfeed doesn’t undo that, and choosing to breastfeed doesn’t add much to it.
How Breasts Change During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
During Pregnancy
From the first trimester, pregnancy hormones make the milk-producing glands and ducts grow. The breasts become larger, heavier and often tender, and the areolas usually darken and widen. Many women go up one or two cup sizes by the end of pregnancy. The skin and the fibrous bands that support the breast from within, known as Cooper’s ligaments, stretch to carry the extra weight. Stretch marks can appear on the breasts at this stage, before feeding has even started. Our guide to breast changes in pregnancy covers these trimester by trimester, including sore breasts, nipple changes and colostrum.
While You’re Breastfeeding
Once your milk comes in, the breasts fill and empty many times a day. They are at their largest in the early weeks, then usually settle a little as supply matches your baby’s needs. This cycle of filling and emptying is what most women notice, and it’s easy to assume it’s what causes sagging. The studies above suggest the stretch that matters has mostly already happened during pregnancy.
After You Stop Breastfeeding
When feeding stops, the milk glands shrink back over the following weeks and months in a process called involution. Much of the breast’s volume during pregnancy was glandular tissue, so the breast gets smaller. If the skin and ligaments have stretched, they don’t shrink back to the same degree. The result can be a breast that looks deflated at the top, sits lower on the chest, and has a nipple that points down or forwards rather than up.
What Do Breasts Look Like After Pregnancy and Breastfeeding?
There’s no single “after” shape, and real breasts after breastfeeding vary widely. Comparing their breasts before and after pregnancy, most women recognise one or more of these changes.
Sagging Breasts After Breastfeeding
Sagging means the breast and nipple have moved lower on the chest. Surgeons grade it on the Regnault scale, by where the nipple sits relative to the fold beneath the breast (the inframammary crease). If the nipple is level with the crease, the sagging is mild; if it has dropped below the crease, it’s moderate; and if it points down towards the floor, it’s severe. Our guide to breast ptosis grades explains each one and the treatment it usually needs.
Deflated or Empty Breasts
Some women’s nipples stay in roughly the right place, but the breast looks empty, especially at the top, with loose skin at the bottom. This is sometimes called pseudoptosis: the nipple hasn’t dropped much, but the tissue beneath it has. It matters because the treatment is different. Empty breasts usually need volume, from implants or fat transfer, more than they need lifting.
Smaller Breasts After Breastfeeding
Breasts that were full during pregnancy and feeding often end up smaller than they were before pregnancy, not just smaller than they were while feeding. How much depends on how much of your breast was glandular tissue compared with fat. Some women go back to their old size, and a minority end up larger, particularly if they gained weight during pregnancy that they’ve kept.
Nipples After Breastfeeding
Nipple changes after breastfeeding are common. Pregnancy makes the nipples larger, darker and more prominent, and months of feeding can leave them longer or more stretched than before. Some of this settles in the months after your last feed, but many women find their nipples stay a little bigger or darker than they were before pregnancy.
The nipple shape can change after breastfeeding too. As the breast shrinks back and the skin around it loosens, the nipple can point downwards or look flatter than it used to, particularly if the breast has dropped. A breast lift moves the nipple back to the front of the breast, which usually improves the direction it points. Our guide to flat nipples explains what’s normal.
If your nipples stay longer or wider than you’d like once your breasts have settled, a nipple reduction can shorten them, narrow them, or both, on its own or during a breast lift. Some techniques can affect the milk ducts, so it’s best done once you’ve finished having children. Nipples that were inverted before pregnancy are often drawn out by feeding and then pull back in afterwards; inverted nipple correction can release them. A nipple that has newly turned inwards, rather than one that has always been inverted, should be checked by your GP.
Areolas After Pregnancy
Pregnancy commonly makes the areolas darker and wider. Some of this fades in the months after feeding stops, but areolas that stay larger are common. If they bother you, an areola reduction can make them smaller, and it can be combined with a breast lift. Our guide to large areolas explains what’s normal.
Stretch Marks
Stretch marks on the breasts usually appear during pregnancy as the breasts enlarge. They start red or purple and fade to silvery lines over a year or two. A breast lift removes some of the stretched skin, and with it some of the marks, but not all of them. Our guide to stretch marks after pregnancy covers the options.
Uneven Breasts After Breastfeeding
It’s very common to have one breast bigger than the other after breastfeeding, or for one to sit lower. Almost everyone has slightly uneven breasts to begin with, and pregnancy and feeding can make the difference more obvious.
During breastfeeding the gap can be larger still. A study that weighed babies before and after every feed found that a mother’s left and right breasts rarely produced the same amount of milk. If one side makes more, or your baby prefers it, that breast is fuller and heavier for months at a time.
In most women the difference lessens once feeding stops and both breasts shrink back. If one breast is still noticeably larger, lower or a different shape six months after you’ve stopped, it’s unlikely to change further on its own. Breast asymmetry correction can balance them, using a lift or reduction on one side, an implant on the other, or a combination.
A sudden change in one breast’s size, a new lump, skin that looks dimpled like orange peel, or a nipple that has recently turned inwards is not a normal after-effect of breastfeeding. See your GP promptly.
What Makes Sagging After Pregnancy More Likely?
Some women’s breasts barely change after children and others change a lot. The research points to the same handful of factors each time. In a larger study of 132 women, age, the number of pregnancies, smoking, a higher BMI, a larger bra cup size and losing a large amount of weight all independently predicted more severe sagging. In practice, sagging after pregnancy tends to be greater when:
- You’ve had more than one pregnancy. Each pregnancy stretches the skin and ligaments again, and the effect builds up.
- Your breasts were larger to begin with. Heavier breasts put more strain on the skin and ligaments that support them.
- You’re older. Skin loses elasticity with age, so it recovers less after being stretched. Our guide to breast changes with age explains why.
- You smoke. Smoking damages the collagen and elastin that keep skin firm.
- Your weight has changed a lot. Gaining weight in pregnancy and then losing it adds a second stretch. Our guide to sagging breasts after weight loss explains why.
Genetics plays a part too. The quality of your skin and connective tissue is partly inherited, which is why some women sag very little after several children.
Will Your Breasts Go Back to Normal After Breastfeeding?
Partly. The fullness and heaviness of active breastfeeding go within a few months of stopping, and most women find their breasts have settled into their long-term size and shape three to six months after the last feed. Some darkening of the areolas fades over the same period.
What usually doesn’t reverse is stretched skin and ligaments. If your breasts sit lower or look emptier once they’ve settled, that change is likely to be permanent without surgery. It isn’t a sign that anything has gone wrong, and many women are happy to live with it. Others find it affects their confidence, how clothes fit or how they feel about their body, and choose to have it corrected.
How to Make Your Breasts Firmer After Breastfeeding Without Surgery
No cream, exercise or supplement can shorten stretched skin or lift a breast that has dropped. That’s not what most people want to hear, but it saves money on products that can’t work. What non-surgical measures can do is make your breasts look and feel better while you’re using them.
- Get re-measured for a bra. Your size is likely to have changed after feeding, often to a smaller cup and the same or a different band. The best bra for saggy breasts after breastfeeding has a firm band that does most of the supporting, full or balconette cups that lift the breast and fill out the top, and straps that don’t dig in.
- Wear a supportive sports bra for exercise. Good support reduces breast movement and is more comfortable, especially when your breasts are heavier.
- Strengthen your chest muscles. Press-ups and chest presses build the pectoral muscle behind the breast, which can improve the shape of the upper chest and your posture. The breast sits in front of the muscle, so exercise won’t lift it.
- Keep your weight stable. Repeated gain and loss stretches the skin further.
- Don’t smoke. It’s one of the few risk factors for sagging you can change.
- Be realistic about skin tightening. Energy-based treatments described in our guide to the non-surgical breast lift can firm the skin slightly in mild cases, but can’t move a nipple that has dropped below the breast crease.
Surgery for Breasts After Breastfeeding
The right operation depends on which change bothers you: the breasts are lower, they’re emptier, they’re uneven, or all three. At consultation your surgeon measures how far the nipples have dropped, how much volume you’ve lost and the quality of your skin, then recommends the least extensive operation that will give you the result you want.
Breast Lift (Mastopexy)
If you’re happy with your size but your breasts have dropped, a breast lift, or mastopexy, removes loose skin, reshapes the breast tissue into a higher, rounder shape and moves the nipple back to the front of the breast. It can reduce the areolas at the same time.
The incision pattern depends on how much skin needs removing. Mild sagging may need only a scar around the areola; after pregnancy, a vertical (lollipop) lift is common, and more severe sagging needs an anchor (inverted-T) lift. Our guide to the types of breast lift compares them. A lift doesn’t add volume and can make the breast look slightly smaller, because skin is removed.
Breast Lift With Implants
If your breasts have dropped and emptied, a breast lift with implants (augmentation mastopexy) restores position and fullness together. It’s often the most complete answer after children, because it deals with both the loose skin and the lost volume. Some surgeons do the lift and implants in two separate operations when the sagging is severe; our guide to one-stage or two-stage surgery explains when that makes sense.
Breast Augmentation
If your nipples are still in a good position but your breasts look empty or smaller than you’d like, breast augmentation with implants may be enough on its own. The implant refills the breast and stretches the skin gently, which can correct mild sagging or pseudoptosis. If the breast has dropped further, an implant alone makes it bigger but not higher, so a lift is needed as well. If you’re wondering whether you could breastfeed with implants in future, our guide to a boob job after breastfeeding covers that in detail.
Fat Transfer to the Breasts
Fat transfer uses liposuction to take fat from the tummy or thighs and injects it into the breasts. It gives a modest, natural-feeling increase of up to about a cup size and can restore some fullness at the top. It doesn’t lift the breast, and you need enough spare fat, so it suits women with mild volume loss rather than significant sagging.
Breast Reduction
Some women’s breasts stay large and heavy after children, or grow during pregnancy and don’t go back. A breast reduction removes tissue and skin and lifts the breast in the same operation.
Mummy Makeover
Many mothers want their tummy treated as well as their breasts, often because of loose skin, stretch marks or a mummy tummy that exercise hasn’t shifted. A mummy makeover combines a breast lift, augmentation or both with a tummy tuck, in one operation or staged. Our guide to a mummy makeover after pregnancy explains the timing.
When Can You Have Breast Surgery After Breastfeeding?
Wait at least three to six months after you’ve completely stopped breastfeeding. This gives the milk glands time to shrink back and your breasts time to reach their settled size and shape. Operating earlier risks planning around a breast that’s still changing, so the result may not be what you expected once everything has settled. Your surgeon will also want your weight to have been stable for a few months.
It’s best to have surgery once you’ve finished having children. A future pregnancy stretches the breast again and can undo part of a lift. If you’re planning more children but the change is affecting you now, talk this through at consultation; it’s your decision, but it’s worth knowing that a further operation may be needed later.
Practical timing matters as well. After breast surgery you’ll need to avoid heavy lifting for about six weeks, and that includes lifting young children. Many mothers plan surgery for when their youngest can walk, or arrange help at home for the first few weeks.
Recovery, Scars and Results
A breast lift at Centre for Surgery takes around one and a half to three hours, longer when combined with implants or a tummy tuck, and is done as a day case under TIVA (total intravenous anaesthesia). You’ll need a responsible adult to take you home and stay with you for 24 hours. Most people take one to two weeks off desk-based work and avoid heavy lifting and strenuous exercise for about six weeks. Our breast lift recovery guide goes through each stage, and our mummy makeover recovery guide covers combined surgery.
Scars follow the incision pattern and usually fade to fine pale lines over 12 to 18 months. Our guide to breast lift scars explains how to look after them. Possible complications include delayed wound healing, wider or raised scars, changes in nipple sensation, bleeding under the skin (haematoma) and some asymmetry; your surgeon will go through these in detail.
The result is long-lasting, but not frozen in time. Your breasts will continue to age, and a future pregnancy or large weight change can alter them again.
How Much Does Breast Surgery After Breastfeeding Cost?
The cost depends on the operation you need: a lift on its own, a lift with implants, or breast surgery combined with a tummy tuck. Our breast lift cost guide and mummy makeover cost guide explain what affects the price, and your exact figure is confirmed in writing after your consultation.
Breast surgery after pregnancy is almost never funded by the NHS, because changes after breastfeeding are classed as cosmetic. Most women have it privately.
Breast Surgery After Breastfeeding at Centre for Surgery
At Centre for Surgery, breast lifts, augmentations and mummy makeovers are performed by GMC-registered plastic surgeons, at our CQC-regulated hospital at 95–97 Baker Street, rated Good overall. The surgeon who assesses you at consultation is the surgeon who performs your operation. They will examine and measure both breasts, check how far they’ve dropped and how much volume you’ve lost, talk through the size and shape you want, and recommend the least extensive operation that will give you a lasting result.
Your initial consultation is £100, redeemable against the cost of surgery if you go ahead. Finance is available through Chrysalis Finance, subject to status. You can see more results in our breast lift before and after gallery and mummy makeover before and after gallery.
Frequently Asked Questions About Breasts After Breastfeeding
Does breastfeeding for longer make sagging worse?
There’s no good evidence that it does. Research has found that breastfeeding isn’t a risk factor for sagging at all once pregnancy, age, weight, breast size and smoking are taken into account.
What happens to your breasts if you don’t breastfeed?
They still change. The breast enlarges and the skin stretches during pregnancy whether or not you breastfeed, so bottle feeding doesn’t prevent sagging or nipple changes. In the study of 496 mothers, those who didn’t breastfeed were almost as likely to say their breasts had changed as those who did.
Why are my breasts smaller after breastfeeding?
The milk glands that grew during pregnancy shrink back after you stop feeding. If much of your breast was glandular tissue, or you’ve lost the weight you gained in pregnancy, your breasts can end up smaller than they were before you were pregnant.
How can I keep my breasts bigger after breastfeeding?
There’s no way to stop the milk glands shrinking back once feeding ends. Gaining weight adds fat to the breasts but tends to sit low in stretched skin. If you want to restore size reliably, implants or fat transfer are the options, once your breasts have settled.
Will my nipples go back to normal after breastfeeding?
Some of the darkening and enlargement fades in the months after you stop, but the nipples and areolas often stay a little larger or darker than before pregnancy. If your nipples or areolas still bother you once your breasts have settled, a nipple reduction or areola reduction can make them smaller, on its own or during a breast lift.
Can you breastfeed after a breast lift?
Often, yes, but it isn’t guaranteed. A review of 51 studies on breast reduction found breastfeeding was far more likely to succeed when the surgery kept the column of tissue between the nipple and the chest wall intact. A breast lift usually removes mainly skin and keeps the nipple attached to the tissue beneath it, but some reduction in milk supply or nipple sensation is possible. Tell your surgeon if you might want to breastfeed again.
Can I breastfeed with breast implants?
Most women can, although where the incision is made and where the implant sits can make a difference. Our guide to a boob job after breastfeeding explains the factors that affect it.
Can I have a breast lift if I want more children?
You can, but a future pregnancy is likely to change your breasts again and may undo part of the result. Most surgeons advise waiting until you’ve finished your family.
How long after stopping breastfeeding do breasts return to their normal size?
Most breasts settle within three to six months of the last feed. That’s why surgeons advise waiting at least that long before planning breast surgery.
Can I get a breast lift on the NHS after pregnancy?
Very rarely. Changes to the breasts after pregnancy and breastfeeding are classed as cosmetic, and most NHS areas don’t fund a breast lift or augmentation for them.
If your breasts have changed after pregnancy and breastfeeding, a consultation at Centre for Surgery will tell you how far they’ve dropped, whether you need lifting, volume or both, and when is the right time to have surgery. Call 020 7993 4849 or complete the form below.
References
- Rinker B, Veneracion M, Walsh CP. The effect of breastfeeding on breast aesthetics. Aesthet Surg J. 2008;28(5):534-7. doi:10.1016/j.asj.2008.07.004
- Pisacane A, Continisio P. Breastfeeding and perceived changes in the appearance of the breasts: a retrospective study. Acta Paediatr. 2004;93(10):1346-8. doi:10.1080/08035250410033880
- Rinker B, Veneracion M, Walsh CP. Breast ptosis: causes and cure. Ann Plast Surg. 2010;64(5):579-84. doi:10.1097/SAP.0b013e3181c39377
- Kent JC, Mitoulas LR, Cregan MD, et al. Volume and frequency of breastfeedings and fat content of breast milk throughout the day. Pediatrics. 2006;117(3):e387-95. doi:10.1542/peds.2005-1417
- Kraut RY, Brown E, Korownyk C, et al. The impact of breast reduction surgery on breastfeeding: systematic review of observational studies. PLoS One. 2017;12(10):e0186591. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0186591
- Regnault P. Breast ptosis. Definition and treatment. Clin Plast Surg. 1976;3(2):193-203. PMID: 1261176
