We have all been told the lies; that to keep your breasts as perky as they were before pregnancy, you should either bottle-feed or wean your baby as soon as s/he starts taking solids. This is a myth that is not only unfair to the child, but to the mother as well.
Nursing, study after study has shown, has little to do with sagging breasts. Pregnancy is the main culprit. If anything, extended breastfeeding(for at least 2 years) will probably help your boob look as close to how they once did, as they can. In this article, we look at the common causes of sagging breasts and the measures moms can take to prevent sagging, or at least reduce effects of pregnancy on breasts as much as possible.
Pregnancy takes a toll on a woman’s body. The breasts increase in size in preparation for nursing later on when the baby is born and this puts immense pressure on the breast’s ligaments. The skin and the tissues are stretched and this result in an empty/sagging look once the milk supply diminishes and the breasts shrink to their original size. This happens whether you choose to breastfeed your baby or not.
Since there’s no way you are going to avoid pregnancy if you plan to deliver your own babies, the best we can do is reduce the effects of pregnancy on your bosom by wearing well supporting bras, eating a balanced meal full of saturated fats and drinking lots of water to ensure that your skin remains hydrated, moisturized and elastic.
Sudden Weaning
Breastfeeding has been falsely blamed for sagging breasts for years and years. Because of this, most women choose to not breastfeed at all or to wean their babies at 4 or 6 months. This is a point when your baby’s demand for milk is at its peak and as a result, the body is producing the highest amount of milk. Sudden weaning when the breasts are at their largest denies the body the time it needs for the skin to naturally shrink back.
Think about two people who are trying to lose weight using two very different approaches. One goes the surgery way and sheds the pounds in two months while the other one goes the exercise and lifestyle change route and loses the weight in one year.
While both will have shed the pounds at the end of the day, the one who did it in two months will be left with sagging skin while the later will have a toned body under a tight skin. The same applies when nursing. Stopping suddenly reduces the mass of the breast in a week without giving the skin enough time to bounce back.
For the best results, wean your baby when they are at least 2 years and do it gradually. By this time, your weight will have gone down and your milk supply will have reduced drastically.
Aging, Sun, and smoking
There are other factors that contribute to sagging that have nothing to do with having babies. Factors such as aging, sun exposure and smoking reduce the skin’s elasticity making it easier for boobs to sag. The size of the breast also matters. The bigger and heavier they are, the more likely they are to submit and surrender to gravity.
Avoiding weight fluctuations and eating a clean diet might help. Exercising may not increase the fat deposits in your boobs, but it strengthens the muscles behind the breast giving them a perkier appearance.
Breast PRP
Whatever measures you take, it is important to realize that there will be changes to the size, shape and look of your breasts as you get older. While breast implants and fat transfer are options for some, there are other less invasive procedures that can ensure that your breasts remain from and perky. One such procedure is breast PRP.
PRP stands for Platelet Rich Plasma. This is a 3 step procedure that involves drawing some blood from a patient, the blood is then processed in a centrifuge to separate its components and platelet rich plasma is then injected into the area that is being treated. This life giving, gold-colored liquid acts as stem cells, imitating the cells in the area being treated. In this case, it promotes collagen production on the breasts leaving the skin firmer and tighter. This results in rounder, former and younger looking breasts.
Whatever you do, it is important to remember that your body will change over time. It might bounce back to how it was before pregnancy, it might not. There is no need denying your child the best meal she can ever get for vanity reasons. If all else fails, it is comforting to know that there is a procedure that can reverse these changes.
