Is it safe to breastfeed after having breast augmentation?

Breastfeeding has been shown to be of immense benefit for both baby and mother. Not only does breast milk provide the most ideal balance of vitamins, proteins and fats, but also provides antibodies that bolster the child’s immunity and ward of potential of infections. It lowers risk of long term ailments like allergies, has been linked to less likelihood of diabetes, obesity and certain cancers. Further, it has been correlated with higher IQ scores in later childhood.

As mentioned, it also benefits the mother in several ways. The hormone, oxytocin, is released which helps the uterus return to its normal size and shape for one. Breastfeeding also burns calories, which aids in the shedding of the accumulated pregnancy weight. It lowers the chance of breast and uterine cancers, and is linked to lower likelihood of osteoporosis. Perhaps the greatest benefit of direct feeding is the regular relaxation and bonding that occurs through the process. While the baby doesn’t remember the act later in life, it no doubt increases their sense of closeness and often provides the mom some of her most cherished memories of motherhood.

Naturally, the thought that breast augmentation may get in the way of this process is a concern of many younger women who have yet to have children of their own and would like to breastfeed if and when they do become mothers. Luckily, there is no reason to worry!

The only real issue here is a change of sensation around the nipples resulting from surgery, which may alter the experience to a certain extent. However, this shouldn’t affect a woman’s ability to breastfeed in any significant way.

A common concern is that the presence of implants will contaminate the breast milk causing it to be unsafe for the child. This is not the case. The size of both silicone and saline molecules disallows them from entering into the breast milk. Even if a few were somehow able to penetrate into the milk, it would have no negative effect on the child. Imagine how much silicone you inadvertently ingest from your lipstick on a daily basis!

Some women also worry about the act of breastfeeding having potential to damage the implants themselves. While breastfeeding poses no damaging risk to implants, the only precaution here is that women should do their best to wait until the healing process from the breast augmentation surgery has been able to complete itself prior to becoming pregnant. This is because the breasts naturally enlarge during pregnancy in order to develop milk, and this could slightly interfere with the recovery process.  

Ladies who are considering having children in the future need not worry about implants causing undue complications with breastfeeding or vice versa. If I learn that this is something a woman is considering, I fully take that into account when deciding where to place the implant and make incisions as to not affect the milk ducts or nerves. This, of course, depends on each woman’s specific anatomy and I may opt to do a more breastfeeding friendly operation even if a woman declares she wishes to never have children, because we all know that life has its surprises!

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