The Effects of Pregnancy following Breast Augmentation

 is a mainstay of my Indianapolis area cosmetic plastic surgery practice. In a recent post I discussed the issues of breast feeding following breast enlargement. In this post I would like to discuss the potential impact of pregnancy on a previously augmented breast. The truth is there is no consistent impact of pregnancy on a previously augmented breast. There are so many factors at play here: How big was the augmented breast prior to pregnancy? How large will the patient's actual breast tissue increase in size when her milk comes in? What is the genetic elasticity or "stretchiness" of her skin and tissues? How much weight was gained with the pregnancy? One myth I would like to dispel: I do not believe that breast feeding per se, stretches a woman's skin and breast tissues more than they would be with just her milk coming in. I've seen patients who never breast fed who have very stretched out breasts just with the changes of pregnancy and the milk coming in. Similarly, I've seen women breast feed for a year or longer without significantly stretching out her tissues. In fact, one of my patients who had augmentation before pregnancy, breast fed twins for one year and reported that her augmented breasts looked great when she finished breast feeding!fmcx20121225

The reality is that no one can predict the exact changes that may occur to an augmented breast following a pregnancy, with or without breast feeding. I don't personally believe that there is any reason a woman should necessarily put off having  until after having children. In fact, I would argue that if a woman wants to increase her bust size while she is young and has the rest of her figure intact, go for it! This is clearly a personal and individual decision each woman must make.