What’s the deal with breastfeeding & implants?
This question comes up a lot in the Bustmob Community (a safe, supportive space for women considering or undergoing plastic surgery). So if you’ve been wondering if milk production is affected by breast implants, you’re not alone.
We’re happy to say that breast augmentation and implants do not affect breastfeeding. The plastic surgeons of Amelia Aesthetics like to say typically if you can breastfeed before implants you can successfully breastfeed with implants.
The catch is that if you've never breastfed, you don’t know if you can breastfeed. So for women who plan to breastfeed, but haven’t done so before, it can be hard to know your milk supply and ability to breastfeed in the first place, with or without implants.
Gretta Nance, lead educator at Amelia Aesthetics, shares in the Bustmob Academy video above, that she successfully breastfed both of her kids with implants.
But if you want to hear about other women’s experiences too, hop in the Bustmob Community and ask. With 50,000 members and counting, there is no shortage of stories being shared and questions being answered.
Want to be extra safe?
Consider the incision you’ll have for your breast implant surgery. There are 4 types of incisions used for breast augmentation:
- Inframammary incision: along the crease of the breast
- Periareolar incision: around the areola
- Transaxillary incision: under the arm
- TUBA incision: through the belly button
Transaxillary and TUBA are rarely used so we’ll focus on the crease and periareolar, but if you want a deeper dive into incisions, watch the breast augmentation series in the free Bustmob Academy app.
The Inframammary, or crease incision, is the incision with the lowest risk of damaging or disrupting the milk ducts and nerves. Regardless of whether you choose subglandular placement or submuscular placement, the crease incision allows for better breast implant placement in addition to bypassing those milk ducts. Talk about a win, win.
The periareolar incision, around the areola, on the other hand, increases the risk of damaging those milk ducts. And because it can be more difficult to place and exchange the implant, periareolar incisions aren’t as popular.
Really concerned about breastfeeding?
Don’t be afraid to ask in your consultation. If breastfeeding is important to you, be sure to talk to your plastic surgeon about it. Based on your anatomy and goals, they’ll be able to recommend a surgical plan that is best for you.
The most important thing is that you feel comfortable and knowledgeable leaving your consultation.
Your consultation should be a conversation with you in the driver’s seat, which is why plastic surgery research ahead of time is so important. Having the basic knowledge and some thought-out questions ahead of time will ensure the time with your plastic surgeon is intentional so you can leave feeling like all of your questions were answered.
In addition to having a head full of plastic surgery knowledge, be sure to have your aesthetic goals in mind too. Have a few “wish pictures” or “goal photos” with you so you can specifically show your plastic surgeon what you’re hoping to achieve.
Searching for plastic surgery after photos can be a bit of a nightmare. We’ve been there. So we made the completely free Bustmob GoalFinder a database with thousands of real plastic surgery after photos from real women.
You can search by patient stats like height and weight, along with implant size, placement, profile, and type. Save your favorites to a personalized collection so you are organized and ready for your consultation.
Found this helpful, but want more?
Good news! This is just one of hundreds of videos that mix women’s stories with basic science on the Bustmob Academy app to make your plastic surgery research easy.
From commonly told myths and FAQs, to recovery time and costs, Jenny Eden, founder of Bustmob, and Gretta Nance, lead educator at Amelia Aesthetics, break down your plastic surgery research into bite-size, binge-able pieces.
Pair the Bustmob Academy app with Jenny’s 15-Day Texting Series and you are well on your way to being empowered and educated before you even set foot in your consultation.
The free Bustmob Academy app is the perfect place to learn everything about the procedure you're considering.
