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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think breastfeeding does shrink your boobs

74 replies

ScarletLouise · 08/06/2018 13:04

I may be wrong but 1st baby, didn't breastfeed long at all due to PND (2 weeks max) and boobs stayed the same, pretty unaffected by pregnancy as well.

2nd baby, pregnancy didn't seem to have too much of an effect on boobs. This time breastfed exclusively for 12 months and now I have stopped I've realised my breasts are at least 2 cup sizes smaller than before this baby. My old bras are massive on me, I used to have a lovely cleavage which non-existent now. They're just small and saggy as well now.

I really suspect breastfeeding for so long changed them? But everywhere says it's a massive myth and that it is pregnancy, not breastfeeding, that causes the changes.

Feeling a bit sorry for myself as I look rubbish in a lot of my old dresses and my boobs were one of the nice things about me that I actually liked.

OP posts:
Mari50 · 08/06/2018 13:39

I was 34aa prepregnancy and I’m 34a now, was an enormous 34b when breastfeeding.
My breasts are definitely a tad bigger and my nipples are wrecked. They used to be lovely but now they aren’t, 30 months of breastfeeding wrecked them.

Oblomov18 · 08/06/2018 13:40

No. I think it's the pregnancy. Mine were bigger but not as high up!! Sad

Namechange128 · 08/06/2018 13:42

Agree it's so individual - I was 28A before bf, after two was 30C and now pregnant with DC3 am bigger again.

ijustwannadance · 08/06/2018 13:48

Mine are same cup size but less volume and lower. They looked amazing during recent pregnancy, nice and full.

Finally found a decent bra though that puts them back where they are meant to be, even if it is only when i'm dressed!

Mrsramsayscat · 08/06/2018 13:50

Mine never shrank. I agree everyone is different.,

MonumentVal · 08/06/2018 13:55

Mine got bigger in pregnancy and bigger again with 1-2 years of bf per child.
34D before getting pregnant, 34HH now.

Neverender · 08/06/2018 13:58

I didn't bf for many reasons but mine look exactly the same as they did before DC.

WhatwouldRuthdo · 08/06/2018 14:04

Yes, completely. I was a D cup before babies. Haven’t been remeasured since I stopped breastfeeding DC2 as I don’t want to face the harsh reality, but they are small and saggy now. I keep hoping they will perk up a bit but I stopped breastfeeding 6 months ago.

Shufflebumnessie · 08/06/2018 14:07

I BF DS for 14 months. Prior to this I was 34B, once I stopped I'd gone down to a 34A and my boobs were all soft and definitely not as perky as they were!
DD arrived about 3 1/2 years after I stopped BF DS. I'm still BF and I fear that my boobs are going to be even small once I stop this time.

I love the size when I'm BF and I'll probably cry once DD wants to stop and I see what's left Sad

My mum said she went up 3 cup-sizes after BF so I was hoping that mine might return to how they were but it seems that's not the case for me.

Mrsramsayscat · 08/06/2018 14:17

Some people say weight comes into it, but I haven't found that either. I've gone up and down between a 10 and a 16 over 30 years, and my breasts are pretty much the same.

Menopause has made a slight difference, but more to the bra style than the cup size (34F/G).

WittyJack · 08/06/2018 14:23

Autumnleaf- what a vile judgey post. Lucky for you that you were able to bf, eh? Hmm

StellaWouldYouTakeMeHome · 08/06/2018 14:44

My boobs slightly bigger, my waist seems smaller and my bum is bigger, I seem to have a more ‘shapely’ figure now less straight up and down. Still the same clothing size, I think my shapes just changed.

I think the cut of the bra is important, I only wear balcony or plunge as it suits me better

sunshinewithabitofdrizzle · 08/06/2018 14:49

I bf for 11 months, my boobs were bigger after than before I was pregnant (and they were pretty big then), and saggy and my nipples are about 3 times bigger than they were before too.

FASH84 · 08/06/2018 14:50

I hope mine don't shrink by two cup sizes I'm only a B to start with!

Blizzardagain · 08/06/2018 14:52

It's the pregnancy that does it IMO. You just don't notice until you finish BF and no longer full of milk.

Tenko · 08/06/2018 15:00

Mine were tiny to begin with. I couldn't find nursing bras small enough. BF for about 2 years in total and always had over supply so size didn't matter there. Afterwards they were definitely smaller flat chested

Grandmaswagsbag · 08/06/2018 15:04

Mine were the same after 15 months of b/feeding. Infact I actually think they ended up a slightly nicer shape than before! I like them more anyway, maybe psychological.

Aria2015 · 08/06/2018 15:09

Mine haven't shrunk so much as changed shape. They've lost their fullness up top so I have a ski slope look to them. Not as perky as they were but I'd still pass the pencil test!

TomMarkle · 08/06/2018 15:13

I have a theory that skinny women with medium sized boobs experience the shrinkage.

Bigger women with bigger boobs to start with don't.

FittonTower · 08/06/2018 15:14

Mine got bigger, before children i was an 34A and (after breastfeeding 2 children, pretty much back to back) I'm a 36C.
Apparently it's pregnancy rather than breastfeeding makes the difference but i think it varies, woman to woman, either way

Tunnocks34 · 08/06/2018 15:17

Yep. Definitely for me. Gone from a B to a Aa 😢

Shaboohshoobah1 · 08/06/2018 15:24

Also went from B to Aa. I second the theory that smaller women tend to get even smaller 😩 I hate it. If I had the funds I’d get them done - I look like an 11 year old now. I hate anyone seeing me without a bra.

ballroompink · 08/06/2018 15:35

Totally individual for sure - mine felt completely 'empty' after I stopped bf DS1. Not saggy but then they are not very big tp begin with. After a couple of years they were definitely a bit fuller again - I think they regained some fat! Now bf DS2 so will be interesting to see what happens when we stop.

Rikalaily · 08/06/2018 15:48

Mine are far bigger, I was almost completely flat before my first baby and now I'm a 32 E, breastfed 5 kids.

RomeoBunny · 08/06/2018 15:55

Each pregnancy is different and each will affect your boobs differently. It's the being pregnant which changes them unless you went up 4 sizes when BF. Then obviously they're going to look empty if they deflate back down.