Does breastfeeding make you age faster?

[Peridotty]

I heard someone say that breastfeeding makes you age faster because it takes a lot of energy. Is that true? I am still BF my 17 month old and don’t plan to stop until 2. But with the sleep deprivation and nursing i feel like my face has taken a beating. Others say I look young though and I was told last week I look 22. My sister just said I look older.

I think the rate at which gravity sags breasts depends on many factors:

• size and age
• genetically determined density
• pectoral support or lack thereof
• well fit bra wearing/not wearing or wearing ill fit bra
• pregnancy/breastfeeding

I have 4 DC all breastfed and my breasts do not sag at all.

What a load of rubbish. I thought the breastfeeding folklore had peaked at starving, sleepless babies but this is a new one. What next, it saps your very soul?

@Sceptre86

Kids age you whether you breastfeed or not. I think it is the sleep deprivation that contributes to looking or feeling more rough which might be more common in breastfeeding mums, as they can't share the night feeds unless they express for it to be given in a bottle.

I think I'd agree with this.

I was back to my pre-pregnancy size quicker, my hair was thicker, and my boobs are still in pretty good shape. After I'd commented on this thread last night I was totting up how many years I spent breastfeeding all mine. Eldest was 2 and a half when she'd finally had enough, and it was around the 2 year point for them all on reflection. That's 7 years of my life breastfeeding, and the only thing I'd change is I'd persevere with expressing so I could've had an occasional break. My eldest fed almost 24/7 for the first 16 weeks and I was dead on my feet.

Mine certainly weren’t saggy before kids so I can’t imagine they’ve just gone saggy as a coincidence, my sister said when I stop bf they will just be like empty sacks

I don’t think we’re born with a set amount of energy. I’m pretty certain it doesn’t run down like an egg timer, going at different speeds depending on how we feed the babies.

FFS. Did you tell this person to fuck off with their unhelpful old wives tales OP? It’s an incredibly shitty thing to say to a breastfeeding mother, it’s like someone telling a newly single pregnant women that men won’t be interested in her anymore cause she’s going to be a single mum.

No it helped the weight drop off in my case (always a bonus) and my boobs are now a C cup, used to be an A/B and not sagging at all despite 3 years BF👍🏻

Pregnancy and breastfeeding can both age you depending on the effect on your body. But everyone is different.

@Ryannah it ruined my breasts too if that's any consolation. They shrunk and are a lot more 'flaccid' now. Yuck.

That's a new one!

@Ryannah

It doesn’t age you but it does ruin your breasts.

Hormones produced during pregnancy do that, I'm afraid. Not breastfeeding.

It’s not breastfeeding that makes breasts sag when you stop it’s how much your breasts grow from pre-pregnancy to breastfeeding that affects sagging as ligaments and skin get stretched. Women whose breasts don’t grow as much won’t have as much sagging.

And that is controlled by hormones during pregnancy.

@TurnUpTurnip

Mine certainly weren’t saggy before kids so I can’t imagine they’ve just gone saggy as a coincidence, my sister said when I stop bf they will just be like empty sacks

It’s true mine have lost a lot of volume which is upsetting.

Wish other posters would stop calling our experiences ‘rubbish’ because it doesn’t fit with their ‘bfing is amazing and has no downsides’ mantra.

@Glassofshloer exactly. One slightly negative thing said about breastfeeding and people jump on it.

From a very unscientific handful of conversations with my friends, we all found we had a big hormone crash when stopped breastfeeding, and we all looked like utter shit for six months - a year after stopping

So maybe if you breastfeed forever you'll remain eternally youthful?????

No, I think it's the sleep deprivation and generally having kids. I breastfed both of mine and aged noticeably but so have all my friends in the first year of parenthood.

I don't think it ages you, sleep deprivation does that alone. But I do think it utterly ruins your breasts and they just don't recover.

A friend of mine has six children and has breastfed most if not all of them and I think she looks very youthful in her late 30s.

I think just having kids in general ages people faster, not breastfeeding. It's the lack of sleep and all the stress that makes me look like shite,

Breastfeeding makes you age faster?????!!!!!!
I thought I'd heard it all 😄
No it doesn't- pregnancy, kids might though!!
My boobs are lovely (if I do say so myself) and have not been 'ruined' by breastfeeding. People tell me I don't look bad for my age but I wouldn't dream of agreeing with them 🙂
Perhaps your sister doesn't agree with BF? I've had negative comments from people who think this way. Looking at you BIL (and wife)

My breasts were ruined and I couldn't breast feed. My conclusion was that it's the swelling in pregnancy and the stretching of the muscles that ruins breasts.

The ageing face is I'm afraid just the impact of toil and lack of quality sleep.

@Peridotty

Thanks guys. I also never heard of it before until today!! But from an energy point of view I thought it made sense?? To be honest though I feel the sleep deprivation is the worst thing for my skin.

Doesn't make sense from any point of view. Tiredness and stress will do it short term. Long term, it's mostly genetics and bone structure casts envious looks at DH's incredibly young-looking gang of septugenarians

@wavecatcher

I don't think it ages you, sleep deprivation does that alone. But I do think it utterly ruins your breasts and they just don't recover.

Not mine. They are better than pre-breastfeeding and I'm now 60. Honestly, the amount of anti-bf myth that gets toted around...even by people who bf.

I breastfed for 2.5years and the minute I finished I got Botox. I aged significantly in that time but I don’t think I can solely lay it at the door of bf. Mostly a combination of age, having a baby and being slim so the wrinkles were more pronounced once I lost the pregnancy plumpness. I Loved breastfeeding would do it all over again but it does take a toll on the body.

Pre kids I was a bit shocked at how much friends aged when they had kids irrespective of feeding method. Less sleep, more worry and less time to look after ourselves. I knew it would catch me eventually!

Don’t know but having kids certainly does.