Breastfeeding effects on your breasts

[sabby1]

Hi ladies, I have what feels like a super selfish question, but I'm wondering is there a difference between breasts that have breastfed a baby vs ones that have been through a pregnancy and didn't breastfeed?

I am a FTM and I have decided to go down the breastfeeding route (if I'm able) however I feel a bit scared having seen many like meme type things on pregnancy pages going on about how saggy and awful your breasts go after breastfeeding.

I am just scared that I am going to lose my breasts (which aren't anything fantastic to begin with) but I've been feeling super low about the way I look lately and am struggling with throwing saggy breasts into the mix aswell.

Is this the case with any breasts that have been through a pregnancy or does breastfeeding make them a lot worse?

I feel bad even asking this but I'm genuinely curious. I plan to breastfeed my baby either way I'm just kinda want to know what to expect and I feel I can't ask the doc cos it's so embarrassing and self absorbed of me. I'd like to hear some first hand experience ❤️

Don't think mine were affected. Small and perky to start and now (at 55) still small and only marginally less perky. But I think that's gravity in general not breastfeeding two children for a total of nearly two years. No stretch marks anywhere. Maybe if I'd been bigger to start with things may have gone further south?

I breastfed my three DC and my (large) boobs are not saggy.

Let's just say...I can now breastfeed myself.

My genetics must be rubbish! Mine changed after my first baby (pregnancy more than bf). I've had my 3rd baby now and two words come to mind... SPANIEL EARS 😂

Do try and feed from both sides though. I only fed slob right and that boob has remained a bit bigger.

I breastfed for 6 months, and was a 30F before the baby. My boobs pretty much went back to normal once I stopped feeding - maybe slightly more sag? My pre-pregnancy bras fitted just fine though.

Mine are pretty perky! Still feeding a 15 month old. It helps you lose weight too. Obviously I have no idea how they'll look when I stop but generally think breastfeeding is good for women's figures.

Also remember your breasts will have grown in pregnancy whether or not you choose to feed from them.

After 2 pregnancies mine are not as they used to be at all, and I didn’t breastfeed. I think a big part of it was due to growth during pregnancy and then them shrinking a bit to normal size afterwards so they felt a bit deflated and not as perky as usual. I’m def a believer of pregnancy and genetics being more of a factor than BF

Still currently BF so not sure about afterwards (baby is 6m), they got to at least 2 sizes bigger in the early days but now supply is settled they're just slightly bigger than previous size and not much changed except more sticky out nipples (this is actually a good thing for me as they were flat before!) some stretch marks but those were from pregnancy growth and day 3 post preg when milk came in and can't really tell due to skin tone unless you get really close. However I have a friend who gained a lot of weight and lost it and then gained it again, and bf also and hers changed drastically. I'm sure I read somewhere that it's more weight gain that affects them as it stretches the tissues more? Who knows. Probs depends on your skin and making sure you feed evenly ish off both sides

My babies have sucked my breasts away. They’re not as full as they used to be, but they’re not massively saggy.. they’ve dropped a bit because they’ve had all the fatness sucked out. If j could do it all again, I’d b feed at the drop of a hat

No real change for me. They get huge in pregnancy whether you go on to breastfeed or not so they always go a bit deflated after as you get used to big boobs! I go bra less all the time and I breastfed for a year

I worried and worried... rocks in socks I was told!
After bf three close together in my late thirties, they honestly inflated and now I have page 3 boobs! Dont think it's common and the rest of me has gone to hell but my breasts are magnificent

I was a 30F, went up to a 34G. Other than the slight size difference, no negative affects.

Hmm mine definitely have a deflated look about them after stopping BF. The friends I've discussed it with say the same. We must all have crap genetics!

@Whichnamepls

Hmm mine definitely have a deflated look about them after stopping BF. The friends I've discussed it with say the same. We must all have crap genetics!

How recently did you stop? I've heard that it can take up to 18 months for them to recover.

I bf my first for a year, after we finished bf my breasts felt more empty but after a few months beģan to feel more full. I was a b/c pre pregnancy and more of a c now

Mine were the same after baby 1... but they are small and didn’t get much bigger at all! I breastfed for over 2 years. Currently pregnant with No2 so we will see if they change this time I suppose!

@ConflictedMe I stopped Christmas 2019 but got pregnant again 6 months later so they only had a 6 months rest..

I didn't know it could take that long for the tissue to recover. That's good to know - thanks!!

I’ve had 3 babies and breastfed for 5 years in total. My boobs are absolutely fine, I’m 38 so they’re not as perky as when I was 18 but they’re still great.

It’s pregnancy that does the damage, not breastfeeding. The benefits of breastfeeding for your own health, especially around cancer risks, should also be mentioned.

@Notashandyta

I worried and worried... rocks in socks I was told! After bf three close together in my late thirties, they honestly inflated and now I have page 3 boobs! Dont think it's common and the rest of me has gone to hell but my breasts are magnificent

Same! My tits are page 3 worthy on a flabby body :£

I can't remember thinking much about them when I finished feeding my first baby when she was 18 months and I was 33. When I finished feeding baby number 2 when she was almost 2 and I was 36 I did feel that they looked deflated and droopy. My partner said they were still the same and absolutely fine so I don't know if it was just my perception of them or if he was being nice! Now 18 months on I feel they look fine again. I mean I'm now 37 so they're not going to be super perky anyway but I think they look quite good

Just read the message above saying it takes 18 months for them to recover so perhaps that's why I now feel they look fine again and my partner was clearly lying to me before to be nice haha

Breastfed 4 years in total and apart from my nipples getting slightly larger, no changes. Oh, and a scar on left nipple from when my DD1 bit me

Agree with the consensus- it’s more about drastic changes in size/weight changes/connective tissue. I don’t think whether you bf or not makes a huge difference.

I BF two babies, one for 6 months and one for 16 months. My boobs were great for a good while afterwards. Now aged 43, they’re like spaniels’ ears and I hate them. (My OH would tell you they aren’t nearly as bad as I make them out to be).

I was a B cup pre kids. Put on 3 stone each pregnancy and boobs went up to E cup while feeding. Am now back to a B cup and slimmer than I was pre-kids and I just don’t think the boob skin could handle so many drastic (and fairly rapid) changes. Plus I exercise a lot including high impact stuff. I wear a sports bra obviously but there’s only so much they can do. They are the only thing I would change about my middle aged body but if I had my time again, I would definitely bf again.