Frequently Asked Questions About Breastfeeding With Implants

There are many questions from women about breastfeeding with implants that I am going to go over in this post. It’s one of those topics that isn’t commonly talked about.

I had concerns about getting breast enhancements before having kids. One of my biggest concerns was making sure I was able to breastfeed.

I ended up getting breast implants in 2015 years before I had my first baby. Now 3 babies later breastfeeding was never an issue.

No Breast Implants to Implants

In 2015, I prepped for my very first NPC bikini competition where I cut a lot of weight. This meant any sort of fat I did have around my chest was nonexistent.

Having a small chest my entire life and then losing the last bit of fat I had on my chest affected my self image.

So I scheduled my breast augmentation a week after my first bikini competition.

It took 2-3 weeks to not feel soreness after surgery. But it took even longer for the swelling in my chest to go down. My breast implants sat high for a while until it ‘dropped’ and began to look more natural.

I do feel like breastfeeding and having them for a while has made them look even more natural than it did the first couple of years of having breast implants.

If you are wondering what size I went, I got 400cc round, high-profile silicone implants placed under the muscle. I am 5 feet and was 110 pounds around the time I had the surgery.

Can you breastfeed with under the muscle implants?

Yes. I had no issues breastfeeding my first baby successfully for 2 years.

According to CDC, breast implants below the muscle usually affect milk production less than implants above the muscle.

The reason being is because they are less likely to put pressure on the milk ducts and glands. This can ultimately slow down milk production.

Will breastfeeding ruin my implants?

Breastfeeding doesn’t directly affect your implants. However, breastfeeding can change the shape and size of your breasts which may seem like the implants look different.

My breasts sit a bit lower than they have previous to breastfeeding. This is normal in breastfeeding moms who don’t have breast implants. So I figured this is just a natural thing that happens after you breastfeed.

Is it safe to breastfeed my baby with breast implants?

Yes. According to Stanford Medicine, the implants themselves pose no risk to the safety or quality of the milk.

Pregnancy with Breast Implants

My friends and family that knew I had breast enhancements would ask me if I was planning to breastfeed and if I was even able to.

Their questions sometimes made me doubt my ability to breastfeed although my surgeon had previously told me I was able to.

Even during pregnancy, my implants were not affected. My breasts did grow in size along with my growing baby bump. But the breast implants were unaffected.

Related Posts

What Is A Let-Down Reflex During Breastfeeding And Other Breastfeeding Terms To Know

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10 Honest And Sometimes Unbearable Breastfeeding Struggles

What are the risks of breastfeeding with implants?

CDC mentions although research is limited, there are no recent reports of clinical problems in infants of mothers with silicone breast implants.

Breastfeeding With Implants

Emory surprisingly latched on perfectly since day 1. And I actually joked that she latched on so great because my boobs were big enough for her to find. My milk production and feeding my daughter were not at all affected by my breast implants.

There were several times I had clogged ducts and one time I had mastitis. And this is COMPLETELY normal for mamas who breastfeed, pump, or are naturally an over-supplier. But warm compresses will be your best friend during these unfortunate times. Just get a damp towel, microwave for a minute or two, and place it on your clogged duct.

Since they were placed under my pectoral muscles, I wasn’t worried about anything freakish happening. Like if my daughter was to “bite” me and somehow rupture the implants and leaking through my breastmilk. I swear becoming a mom will make you think of the worst-case scenario.

Takeaway With Breast Implants

One thing you do have to keep in mind is that no two experiences of breastfeeding with implants will be the same. Although I did not encounter any problems with breastfeeding with implants does not necessarily mean that other moms who underwent breast augmentation had the same experience.

I actually do have friends with breast implants who struggled to breastfeed. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it was the breast implants. It could have easily been a latching issue, low milk production, or other problems. My mom (who did not have breast implants) wasn’t able to breastfeed for longer than a week after I was born. And that was because she didn’t produce a lot of milk. She also did not have the lactation support a lot of women have today.

The only thing I can say that my breast implants have affected was my overall chest size. They grew during pregnancy and grew even bigger during breastfeeding. Also, when one boob is engorged with milk, it’s noticeably bigger (so don’t freak out).

If I could change the time in my life I got breast implants, I might’ve waited until I was done having kids. Because a lot of women had to get them redone as breastfeeding left their boobs uneven or saggy. This isn’t the result for everyone. However, it is recommended to switch your breast implants every 10 years (which works out anyway).

I hope this read was insightful! I had a hard time finding any blog posts about personal experiences with breastfeeding with implants. And I wanted to change things up and open up about my experience.