Breast Implants: Q&A

Ask a Question

Breast Implants Pregnancy

what can i expect should i go with breast implants and then get pregnant? does the pregnancy cause the breast swelling to become abnormally painful? do stretch marks appear more often?

Tags:

pregnancy

Comment on this

33 Doctor Answers | Asked by anon

Doctor Answers (33)
Community Comments (0)

Breast Implants and Pregnancy

Thank you for your question. Pregnancy after having breast implants is quite common. The breast will enlarge during pregnancy but I have never known of a patient who found this painful or who had problems. The breast gland does atrophy after pregnancy and will probably be smaller than before pregnancy. The implants can help maintain your breast size. Be careful about weight gain during pregnancy. If you gain too much weight too fast then the breast may sag and require lifting after... more

Pregnancy after Breast Implants

Patients with breast implants will notice enlargement of the breasts with the hormonal surge that is associated with pregnancy. This increase in volume will resolve once pregnancy and breast feeding is completed. The enlargement of the breasts may be associated with stretch marks if there is rapid weight gain or enlargement of the breast with pregnancy.

Pregnancy after Breast Augmentation

Since so many of my patients who have breast augmentation are in their 20's and 30's, it is very common for them to become pregnant afterwards. Most patients will return to their pre-pregnancy breast size once they are done breast-feeding. Occasionally, patients will lose some volume once they have finished breast-feeding but for the most part they remain happy with their size.

How do breasts with implants change with pregnancy?

Your breasts will change with pregnancy, that is a given. They will enlarge, but the degree of enlargement is going to be different for every woman. Changes will come with that enlargement. At the very least, the skin will become looser, and frequently the breasts will be smaller after pregnancy. Because the skin will stretch, stretch marks may form, and this is also common. When breast implants are placed before pregnancy, they do sometimes cause stretch marks, but not that... more

Breast Implants Before Pregnancy

About sixty percent of my patients undergo breast augmentation before they have children. However, if a patient is expecting to become pregnant within 6 to 12 months of the augmentation, I suggest that she postpone the augmentation until after the birth of her child. By allowing a year interval, the effects of the surgery will be completely healed and the presentation of the breasts will be easily identified. I routinely place the implants beneath the muscle, which helps prevent adding... more

Breast Implants and Pregnancy

Breast implants do not pose difficulties for pregnancy. The changes in the breast that accompany pregnancy are not altered by the presence of breast implants. Breast implants will not change how your breast will grow and produce milk. Breast implants do not affect the amount of fullness or discomfort you might feel as your breasts enlarge with pregnancy and nursing. Breast implants should not influence your decision to nurse your baby. Stretch marks may... more

Breast implants before pregnancy

Many women have breast augmentation long before they become pregnant. After pregnancy your breasts will change - with or without implants. In either circumstance you may want to do something to improve your after-pregnancy appearance, such as a breast lift or new size. There is no more pain with implants, and no more greater risk of stretch marks. So, get your implants so you can enjoy yourself as long as you can, then worry later about what you want to do after having children. more

Breast Implants before pregnancy will have variable results

This is really a complicated issue in that unless you have already been pregnant you realy don't know how your individual breasts will react when your milk comes in. Most patients increase by a cup size with engorgement which in most cases won't cause any trouble IF a reasonable sized implant was used in the first place-- that is, one that matched the original breast tissue. In fact, the majority of my patients who get pregnant after having implants do well and probably come out looking... more

Breast Shape After Aug and Pregnancy

Thanks for your question - It is a complicated question. It does make some sense that during pregnancy your breast size will likely increase. The implants will probably add to that total final volume - meaning that your pregnancy breasts will be larger with implants than without. Whether that will lead to stretch marks or breast sagging is impossible to say for sure and whether you would have had the same problems of stretch marks or sagging with or without implants is also impossible to... more

Breast implants and pregnancy

If you are planning an imminent pregnancy, I would recommend waiting until after pregnancy to have breast augmentation. Women's breasts get larger with pregnancy and breast feeding. Most breast will return to a near baseline size. Some breasts will lose volume and appear deflated and some will stay larger than before pregnancy. There is no way to predict this since it has to do with the sensitivity of the breast tissue to the hormones. Therefore, since it is difficult to predict how the... more

Breast implants and pregnancy

Normally breast implants do not affect your ability to breast feed. Implants are placed behind the pectoralis chest muscle or behind the breast gland. In this way breast implants do not usually affect pregnancy or breast feeding. Pregnancy may change the way your breast looks but the breast implants themselves do not affect this change. Larger breast may respond to pregnancy more than small breasts.Some women notice a large change in their breasts after nursing while other women very little.... more

Breast implants and pregnancy

Pregnancy can affect the breast in many ways, regardless of whether the patient has had breast implants or not. A high percentage of my patients have breast implants placed prior to pregnancy and remain happy with their results after pregnancy. Nonetheless breast changes after pregnancy can result in breast enlargement, loss of breast volume, or sagging of the breasts. In some cases a mastopexy, or breast lift, is desired if there is significant sagging of the breasts after pregnancy. ... more

Breast changes are unpredictable

I have seen it go numerous ways. More the woman , ther weight gain, genetics, length of breast feeding, number of children than the presence of implants. I have a set of twins who had children. The one with breast implants looked the best after breast feeding and weight loss. The other then got breast implants when I did her Mommy Makeover. Good luck. Dr Grant Stevens

Breast implants are safe in pregnancy

I tell my patient's who plan to have their first child or more children in the future, that pregnancy and breast feeding is safe, but that the global aesthetics of the breast including, size, shape, and symmetry may be affected. In my opinion, pregnacy accelerates the rate of desiring a revision for these aesthetics and not necessarily that they need a revision.

Breast implants - when to do them.

If you are considering breast augmentation and pregnancy in the same sentence then I would advise you to have your children first and then augmentation. I like to refer to augmentation as a pseudo pregnancy because the breast enlarge with pregnancy. The skin of the breast can stretch considerably and this can result in skin stretching and breast distortion. If you were to get pregnant with implants already in place, then your skin would stretch more and the stretching... more

You Can Get Breast Implants Before Pregnancy; You May Need Revisional Surgery Following Your Pregnancy

It’s not uncommon for women to become pregnant following breast augmentation surgery. In the vast majority of these patients, the presence of breast implants does not affect their breast tissue. This is even more so when the breast implants are placed beneath the pectoralis muscle. It’s important to remember that pregnancy impacts the breast with or without breast implants. These changes vary from patient to patient following breast augmentation and pregnancy. Some patients are... more

Every women's breasts change with pregnancy and breast feeding.

However having an implant does not make any difference in the final appearance of the breast. Obviously if you become pregnant right after having the surgery there may be excessive swelling leading to stretch marks but otherwise no concerns.

Breast Implants before or after pregnancy...

It is very common for women to have breast augmentation before pregnancy. Breast size will usually increase during pregnancy, but that is normal, and it does not affect the implants themselves. Occasionally, the breasts will lose volume after pregnancy which would require a lift, but the presence of implants can help keep the breasts in good position, especially if you are smaller to begin with. Stretch marks are very specific to the individual person, so it is hard to determine if you... more

Breast implants and pregnancy

Having breast implants will not affect your pregnancy. however, a pregnancy and breast feeding may change your breasts. Its very difficult to peer into that crystal ball to predict how your breasts will change in terms of volume and shape. You may lose some volume and you may experience some sagging. But it is possible you may not. Everyone is different. You may need a revision procedure once you are done having children. But regardless of whether you... more

Breast Implants and Pregnancy

For women considering breast augmentation surgery prior to pregnancy, there are a number of things to consider. 1. Breast Augmentation surgery does not your ability to breast feed. However, you should understand that not all women regardless of having breast implants or not are able to breast feed 2. Pregnancy usually causes the breast to enlarge with milk and then shrink. This can result in sagging of the breasts, loose skin, and/or stretch marks. Some women opt for breast... more

Breast augmentation is safe before pregnancy.

Breast augmentation is safe before pregnancy. There are a few bits of information that you should know prior to augmentation regarding pregnancy 1) pregnancy causes your breasts to swell or enlarge. This is normal. It is sometimes uncomfortable (with OR without implants). 2) breast augmentation can sometimes affect the sensation of the nipple and therefore interfere with breast feeding. This is uncommon, but possible. I have not seen this problem in... more

No reason to wait

There are many, many women in my practice who have had breast augmentation surgery prior to becoming pregnant. Both my clinical experience and the literature would suggest that there is a very low chance of of difficulty with breast feeding. Breast sagging and deflation of the breast which can sometimes occur after pregnancy are sometimes hidden because of the implant. Especially if you have a relatively small breast and don't want to choose to large an implant, I would... more

Submuscular breast implants are less likely to be affected by pregnancy

Changes in breast size and shape (temporary and sometimes permanent) are inevitable with pregnancy. These changes will occur regardless of whether you have breast implants. Implants placed below the pectoralis major muscle (subpectoral implants) are less likely to be adversely affected by pregnancy than those placed above (subglandular implants). The submuscular implants are "innocent bystanders" to whatever happens to the breasts, as they are really chest wall implants... more

Implants and pregnancy changes

Many women that have implants become pregnant. The resulting breast changes really vary from patient to patient, just like patients that do not have implants.

Steven Wallach, MD

12 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Getting pregnant after breast implants

Most women getting breast implants will get pregnant in the future. How the pregnancy will affect the breasts is always unpredictable, but the implants really don't change this. Certainly the breasts will enlarge with pregnancy and breast feeding, and stretch marks are always a possibility whether or not you have implants. Stretch marks are more a function of the hormonal changes of pregnancy than anything else.

Pregnancy affected by genetics and hormones, not breast implants

Whether or not you have had a breast augmentation pregnancy hormones cause the female body, including the breasts, to change in many ways. Implants are not likely to cause abnormal pain nor interfere with breastfeeding. Also, unless you are prone to stretchmarks, implants will not increase your likelihood of getting them. A propensity toward stretchmarks—and the severity of them—tends to be ruled by genetics, like acne. For example, if you already have stretchmarks they could be... more

Breast implants should not affect pregnancy

The most common patients I see in the Chicago area for breast augmentation have had one or more children and often are completing augmentation to improve the apprearance of the breast which has lost fill and volume. In our experience augmentation has no negative effect on the breast in those who became pregnant after augmentation. There is no increase in breast swelling and tenderness, no increase in stretchmarks, no increase in breast drooping, and no change in the capsule contracture rates... more

Breast implants should have no affect in my opinion

Having been in practice for over 20 years, many of my patients have gone on to become pregnant. They have had successful pregnancies, successfully breast fed and have had a normal range of variation in how their breasts responded to the pregnancy. I personally do not think that the implants contribute to any of the things you suggested. Breast Augmentation is the number one most popular cosmetic operation in the country, and that's because it makes people feel better about themselves and... more

Breast implants not likely to make anything worse

Pregnancy can cause all kinds of unwanted changes in any breast, augmented or not. You roll the dice as far as the ultimate appearance of your breasts after pregnancy. This can happen whether or not the breasts are augmented. If you are planning to become pregnant soon, it would be more reasonable to wait to have breast augmentation... otherwise go ahead, and good luck.

Bruce K. Barach, MD

6 reviews

Schenectady Plastic Surgeon

drbarach.com

All bets are off...

Because the effect of pregnancy on your breasts are highly unpredictable, I tell patients that all bets are off as to the results of augmentation after pregnancy. Some breasts can swell enormously with tenderness and pain of the glands. Some will change little. Some will get big and stay big, and others will get big and shrink and sag to nothing. There is also an associated increased risk of capsular contracture with pregnancy. I would recommend waiting if you are definitely planning to get... more

Robin T.W. Yuan, MD

4 reviews

Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

No problems.

Hi! Your breasts will definitely change with pregnancy, and in unpredictable ways. They may stay larger or they may atrophy, and they may sag. But breast implants do not make any of these changes worse. And implants do not make stretch marks worse.

Few effects of pregnancy on implants

I had several of my breast implant patients getting pregnant over the last few years. During pregnancy, the breast obviously gets bigger and slightly tender due to pregnancy and not the implants. Following nursing, the breast returns to its regular size. It is impossible to predict whether you will develop stretchmarks or not. Multiple pregnancies will lead to more skin sagginess and the possibility of needing a breast lift.

Effect of pregnancy or nursing on breast implants

There are several factors that determine the resulting appearance of your breasts when you get pregnant. These include: Size of implant Surface texture of implant Size of your natural breast The pregnant size of your breast Decision to nurse Ability to nurse Length of duration of lactation/nursing Favored breast during nursing Location of implant (over versus under) Number of pregnancies Due to the variability in all these variables, it is nearly impossible for anyone to predict your... more