What can I expect if I become pregnant after I get breast implants? Will the swelling to be abnormally painful?

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 often.  The occurrence of stretch marks after breast augmentation is unpredictable, but much less common than after pregnancy, so one could say that having implants is not going to result in more stretch marks after pregnancy than if the implants had not been present.

What you may note after pregnancy is that the implants do not sit as high and fill out the breast/skin envelope as before. Some women will then choose to have a second augmentation or lift/augmentation combination, because as they say, the breasts are less “perky”.  Using a larger implant will fill up the skin envelope, or if the skin is too loose, a skin-reducing lift can restore the original higher position of the implant. If tightness without change in volume is desire, only a lift can be done.

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.

Thank you for your excellent questions. I always have an open and honest conversation about exactly this topic at the start of our consultation. In an ideal world we delay breast enlargement until after you have had children. Reason being that going through pregnancy and breastfeeding can significantly alter the result of your breast enhancement. It is almost impossible to predict who will get through pregnancy and breastfeeding without any significant changes to the breast. Stretchmarks might appear, they might become saggy, they might change size etc.
In this day and age though women often don’t know when and if they’ll ever have children. So having discussed all of the above at the start of the consultation, many women still make the well-informed decision to have breast enlargement surgery.
All the best!

Hello. That is an interesting question. First of all, it is recommended to postpone breast augmentation if you are planning on having children within a year or so after the procedure. Breasts certainly change during pregnancy. These changes can be unpredictable, but the implants themselves will not affect these changes. Deflated breasts, stretch marks, loose skin and ptosis are not a given but are all common after pregnancy. Having implants does nothing to decrease or increase the likelihood of this happening. These changes are more due the the increase in size and weight of the breasts during pregnancy then anything else.Best of luck,Dr. Miguel Mota

Thank you for your question. While it's not recommended to get pregnant within a few weeks after breast augmentation surgery, surprises do occur. But, becoming pregnant soon after a breast augmentation should not have a negative impact on you or your surgery.

The response to the combination of the implant and the growing breast gland will depend on how big each of them are to start. If your implants are large, and the skin envelope already tight, yes, stretch marks may result, if your breasts enlarge rapidly.
If they grow at the normal rate, this generally doesn’t happen. I’d say that pain occurs at the same rate as the non augmented breast, in my patient population.
Two points deserve mention: if you develop a mastitis while breast feeding, speak with your doctor. Second, most often, I find that my augmentation patients are pleased w their implants even more after pregnancy. The breast ends up looking and feeling even more natural than immediately after surgery.

The #results of the breast #augmentation may be compromised if it is done before pregnancy. Many women undergo breast procedures to #restore their breasts to the way they looked prior to pregnancy.  Therefore, if you experience weight gain, pregnancies, or any other drastic body altering changes, it is very possible the results may be compromised. 
There is no way of knowing what a #pregnancy will do to the results of an augmentation. Therefore, it is best to wait until after your pregnancy and nursing to undergo an augmentation.

Hi!Pregnancy and breast silicone implants are a major question that is asked at my consultations. Pregnancy will not effect your breast implants, but the appearance of your "new breast" may change. Sometimes pregnancy effects the results of breast augmentation and sometimes it doesn't. From my own experience I know that majority of women with breast implants are still happy with their results after pregnancy. But there is no one rule, and no one and the same reaction on pregnancy, in some women breast can change after breast feeding. A lot of factors - like woman's age at the time of pregnancy, the characteristics of her breast tissue, the extent of changes her breasts undergo during pregnancy and changes in her weight - are ipmportant. All these factors vary and can affect the result of her breast implants. I'd like you to keep in mind also that some women are naturally unable to breastfeed, and most women with breast implants are able to successfully breastfeed. Best Wishes

During pregnancy with a breast augmentation your breasts will become enlarged just as they would if you did not have an augmentation. Because the skin on the breasts will stretch during the pregnancy, you may see stretch marks and you may find that your breasts are saggy. I have not had any patients tell me that there was any pain associated with breast implants and their pregnancies.

With regards to the breasts, it is a given that your breasts will change as a result of pregnancy.  The breasts will enlarge due to a hormone surge and then after pregnancy, and possibly the cessation of breast feeding, the breast glands will atrophy and the breasts will therefore shrink in size.  The degree of enlargement and subsequent atrophy that one can expect to experience is highly variable and unfortunately, it is also unpredictable.  It is very common for patients to undergo a breast augmentation before they are even thinking about having children.  I have not seen any scientific evidence suggesting that the presence of implants is associated with any more discomfort, additional swelling, and the potential for stretch marks that comes along with pregnancy.  Depending upon the amount of growth and atrophy you experience, your breasts will either return to their pre-pregnancy augmented appearance or they may appear less "perky" or full.  Some patients will not require any future procedures post-pregnancy and others may require either larger breast implants with or without a breast lift to fill out any extra skin that may have developed from this rapid growth and then loss of volume.  I hope this helps!

It’s perfectly fine to get pregnant after having implants,
but if you are planning on a pregnancy in the near future I would encourage you
to wait. Having implants should not make the breast swelling more painful. As
far as stretch marks, it really depends on your genetics.