Dr. 90210

[joeysmom1729]

Last night while wrapping gifts, I turned on this horrible show and I was very angry at Dr. Rey's comment. There was a mom on that was getting implants because she said nursing ruined her breasts and Dr. Rey agreed while looking at her stretch marks on her breasts that nursing does ruin a woman's breasts!! I'm sure that comment will deter woman from breastfeeding.

[mamabadger]

:

Here's a response to the claim that BF ruins your breasts. Dr. 90210 needs to catch up.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news/index...4691620&EDATE=

While the benefits of breastfeeding
are unquestionable, many new mothers choose not to for fear of sagging
breasts. However, breastfeeding alone has no impact on a woman's breast
shape, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented today at the
American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Plastic Surgery 2007 conference
in Baltimore.

[mom2jasper]

I saw that last night, but I remember it differently. The woman said something like--she wanted to undo the damage nursing her babies did to her breasts--and the Dr. said, yeah, pregnancy does damage the body, it doesn't seem fair. Not that I really liked that guy, but I do remember thinking--good, at least he said it was pregnancy that can affect your breasts, not nursing. Now if we could just get society to realize that these changes are not bad or ugly, just normal changes a woman's body may go through during pregnancy.

[Individuation]

You know, I'm one of those women whose breasts really did suffer appearance-wise from extended nursing (almost 4 years in the case of my daughter). I don't have the slightest qualm about acknowledging that change, conversely I think it's obnoxious when people claim that nursing doesn't change you at ALL, "it's just pregnancy." Maybe if you nursed for 3 months, sure, but four years of nursing makes visible changes to the female body AND IS STILL TOTALLY WORTH IT, but I hate the whole "if we say that, then people won't nurse, so let's pretend that any woman who says nursing really affected her breasts is crazy" thing.

[MommytoTwo]

Yeah I would agree with that.

[My4Boys]

Originally Posted by Individuation

You know, I'm one of those women whose breasts really did suffer appearance-wise from extended nursing (almost 4 years in the case of my daughter). I don't have the slightest qualm about acknowledging that change, conversely I think it's obnoxious when people claim that nursing doesn't change you at ALL, "it's just pregnancy." Maybe if you nursed for 3 months, sure, but four years of nursing makes visible changes to the female body AND IS STILL TOTALLY WORTH IT, but I hate the whole "if we say that, then people won't nurse, so let's pretend that any woman who says nursing really affected her breasts is crazy" thing.

I am not trying to be snarky, I am asking in all seriousness...how do you know it is the breastfeeding and not the pregnancy? Unless you lactated in absense of a pregnancy, or had previously had a pregnancy which you did not lactate after...

[joeysmom1729]

I'm sorry I just thought that maybe some women who don't know much about breastfeeding would be turned off by what he said. : I didn't mean to offend anyone whose breasts were affected by nursing.

[mamabadger]

Originally Posted by My4Boys

I am not trying to be snarky, I am asking in all seriousness...how do you know it is the breastfeeding and not the pregnancy? Unless you lactated in absense of a pregnancy, or had previously had a pregnancy which you did not lactate after...

For that matter, how do we know that it is not just the passage of time? By the time I had finished nursing three children for several years each, I was coincidentally also approaching middle age, which is notoriously bad for the figure.

[Breastfeeding Insomniac]

I wonder how many letters he is going to get now with copies of the recent study dispelling the myth that bf causes saggy boobs?

[Ammaarah]

Originally Posted by mom2jasper

I saw that last night, but I remember it differently. The woman said something like--she wanted to undo the damage nursing her babies did to her breasts--and the Dr. said, yeah, pregnancy does damage the body, it doesn't seem fair. Not that I really liked that guy, but I do remember thinking--good, at least he said it was pregnancy that can affect your breasts, not nursing. Now if we could just get society to realize that these changes are not bad or ugly, just normal changes a woman's body may go through during pregnancy.

I saw that episode before and that's how I remember it too. I am not crazy about Dr. Rey but I had to give him props for that.

Although I think just about everything leads to saggy breasts.

[2boyzmama]

I also believe that breastfeeding has in fact changed my breasts. Sure, pregnancy started it, but breastfeeding has taken a toll.

I apparently am a human cow, my breasts balloon up 2-3 cup sizes when I'm engorged...they never-ever-got that big during pregnancy. I have gotten MORE stretch marks on my breasts since my pregnancy ended (yet interestingly, almost none of my abdomen...) Plus, my poor nipples...maybe this is because I'm a working mom and I pump so much...but my nipples are HUGE...long...discolored... That certainly didn't happen from the pregnancy. It's from 3 years of continuous nursing/pumping.

As far as being "saggy"...I don't know! I guess I'll find out when I wean...but whether that can be attributed to pregnancy or not, I'll never know since I chose to breastfeed.

So I've always found the argument "it's pregnancy, not breastfeeding, that effects your breasts" to be shallow. First of all, it isn't always true, and secondly, if that's the woman's reason for not breastfeeding, she has other issues and is looking for an excuse.

[KirstenMary]

I have been nursing since July 2003, and I fully believe that nursing has resulted in my tube socks with baseballs breasts.

But I don't care. My saggy boowahs are worth it.

[grumpybear]

Pregnancy did not give me stretchmarks, nursing did. And my breasts aren't like the way they were before but that was never a consideration for me. Well, maybe for a millisecond or so. But the health of your child vs how your boobs look- it was a no-brainer for me.
I'd rather go to a Dr. 90210 for some "boob reconstruction" than take my child to a doctor because of constant illness because he wasn't breastfed.

[CalebsMama05]

hmmm...my boobs were always saggy so I can't say anything as far as that...they did shrink while I was nursing ds2 before I got pg...

I don't think that pregnancy is the ONLY thing that affects your breasts but pretending that your breasts are ONLY affected by nursing is ridiculous. whether you nurse or not your breasts still MAKE milk to begin with which means that you will get engorged and still have that tissue damage.

[Firemom]

I've nursed 2 babies, one for a year another for close to 6 years.

I agree with the research, pregnancy is what causes breast changes wheather you nurse or not.

Mine changed with each pregnancy. Women who I know who have had 4-5 kids and didn't nurse at all, have more changes to their breasts than I had.

Exercise helps too. Keeping your pectoral muscles in your chest strong conteracts a bit of the sagginess.

[llamalluv]

Originally Posted by grumpybear

Pregnancy did not give me stretch marks, nursing did. And my breasts aren't like the way they were before but that was never a consideration for me. Well, maybe for a millisecond or so. But the health of your child vs how your boobs look- it was a no-brainer for me.
I'd rather go to a Dr. 90210 for some "boob reconstruction" than take my child to a doctor because of constant illness because he wasn't breastfed.

Well, puberty and obesity gave me my stretch marks (puberty gave ALL the women on my father's side of the family stretch marks, even the stick-thin cousins), so vanity is not even in the "should I breastfeed" equation for me!

I think the factors to keep in mind are not only pregnancy/breastfeeding, but also all the things that affect your skin tone: age, genetics, smoking, and how quickly your breasts developed, etc.

[Ruthla]

Pregnancy and breastfeeding CHANGED my breasts. I wouldn't say they've been "ruined."

I prefer to think of my breasts at age 20 as "immature" and my breasts now as "mature" or "normal."

[mama_at_home]

I have been nursing since July 2003, and I fully believe that nursing has resulted in my tube socks with baseballs breasts

OMG those are totally my boobs! My nipples lay against my stomach. I totally believe that breastfeeding for 4.5 years straight is what did my boobs in. I have watched them change over the years and they got much worse the longer I have nursed. But I don't care! If my boobs end up at my belly button, it is worth it to give my wonderful children the best.

Oh, and breasts change over time no matter what-even if you never get pregnant. Did anyone see that Tyra Banks show where she took off her bra (with her shirt on) and her boobs totally dropped? They were all saggy, and well, normal!

[grumpybear]

Originally Posted by llamalluv

Well, puberty and obesity gave me my stretch marks (puberty gave ALL the women on my father's side of the family stretch marks, even the stick-thin cousins), so vanity is not even in the "should I breastfeed" equation for me!

Oh I'm pretty sure the stretchmarks were courtesy of the engorgement. I have stretchmarks from puberty, none from pregnancy and some from nursing. Besides, the stretchies are on my breasts.

[Ruthe]

My breasts got stretch marks from puberty, but after 6 kids I have NONE on my abdomen from pregnancy. (???) I usually get a few new ones on the boobs while pregnant. They seemed saggy after weaning the first 4 kids but bounced back to an acceptable shape each time. It took a long time though. They looked like flat tires after each baby weaned, for a year or so.
I'm nursing a new baby and a 3 year old now; we'll see what happens in my forties, when I wean again.