Are Saggy Breasts Inevitable?
Every woman who is breastfeeding or recently weened their baby is interested in whether her breasts will ever look the same as they used to. Your breasts used to be toned and firm and now, especially if you used to breastfeed and have stopped, the skin is stretched and the breasts hang lower.
Breasts are very special part of woman’s body. We all like to take good care of them want them to be healthy and look beautiful.
The bad news is that for many of us, our breasts will never really be the same after breastfeeding. It’s important to keep in mind that all women’s breasts change and become less toned with age whether they breastfeed or not. The good news is that there are several things we can do to minimize sagginess, and those things are:
- exercise
- creams
- avoid certain positions while breastfeeding
- support the breasts with a bra
Why Do Breasts Sag After Breastfeeding?
During pregnancy, due to specific hormones, breasts go through a process which prepares them for breastfeeding. The number of milk ducts grows and they become bigger. This is why women’s breasts get bigger during pregnancy.
During breastfeeding, the breasts become even more dense. They get bigger and bigger because of milk production and the skin is stretched over time. Engorgement and inflammation can even leave breasts misshapen. It’s not unusual for a woman’s breasts to become asymmetrical: One may shrink over time, while the other stays the same.
What to do if You Are Still Breastfeeding
- Avoid Leaning Over When you are nursing your baby, especially when the baby is very tiny, use a pillow to raise your baby up high enough to meet your breast. Avoid leaning over and angling your breast down into your baby’s mouth. This will help prevent your skin from stretching even more.
- Wear a Good Bra The skin in your breasts needs support. Get a good nursing or sports bra to hold your breasts up. This will prevent further sagging.
- Eat Less Animal Fat What you eat is for breasts skin tone. Reduce your animal fat intake and eat more wholegrain cereals, legumes, and green vegetables. Use this time while you are nursing to eat more salads, olive oil, and fresh fruits. Eat foods rich in vitamin B (eggs, fish, and poultry) and E (nuts, seeds, and leafy greens). These vitamins help maintain skin’s elasticity and tone.
- Hot and Cold Showers While you are in the shower, switch between hot and cold water. This will improve your circulation and skin tone. Finish your shower with cold water. That way your breast skin will stay firm.
- Wean Gradually When you are ready to plan weaning, leave time to do it gradually. The more gradually you wean, the more you will help the fat tissue to redeposit inside breasts. That will help them regain their pre-pregnancy appearance more quickly.
- Avoid Rapid Weight Loss Breastfeeding can help women lose their pregnancy weight. But be careful. If you find that the pounds are just falling off, your skin won’t be able to keep up. Try to lose that weight gradually so that your skin has time to change too.
What to do When You Have Stopped Breastfeeding
You cannot build up your breasts like some other part of your body. Breasts are not composed of muscles and ligaments. Instead, they only have fatty tissue and that’s why they are prone to sagging.
You can, however, strengthen the muscles that hold the breasts up and work on your posture. Have you noticed that while you are breastfeeding you tend to slouch over? When we hold ourselves up with good back posture, our breasts follow along and don’t sag as much. By exercising your pectoral and back muscles, you will build the strength required to hold your breasts up, making them appear more toned.
1. Dumbbell Pull-Over
This exercise strengthens your arms, chest, and back. This will be great for your posture and supporting your breasts.
- Lie back on a bench with both feet on the floor.
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand over head.
- Raise your arms up so they are pointing at the ceiling
- Repeat.
Push Up
Push ups are great for arm, back, and core muscle strengthening, which helps with posture.
- Facing the floor, place hands in front of your parallel. You can either keep your legs straight or bend at the knees.
- Lower yourself down as far as you can and then push back up.
- Repeat.
Chest Press
The chest press is another exercise that tones the arm, chest, and back muscles.
- While seated at an angle with both feet on the floor, hold a weight in each hand.
- Extend your arms out.
- Slowly pull your arms in towards your chest.
- Repeat.
Creams After Breastfeeding
While you were breastfeeding, you probably didn’t use any cream on your breast skin. If you have stopped breastfeeding, this is the right time for beauty treatments. Invest in a quality skin cream. Your skin will be soft, healthy, and your breast skin may tone up a bit.
Credits:kindredbond
