Although the Internet is rife with misinformation regarding breastfeeding and breast implants, the simple truth is that most women with breast implants who choose to breastfeed are able to do so without complication.
Regardless of breast augmentation surgery, not all women are able to breastfeed. Also regardless of breast augmentation surgery, women who are able to breastfeed are recommended to do so by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
One of the primary concerns associated with breastfeeding by women with breast implants stemmed from fears that silicone from silicone breast implants could leak into breast milk and adversely affect the health of nursing infants. However, the FDA has found no evidence linking silicone breast implants to health problems in children who breastfeed.
Another concern relates to the possibility of damage to the milk glands or milk ducts during breast augmentation surgery, particularly with the use of a periareolar incision, which is made around the edge of the nipple on the bottom of the areola in the region of the milk production glands and the milk ducts’ path to the nipple. Damage to the milk ducts and glands during breast augmentation is rare.
One of the most widely reported complaints by women with breast implants who breastfeed has nothing to do with potential hazards to the mother and infant or the ability to produce milk. Rather, it relates to discomfort caused by the natural enlarging of breasts during pregnancy and nursing. This irritation is reported more frequently in women with larger breast implants and is due to the natural engorgement adding size and weight to that already present with the breast implants; it has no adverse affect on the ability to nurse safely.
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