Breast augmentation: before or after having children?

Breast Augmentation: should I wait until I am a mother... or is it irrelevant?

In fact, one of the biggest doubts among women who want and are considering breast augmentation is when they should have it done: before or after having children.

Sometimes, due to the great media exposure of the subject, they end up with the wrong idea. Read this article and clear up all your doubts!

“Should breast augmentation be performed before or after having children?

Before having children...

Breast augmentation can be performed either before or after having children.

But when is the ideal time? Before or after pregnancy?

The ideal time for a woman to have breast augmentation is not directly related to her pregnancy. The choice depends entirely on you and your life plans.

Many women have this type of surgery long before they become mothers, and this is even the most common situation. There are also many others who have breast augmentation between pregnancies.

This is because they don't need to postpone something that will boost their self-esteem, confidence, and well-being and increase their quality of life for a long period of time until they become pregnant.

Many women don't have medium or long-term plans to become mothers soon, so they can't anticipate when this will happen. If you can't foresee when you'll get pregnant, even though you want to be a mum, the important thing is that you feel good today!

If you're thinking of getting pregnant soon - within one to two years - you should postpone the surgery a little longer, because it's not advisable for a woman to get pregnant straight after breast augmentation: with pregnancy and breastfeeding, the breast will change, which could affect the results obtained from the surgery.

After having breast augmentation, women should wait at least six months before becoming pregnant. This waiting period guarantees an advanced healing process. However, the longer the interval between the surgical procedure and pregnancy, the better to guarantee solid and effective results.

After having children ...

During pregnancy, a woman's body undergoes several important transformations.

After giving birth, the breast can become flabby and stretchy, shrink or be different in size. This is all a consequence of milk production, as the skin, despite being an elastic tissue, cannot keep up with the rapidity of the changes inherent in pregnancy and hormonal stimuli.

The fact that women put on weight during pregnancy also increases the volume of fat in the breast, and breasts can increase in size during this period.

After the birth of her child, the woman usually regains her previous weight and the fat in her breasts is lost, which can lead to uncomfortable sagging and a decrease in breast size, known as post-pregnancy breast atrophy.

New surgery

As mentioned above, breast augmentation is indicated for patients who still want to have children, but women should realise that they may need to have another breast augmentation after giving birth.

Why? As has been mentioned, after the gestational period there is a great change in the breasts, and they can become inadequate in size, can sag or even droop.

In this case, the new mammoplasty will rectify the size, using a new prosthesis appropriate to the current state of the breast. Breast lift may also be necessary to remove excess skin.

However, these are only hypothetical scenarios, as there are cases of women who have not needed a second operation after pregnancy.
In addition, many other changes in a woman's body that are not related to pregnancy, such as significant weight gain, can alter the result obtained with breast augmentation and make it necessary to carry out a new procedure.

Breast augmentation after maternity

Post-maternity breast augmentation is an option that is perfectly suited to women who are dissatisfied with their bodies and want to regain the breasts they had, recovering their previous volume and shape, or what they had always idealised. This surgery can also play an essential role in a faster recovery of confidence and self-esteem.

When the patient has breast implants and is no longer pregnant, the results of the procedure will be more long-lasting, as in principle the breast should not undergo major changes.

When can I get preganant after breast augmentation?

Just as it's not advisable to get pregnant straight after having a breast augmentation, you shouldn't have the procedure straight after pregnancy either.

Therefore, if you prefer to wait to have breast augmentation after giving birth, it is advisable to wait at least three months after you have finished breastfeeding.

It is completely inadvisable to have the operation during pregnancy, given the hormonal strain on the woman's body and the fact that the breasts are constantly changing throughout pregnancy.

Do breast implants interfere with breastfeading?

According to various studies, this surgery does not interfere with future mums' ability to breastfeed, as today’s techniques used in breast augmentation and the prosthesis technology itself guarantee very low risks of complications.

Whether the prosthesis is placed behind the mammary gland or the muscle, breast augmentation does not affect lactation, flavour, production or the baby's ability to ingest milk.

During surgery, the mammary gland, which produces breast milk, and the ducts, which transport it, remain intact and are not interfered with in any way.

Despite this, it's always important to let your plastic surgeon know what your goals are and whether you want to become pregnant in the future, so that he or she can clarify, advise you in the best way and choose the most appropriate technique for your case and goals.

If you would like to have a breast augmentation, contact us for a medical diagnosis and all the support you need. Our plastic surgery clinic is equipped with one of the most modern technologies in this area and we have a professional, experienced and friendly team on hand to help you achieve the result you've always wanted.

Important note:

In case this article presents before and after photos please consider them merely demonstrative and may not serve as a reference for your particular case. These images are only to show possible results for one or several surgical procedures. The images we use are of patients who have consented to their use. Any images do not represent a guarantee of results.

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Breast augmentation: before or after having children?

Sobre a Médica Especialista
Dr. Luísa Magalhães Ramos / Plastic Surgery

PORTUGUESE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Nr. 42810

Graduated by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, she specialized in plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery, at Hospital de São José, in Lisbon.

Throughout her training, she subspecialized in aesthetic plastic surgery, having worked in world-renowned clinics.

Currently, she is mainly dedicated to face and breast aesthetic plastic surgery and to intimate female surgery.