P. Taylor, Globe and Mail.
Support for breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is certainly good for infants. But is it bad for a mother's figure?
Apparently not, according to a new study that dispels the old myth that breastfeeding contributes to sagging breasts.
In the study, led by Brian Rinker of the University of Kentucky, the researchers assessed 132 women who had come to the university's medical centre for a breast lift or implants. The average age was 39, and 93 per cent of the women had had at least one pregnancy.
The study showed no difference in the degree of breast ptosis (the medical term for sagging breast) for women who breastfed, compared with those who didn't.
But the researchers found several other factors that did contribute to sagging, including age, the number of pregnancies and smoking.
"Smoking breaks down a protein in the skin called elastin which gives youthful skin its elastic appearance and supports the breasts ... so it would make sense that it would have an adverse effect on the breasts," Dr. Rinker said in a statement released with the study at a conference of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in Baltimore.
Support for breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is certainly good for infants. But is it bad for a mother's figure?
Apparently not, according to a new study that dispels the old myth that breastfeeding contributes to sagging breasts.
In the study, led by Brian Rinker of the University of Kentucky, the researchers assessed 132 women who had come to the university's medical centre for a breast lift or implants. The average age was 39, and 93 per cent of the women had had at least one pregnancy.
The study showed no difference in the degree of breast ptosis (the medical term for sagging breast) for women who breastfed, compared with those who didn't.
But the researchers found several other factors that did contribute to sagging, including age, the number of pregnancies and smoking.
"Smoking breaks down a protein in the skin called elastin which gives youthful skin its elastic appearance and supports the breasts ... so it would make sense that it would have an adverse effect on the breasts," Dr. Rinker said in a statement released with the study at a conference of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in Baltimore.