Why breasts change
During pregnancy and while you breastfeed, the breasts fill and stretch. The fibrous bands that support them break down and the skin stretches. When they shrink back afterwards, the tissue settles lower inside skin that's now too big. That's the classic case for a lift.
How long to wait
Surgeons generally suggest waiting about six months to a year after you stop breastfeeding, so your breasts settle to their new size and shape before anything is planned. Your weight matters as well: if you're still losing the pregnancy weight, wait until it has been steady for some months. A lift planned on breasts that are still changing may not give the result you want.
More children?
If you plan more children, it usually makes sense to wait. A pregnancy stretches the breasts again and can undo much of the lift, although a lift does not put a future pregnancy at risk. If you're unsure, it's reasonable to wait. If you do have a lift and later get pregnant, the breasts will change again, and you may want a second, usually smaller, operation later.
Lift, implants or both
After breastfeeding many women find the breasts have both dropped and lost volume at the top. A lift fixes the drop; adding fullness means implants as well. Read lift or augmentation for the mirror test.
Feeding a future baby
Breastfeeding is usually still possible after a breast lift, but some women make less milk afterwards, and a few find they can't breastfeed at all.
With small children at home
Plan for someone else to lift and carry your children for the first three to four weeks at least, and longer if implants are added or you have a tummy tuck at the same time. Line up help for school runs too: you won't drive for two to three weeks.
A breast lift together with a tummy tuck is often called a mummy makeover. It's a much bigger operation with a longer recovery; our sister guide, mummymakeover.ie, covers it.
Questions people ask
How soon after breastfeeding can I have a breast lift?
Surgeons generally suggest waiting about six months to a year after you stop breastfeeding, so your breasts settle to their new size and shape before anything is planned.
Should I wait until I've finished having children?
If you plan more children, it usually makes sense to wait. A pregnancy stretches the breasts again and can undo much of the lift, although a lift does not put a future pregnancy at risk.
Will my breasts go back to how they were before pregnancy?
Some recover a little in the first months after breastfeeding stops, but stretched skin and support bands don't tighten back by themselves.
Can I breastfeed after a breast lift?
Breastfeeding is usually still possible after a breast lift, but some women make less milk afterwards, and a few find they can't breastfeed at all.