If your girls are looking a little sad, don’t blame breastfeeding. A new study indicates that nursing is not the culprit for less than perky breasts:

Researchers at a University of Kentucky plastic surgery clinic examined 93 patients who had experienced at least one pregnancy and had an average age of 39.

Fifty-four women had breastfed at least one child, for an average of nine months. There was no significant difference in breast sagging between these women and the 39 moms who did not breastfeed.

But other factors did increase the likelihood of sagging. They include age, obesity, more pregnancies, larger pre-pregnancy cup size and smoking. Dr. Brian Rinker and colleagues reported the study at a meeting last week of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

“These findings support the assertion of pediatricians and lactation specialists that breastfeeding does not adversely affect breast shape,” researchers wrote.

Why would pregnancy be a culprit? Pregnancy causes the breasts to become bigger, and post-partum, breasts don’t tend to return to their original shapes.

One possible weakness of the study is it might not represent a good cross-section of the post-partum population, as the women involved were all seeking breast implants, lifts, or both.

If you’re interested, here’s how the experts rate breast sagginess:

Breast sagging (technically called ptosis) was measured on a 0-to-3 scale, with 0 representing no sagging (nipple is higher than the skin fold beneath the breast) and 3 representing extreme sagging (nipple points straight down).

I’d quibble with how they determine “no sagging”. I’m definitely still above the skin fold, but not nearly as spry as I once was. I think they need a bigger scale.

Posted by MommaSteph.