What to do if your breasts sag after feeding your baby?

After lactation ends, many women face the problem of breasts sagging, losing their firmness and shape. To avoid such troubles, it is important to properly organize breastfeeding and care for the mammary glands during the feeding period. But if measures were not taken on time, and as a result, the breasts sag after feeding, you can apply a number of procedures that will help restore the former firmness, elasticity and shape. Let's look at why breasts sag after feeding. And we will learn how to tighten sagging breasts.

Why does sagging happen?

Mastoptosis, i.e. Breast sagging is characterized by the formation of a flat part in the upper part of the mammary glands, the appearance of a fold and a change in the shape of the nipple, as well as its location. He has several degrees.

The main reasons for this condition include:

1. Aging of the body. By the age of 40-50, reverse development of the mammary glands occurs. The muscles are unable to hold them, and the thoracic region becomes flabby.
2. The period of bearing a child and feeding. This process can be prevented by doing some exercises regularly. As a result of the arrival of milk to the mammary glands, the tissues are stretched, and at the end of the lactation period they do not always acquire their previous condition. The muscles are also stretched.
3. A woman has a large bust.
4. Weakness of muscle tissue caused by incorrect body position. Especially if a woman spends most of her time in the office at the computer, etc.

Prevention of breast sagging

It is very important to take care of the mammary glands before the first signs of sagging appear. Preventive measures include the use of special cosmetics, physical activity, proper feeding and the use of supportive underwear. If you follow the recommendations, this will help you avoid stretch marks that appear when you gain weight, saturate the tissues with oxygen and prevent loss of elasticity. For cosmetics, preference should be given to natural products, such as rose hips or olive oil.

The set of rules for pregnant women includes the following points:

• Bras should be seamless, as comfortable as possible, have wide straps and contain only natural fibers.
• At night, it is recommended to sleep in a supportive top.
• Every day you need to do special exercises.
• The diet should include sea fish, fruits, vegetable salads and vitamins.

During the period of feeding the baby, stagnation of milk is not allowed, as this contributes to tissue stretching and the risk of mastitis. If there is excess, expressing with a breast pump helps. The best results come from caring for yourself and an integrated approach that allows you to save the beauty and firmness of your breasts.

Why do breasts sag after feeding?

Many women mistakenly believe that breastfeeding is the main cause of sagging breasts. In fact, even during pregnancy, the mammary glands are preparing for lactation. Muscle tissue decreases, and the percentage of fat increases, milk lobules and ducts increase. But these are all just guessing factors. In most cases, the woman herself is to blame for the appearance of sagging.

Causes of sagging breasts after lactation:

1. Errors in breastfeeding. Some young mothers are not aware of the rules of feeding their baby. Most often they do this while sitting, leaning on a pillow. In this position, the baby pulls the nipple towards him, while stretching the breast tissue. If your glands are small, it is better to feed while lying down.
2. Rare feeding. Many women feed their children according to the old rules, that is, they take breaks of 3 hours. The breasts may become overfilled with milk, making them hard. The woman begins to express milk, which comes even more. To prevent this from happening, feed every 1.5-2 hours, and best of all, at the child’s request. The body itself will determine how much the baby sucks, and then milk will be produced in accordance with these indicators, without deforming the muscles.
3. Uneven application. It is necessary to change breasts when feeding, otherwise more milk will accumulate in one gland. And this threatens the subsequent formation of different sizes of mammary glands.
4. Manual expression. Such activities additionally stretch the breasts and contribute to their sagging. If there is a need to manually express, do not squeeze out the milk to the last drop. Otherwise, even more fluid will flow into the empty breast. It is advisable to use a breast pump.

All these reasons lead to deformation of the mammary glands, so breast lift after childbirth and breastfeeding is very important.

Proper nutrition

If you are breastfeeding, your doctor has given you recommendations on the right diet to ensure a balanced milk composition. At the same time, perhaps these tips were “overgrown” with family wisdom about the required fat content of milk, to which were added hormonal requirements for sweet, salty and fried foods (especially if during pregnancy you did not deny yourself this and now it is so difficult to immediately change established habits).

To normalize your weight, try to reduce the amount of salty foods in your diet, replace sweet and empty carbohydrates with vegetables, flour products with wholemeal products and everything that will benefit your body, and not empty glucose into the blood. Do not forget that this will also negatively affect the baby - the formation of the muscular system, bones and teeth. Also forget the wisdom about the need to eat fatty meat or fish to improve and increase the fat content of milk - milk is 87% water, the rest is nutrients that you get from wholesome and healthy food. Salty food in this case will cause swelling and can lead to disruptions in water metabolism throughout the body and milk production in particular.

Try to eat a minimum amount of fried foods; give preference to boiled, steamed or oven-baked foods. This will not only reduce the amount of carcinogens in the body, but also improve metabolism and you will quickly return to the prenatal contours of the body. If we talk about water balance, then in the absence of contraindications and breastfeeding, try to drink 1.5-2 liters of clean water or fruit drinks with a minimum amount of sugar.

What diet can be recommended for breast correction and restoration? Everyone agrees that the most correct thing is to increase the consumption of protein foods (white lean chicken meat, lean beef, cottage cheese, nuts, etc.), however, if in the process of such a diet, you perform exercises not only to strengthen the chest, but and abs, thighs and buttocks, be prepared for the fact that in addition to strengthening the muscular corset of the chest, you will increase the muscles of the buttocks and thighs, which is possible, given the general background of weight gain during pregnancy, is not entirely desirable.

Therefore, we recommend that you eat according to the following scheme: if you do physical exercise, the next meal after exercise should be carbohydrate (oatmeal with dried fruits or berries, buckwheat or other porridge rich in healthy carbohydrates; vegetable salad or vegetable broth; raw vegetables), even if workout in the evening, breakfast should be carbohydrate, and only the next meal should be protein (boiled meat, a handful of nuts, meat broth, etc.). This will allow other muscle groups in the body to “dry” and get the protein the chest muscles need.

During pregnancy

Lifting after childbirth (lifting) is a labor-intensive process, so it is necessary to start taking care of the mammary glands already during pregnancy. To the question of how to return to your previous shape in a short time, there is only one answer: only plastic surgery is guaranteed to help. But not everyone wants and is ready for such intervention, and some do not have the opportunity. There are other equally effective ways to tighten sagging breasts:

• physical exercises to restore breasts;
• massage;
• cosmetical tools;
• ethnoscience.

Already during pregnancy, the breasts begin to stretch. To prevent this from happening, wear a supportive bra that perfectly lifts your breasts. You shouldn't take it off even at home.

So that you don’t later have to worry about the question of how to tighten sagging breasts after breastfeeding, already during pregnancy you need to:

• apply creams for stretch marks;
• do a soft massage and hydromassage while bathing;
• use a contrast shower, because with increased blood supply and metabolism, muscles are strengthened, and the breasts will gradually tighten.

To prevent accumulation of fatty tissue in the mammary glands, eat more plant foods and reduce fatty foods.

Massage and gymnastics

Breast massage is done using stroking movements from bottom to top, massaging each breast for a minute. Then perform circular movements to the armpits, starting from the center. The mammary glands are rubbed, approaching the nipples from the middle of the collarbone. Spend two minutes on each breast. And finally, light strokes are done again.

Massage can be effectively combined with water procedures while taking a shower or bath. After this, be sure to lubricate your skin with a nourishing, high-fat moisturizer. A contrast shower helps a lot, as it increases blood circulation and improves muscle and skin tone.

Special gymnastics includes the following exercises:

• Push-ups while on your knees. During this exercise, the elbows should be parallel to the floor, the back should be in a straight position, and the stomach should be retracted. During push-ups, you need to touch the floor with your chest. Do the exercises at least ten times and with each gymnastics increase the number of approaches to thirty;
• Push-ups from a vertical surface (wall or cabinet) also effectively affect the condition of the mammary glands. Perform the procedure 10-20 times, alternating every other day with push-ups;
• Squeezing your palms parallel to your chest is another effective exercise. To do this, clench your palms and hold it for a few seconds, then relax your hands and repeat the exercise again. It is recommended to do this procedure up to thirty times. For greater effectiveness, it is better to do this exercise while sitting on a chair;
• Squeezing the palms behind the back of the head is done in the same way as the previous procedure, only now the palms are placed behind the head and squeezed behind the back of the head. The exercise is also done 30 times;
• Using dumbbells weighing 2-3 kilograms. To perform the exercise, you need to lie on your back, bend your knees and spread your arms to the sides, holding dumbbells.

This gymnastics strengthens muscles and has a positive effect on the condition of the body. Add other exercises; exercises with a fitball or gymnastic ball are useful. By the way, such equipment is suitable for gymnastics and infant development. When doing gymnastics and throughout the day, be sure to watch your posture. A straight and level back will only emphasize and improve the shape of the breast. And regular and long-term exercise can give the same results as plastic surgery.

During lactation

Milk comes in 3-4 days after birth. Pumping is added to the usual breast care during breastfeeding. If this is not done, milk stagnation will occur, which will lead to deformation of the mammary gland, and it will be difficult to restore its appearance. Purchase and use a special bra during the entire period of breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding women are interested in whether it is possible to make masks and exercise during breastfeeding to make their breasts firmer. You should not do this during lactation; you will start restoring your shape when the baby grows up and no longer needs breast milk.

A breast lift after breastfeeding involves using the full range of necessary actions to restore the breasts to their previous appearance.

Salon treatments

Some women use the services of cosmetologists to restore their mammary glands after breastfeeding. They offer quite effective, but expensive ways to get your breasts back in shape.

• Mesotherapy is popular when various preparations, mainly based on hyaluronic acid, are injected under the skin. These products lift the breasts, making them firmer and more elastic.
• Laser correction is the effect of a laser beam, as a result of which metabolic processes are improved and muscles are toned. In addition, the volume of the mammary glands increases. A good result can be achieved by stimulating the pectoral muscles with diadynamic current. This will help significantly tighten your breasts and eliminate sagging.
• As a result of microcurrent therapy, the breasts tighten, become softer and more elastic, the functioning of the sebaceous glands is normalized, local immunity is increased, and new connective tissue is formed.

In beauty salons, specialists offer other procedures. These are peelings, wraps, massage treatments. Of course, if the breasts have sagged a lot, it will not be possible to completely restore them, but it will be possible to improve their condition and tone the muscles.

What breast products will help restore shape?

After the lactation period, you can actively use various masks, rubbing and massage, and breast lifting cream. During the period of breastfeeding, there was no time for all these procedures, and the breasts, filled with milk, looked toned. Traditional medicine will tell you how to tighten your breasts after feeding.

The following recipes can be used as masks for the mammary glands:

1. Mask based on oatmeal. A glass of cereal is poured into a glass of milk. When the flakes disperse, you can apply the product to the chest, décolleté, and neck. Wait for the mask to dry. Then rinse it off under running water and take a contrast shower. As a result, the skin will be moisturized and cleared of dead cells.
2. Using butter with apples. Applesauce (70 g) is mixed with butter (100 g). The mass is applied to the chest and neck and insulated with a towel. After 1 hour, the product can be washed off. You can do a light breast massage first.
3. Use of dairy products. Mix cottage cheese with sour cream, add a little liquid honey. The mask is applied for half an hour and washed off. It is better to do this with a warm shower.
4. Cream and egg yolks. This mask has a strengthening effect and is also used during pregnancy. For 120 g of heavy cream you will need 2 yolks. 20 g of lemon juice is added to the mixture. The mask stays on the skin for 30-35 minutes.
5. Kelp powder. A mixture of 50 g of sour cream and 20 g of powder is applied in a circular motion. Particular attention should be paid to stretch marks areas. After this, you should wrap yourself in a warm cloth, and after 40-45 minutes, wash off the mask with warm water.
6. Mask based on potatoes, cream and honey. Puree from 1 boiled potato is mixed with 40 ml of vegetable oil, 20 ml of cream and 20 ml of honey. This mask makes the breasts firm and the skin silky.

Using only cosmetic products, breast elasticity cannot be restored during the postpartum period. But in combination with physical exercise, results can be achieved.

Breast tightening masks

• White clay perfectly tightens and tones the skin. Take three tablespoons of clay and mix with a glass of heavy cream, then add a teaspoon of honey and mix again. The resulting composition is applied to the skin and washed off as soon as you feel tightness;
• Take a few walnuts and grind until smooth. Add a tablespoon of honey and butter, an egg yolk and mix the ingredients. Apply to the bust, leave for twenty minutes and rinse with warm water;
• Kefir mask effectively tightens and strengthens the skin. To prepare the product, add two tablespoons of honey to half a glass of kefir, stir and apply the composition with light rubbing. Leave for 15 minutes and then rinse with warm water;
• Mix 300 grams of cottage cheese with chicken egg white. Add three to four drops of geranium or grapefruit oil. You can add a teaspoon of natural grapefruit juice. Apply the mixture in a thick layer to the skin and leave for twenty minutes, rinse with warm water. By the way, cottage cheese is also effectively used for making cosmetic face masks;
• You can use commercial masks and nourishing creams with high fat content to tighten the skin of your breasts. In any case, you need to apply the compositions, avoiding the nipples and areola! By the way, such creams are more effective than masks. It is important to regularly use cosmetic procedures with these products to achieve a positive result.