Does breast surgery affect your ability to breastfeed?

If you are considering any type of breast surgery it’s important to consider the future implications for breastfeeding. It’s a topic which is close to the heart of many women, so if your family is not yet complete we will help you decide whether surgery is right for you.

Can you breastfeed after breast surgery?

The answer is ‘yes’ if you have breast enlargement surgery or a breast uplift procedure, but ‘no’ if you have breast reduction. This is because the milk ducts are left intact during enlargement and uplift procedures, but cut during breast reduction surgery.

If you are considering breast enlargement or uplift surgery, you can go ahead at any stage of your life and feel confident that the option to breast feed in future is open to you. However, it’s worth bearing in mind the fact that pregnancy can alter the size and shape of your breasts, so many women opt to wait until they have completed their family to help them achieve the best results from their treatment.

If you are considering breast reduction surgery, you will need to think carefully about whether you would want to breast feed in future (or to simply leave your options open). It’s a critical aspect of the decision about whether to go ahead with surgery now or whether to wait until you have had your family.

Making the right decision

Breast feeding is a subject most women are concerned about when considering plastic surgery.

When you attend your initial consultation for breast enlargement or reduction at Manchester Plastic Surgery, we will cover this topic with you so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not to go ahead with treatment.