Boobs & bras after breastfeeding

 

Years ago when I met people and I talked about being a lingerie designer, the questions I always got asked "Did I see lots of boobs?" (guys) and "what was the best bra that I had designed and for who?" (ladies). The seeing lots of boobs question still gets asked a lot, but recently what ladies seem to what to know is what bra to go for after they've had children.

So through lingerie knowledge and personal experience here is what I usually end up talking about: boobs, bras to wear orto design and improving your appearance of your boobs.

Structure of your boobs

1. Your structure of your boobs change once your pregnant, that flatness that most women experience after breast feeding, has occurred during pregnancy, so breast feeding doesn't start to alter your boobs being pregnant in the first place does. Let me digress (puts technical hat on)

- When being pregnant your boobs go through a change that is called maturing (sounds equally as good as being called 'a geriatric mum' when you're pregnant over the age of 35! Whilst being pregnant your boobs become bigger and the fatty tissue is replaced by milk producing tissue, therefore changing the internal structure of the breast. The increase in size may cause the ligaments to stretch, and it's this stretching that may lead to saggier boobs. Think of it like holding a partially filled water balloon in your hand, if you filled it completely your hand would open up to accommodate the balloon, (your fingers represent your ligaments) then if you let water out, your hands are still splayed open but the fullness of the water (ie breast) is no longer apparent so the fullness has gone. There by the structure of your breast has changed.

2. Your bra size will most likely change, not everyones does, some peoples increase size, others decrease, just like whether you'll fit back into your pre-pregnancy clothes, some people will be bigger and other smaller than when they got pregnant.

3. Most likely your boob shape will have change, some people describe their boobs as empty, which means they have lost the fullness of their boobs at the top, and the fullness is more at the bottom of their boobs, this is usually more prominent for those with a bigger cup size.

Bras after being pregnant and feeding

With the loss of the volume, many women find they have to change the shape of bra they wear, and that the underwire now digs in at the front. If this is the case with yourself, look for wires that don't come up between your boobs (ie balconette bras) and look for push up style, bras with shorter underwires or high apex bras in which the wire sits low, also soft cup triangle bras will be comfortable.

If you find you have no volume at the top of your breast and are a larger cup, the misconception is that you should go for a contour bra (a moulded cup shape with foam) but what mainly occurs is that the upper breast tissue will either look and be jiggly, or that it won't give you enough support , although there are some bras out there that will be tailored to your needs you may find a cut and sew bra (a 3-piece cup or 4-piece cup) more comfortable and give you a better silhouette. 

Designing a bra 

A few things to keep in mind to create a better lift of the boob (or to look out for if you're having trouble finding a bra that gives you a nice shape and lift)

- A vertical seam in the cup will give you more lift. 

- Side boning or denier panelling, will help keep the breast tissue forward and not creeping under the arms, especially on soft bras.

- Double line the cups if you are using stretch fabrics.

Ways to improve the appearance

Sadly once those ligaments are stretched there is not a lot that can be done about it (unless you're wanting to go down the path of surgery) however there are things that can be done to improve the situation.

- Strengthen your pec muscles, making them stronger will lift the chest wall upon where your boobs sit. Press up and bench presses are probably the two better ones to try.

- Alternate cold and warm water blasts in the shower, although only temporary that the cold water tightens the skin, it encourages blood flow.

- Massage oil, going from under the breast outwards to the armpit and over the breast back to where you started, this will over time improve the contour of the breast and get rid of toxins, plus the more you care the part of your body which you don;' like, the more acceptance and gratitude you have of that part of the body.

Though mainly the appearance of your boobs, will be down to genetics, hoping some of these will help.