Cara:

Perhaps someone with more expertise in this area will answer, but to get
you started, here are some resources:

Chester Berlin, MD, spoke on this topic at the ILCA conference in
Scottsdale, AZ in July 1995.  (He will be speaking on the same topic at the
LLLI conference in Washington, DC this coming July).  He said there is no
reason to prohibit breastfeeding by children whose mothers have had
implants, based on our current knowledge.  He pointed out that children are
given simethacone drops for colic, and bottlefed babies get silicone from
bottle nipples.  He had some articles on his bib that may be of help to
you:

        Berlin, CM. Silicone breast implants and breastfeeding. Pediatrics
           97:547-549, 1994.
        Dunn KW, Hall PN, Khoo CTK. Breast implant materials: sense and
           safety. British J Plastic Surg 45:315-321, 1992.


The 1997 Breastfeeding Answer Book says (on p. 435): "If a mother is
concerned about potential silicone leakage into her milk, explain that
physical constraints make it unlikely this could happen.  The very large
size (molecular weight) of the silicone used in breast implants is
considered too large to pass through the small water-filled pores in the
lining of the mother's alveoli, or milk-producing cells.  In addition,
silicone does not dissolve in water, another characteristic that decreases
the likelihood of it passing into the milk."

Hope this helps.

Anne Altshuler, RN, MS, IBCLC and LLL leader in Madison, WI