Sorry - not all of the article made the trip when I copied it

http://news.uky.edu/news/display_article.php?artid=2846

Breastfeeding Study in National Spotlight
Media Contact: Melissa Hounshell, (859) 323-6363, x256
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 1, 2007) − Nursing mothers needn't worry. A new study 
shows that breastfeeding does not increase breast sagging. University of 
Kentucky plastic surgeon Dr. Brian Rinker and his colleagues conducted the 
study with patients at UK HealthCare Cosmetic Surgery Associates. The study 
found that breastfeeding does not adversely affect breast shape.

"A lot of times, if a woman comes in for a breast lift or a breast augmentation, 
she'll say 'I want to fix what breastfeeding did to my breasts'," Rinker said. As 
a result, Rinker decided to find out if breast sagging was a direct result of 
breastfeeding.

Rinker and his colleagues interviewed 132 women who had come to UK for a 
breast lift or augmentation between 1998 and 2006. The women were, on 
average, 39 years old; 93 percent had had at least one pregnancy, and most 
of the mothers—58 percent-- had breastfed at least one child. Additionally, 
the research team evaluated the patients' medical history, body mass index, 
pre-pregnancy bra cup size, and smoking status.

The results showed no difference in the degree of breast ptosis (TOE-sis)– 
the medical term for sagging of the breast--for those women who breastfed 
and those who didn't. However, researchers found that several other factors 
did affect breast sagging, including age, the number of pregnancies, and 
whether the patient smoked.

"Smoking breaks down a protein in the skin called elastin, which gives youthful 
skin its elastic appearance and supports the breast… so it would make sense 
that it would have an adverse effect on the breasts," Rinker concluded.

Rinker presented the findings of the study this week at the American Society 
of Plastic Surgeons conference in Baltimore. The Wall Street Journal, CBS 
News, and Chicago Tribune have already noted its findings.
the skin called elastin, which gives youthful skin its elastic appearance and 
supports the breast… so it would make sense that it would have an adverse 
effect on the breasts," Rinker concluded.

Rinker presented the findings of the study this week at the American Society 
of Plastic Surgeons conference in Baltimore. The Wall Street Journal, CBS 
News, and Chicago Tribune have already noted its findings.
 

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