I’m hoping to get pregnant in the next year. Should I wait to get breast implants?

Written by Dr. Ted

It’s no surprise that this question comes up frequently during consultation. My patients range in age from 18 to 63, but the large majority of them are in their 20s and 30s – prime childbearing years. 

The bottom line is this: If you are thinking about having a child in the next year or working on it now, I would suggest that you wait because your post-pregnancy breasts might look quite a bit different from your current pair.

During pregnancy, your breasts will enlarge from hormonal changes and milk production. In fact, many women report that they grew at least a full cup size, sometimes more. Those women who started out smaller often tell me that they liked being bigger and fuller.

“Those early pregnancy breasts are something to behold . . . It’s a fleeting time, those early breasts, but for a couple months, before the tummy catches up, it’s as though you get a free boob job,” wrote Sasha Brown-Worsham in  “The Five Stages of Pregnancy Breasts,” which appeared online in The Stir.

Some women who start out with a D cup aren’t so enamored with their new breast size: In an online forum, one mom wrote, “Before pregnancy, I was a solid 36D. I am now 36 DDD (which is equivalent to 36E), and I am only 12 weeks pregnant! I think the 4 pounds I have gained during my 1st trimester have gone straight to my boobs, and I am kind scared to see how big I will be by the end.”

After your pregnancy, your breasts might return to their original size or get smaller, bigger or droopier. There’s no way to predict the future; as Alphamom writes in “Postpartum, Posteverything Boobs,”  it depends on a lot. “Genetics. Your age. Your cup size. How long you breastfed. Number of children. Basically, it’s a total freaking wild card.”

You won’t know the outcome until six months after you have stopped breastfeeding or, if you are not breastfeeding, six months after childbirth. In order to choose breast implants that will make you proportional, you need to know your proportions – and your true starting size. See before and after photos.

However, if parenthood is further down the road and you are anxious to enjoy new breasts now, you don’t have to wait. You just have to understand that you might need a revision after your pregnancy.