Why feeding your baby will NOT make your breasts sag

Breastfeeding does not make the bust sag, according to scientists.

A study has shown that smoking and ageing both affect how pert the breast remains - as does pregnancy itself.

But feeding a baby for around nine months will not add to the droop.

Experts hope the news will encourage more mothers to breastfeed and take advantage of the health benefits for their children.

Plastic surgeon Brian Rinker said he was inspired to carry out the study after hearing many of his patients blame their saggy breasts on breastfeeding.

He and his team interviewed 132 women seeking breast lifts or augmentation between 1998 and 2006 - 93 per cent of whom had experienced at least one pregnancy.

Among the mothers, 58 per cent had breastfed at least one child, for an average of nine months.

The researchers evaluated the womens' medical history, body mass index, pre-pregnancy bra cup size and whether or not they smoked.

There was no difference found in the degree of breast ptosis - sagging - between women who breastfed and those who did not.

But smoking was found to have an effect, according to Dr Rinker. He said that smoking breaks down a protein in the skin called elastin, which makes skin look young and supports the breast.

He added that pregnancy has a 'very strong contribution to breast ptosis' and that the negative effects increase with each child.

Dr Rinker, from the University of Kentucky, said: "Women may be reluctant to breastfeed because of this unfounded myth that doing so means the end of youthful breasts.

"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'".

"Now, expectant mothers can relax knowing that breastfeeding does not sacrifice the appearance of their breasts."

The results of the study were presented at a conference of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

They follow research showing that breastfeeding makes babies brainier.

British researchers discovered that mother's milk in the first few months of life can boost a child's IQ by seven points.

This applies in nine cases out of ten, where the youngster inherits a common but newlyidentified 'brain-boosting' gene.

Britain has one of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in Europe.

Around a fifth of women choose not to, while a third of those who do try will give up within six months.