Breastfeeding causes boobs to sag...or does it?

As a person in the lactation world I'm often asked:

"Is it going to make my boobs sag?"

Elisabeth Hasselbeck shared with the world that "After feeding two kids, mine are, like, origamically folded into my bra."  And from the lovely Kelly Ripa we heard "I nursed 3 kids, so I went from a 32AA  to a 32AA long."

With all this media and boob blaming what's a girl to think, but the obvious?  I'm happy to clarify that NO, breastfeeding will not cause your breasts to sag. However, pregnancy might. Whether or not you choose to breastfeed your baby is irrelevant to the breast changes that will take place when you become pregnant. During pregnancy a woman's breasts increase approximately a cup size, her areolas darken, and her nipples lengthen. Your body's preparing to have a baby. Mother Nature is planning a way to feed this baby whether you like it or not! A mother will make milk even if she doesn't breastfeed her baby. Her body physiologically goes into milk making mode after the delivery of her placenta and somewhere between 3-5 days postpartum her milk will "come in". Once her milk comes in the mother can then has a decision to make: breastfeed her baby or let her milk dry up (disclaimer: ideally if she wants to breastfeed her baby she would begin right after delivery). So there you have it - breastfeeding is not the culprit of those sagging breasts - but don't worry moms-to-be Calvin Klein and Victoria's Secret will be there to scoop everything back up to its perky self!

P.S. Because I absolutely adore Kelly (even if she has her saggy boob culprit wrong) here is the video of her and Regis!