There are two issues
involved in breastfeeding with silicone implants: Will the breast still
work, and is it safe?
Whether or not your
implants will affect how your breast functions depends in large part to
where your incisions are and whether any milk ducts or nerves were cut.
If the incision is in the fold under your breast or near the armpits,
then chances are the ducts and nerves around the nipple were not
affected. If the incision is around the areola (the dark area around
the nipple), then those important nerves and ducts may have been
severed. If they have been severed, then your chances of being able to
fully breastfeed your baby are decreased significantly.
It is important that you learn as much about breastfeeding ahead of
time as you can--learn proper positioning, the signs of good feedings,
counting diapers as a way of telling how much milk is going in. After
your baby is born, put him to your breast as often as he will go, and
see what happens.
As for the safety of nursing with implants, the concern has been
whether the silicone might leak out and get into the milk. There have
been only two case studies that seemed to suggest a potential problem
for the babies who nurse from breasts with these implants, and in both
cases the data was inconclusive as to the true cause of the problems.
Most experts consider these breast implants to be compatible with
breastfeeding, and that the benefits of breastfeeding far outweigh any
risk of problems.
Silicone is a very large molecule and doesn't dissolve in water, so the
chances of it leaking into the mother's milk are very slim indeed. And
there are no agreed upon standard acceptible levels of silicone that
would make testing of the milk useful. There are other sources of
silicone besides the breast implant, including the ingredients in an
over-the-counter gas reducing solution commonly given to infants. So
even if you could measure your levels of silicone, there is no way to
know what the source of that silicone is.
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