Rihanna wants a breast lift after babies. Could it start a movement?

Motherhood seems to come with endless changes. But one change that often comes to mind for mothers-to-be is what having a baby will do to their body, specifically their breasts.

Whether it’s during pregnancy, post-birth or while breastfeeding, most women’s breasts undergo transformation. They can leak, change in size and sag. Even the world’s biggest stars aren’t immune to these changes.

Rihanna, mother of two, says she would consider a breast lift in the future.Credit: Getty Images

This week, Rihanna told Interview magazine she would consider getting a breast lift to reclaim how her body looked before having her two sons, RZA and Riot.

“I want my titties pinned back to my shoulders, right where they used to be,” she said. “I don’t want implants. I just want a lift … I’m also scared of the knife. So if I had to pick one thing, I’m going to pick my boobs.”

How to recapture one’s pre-birth body has long been the subject of discussion. But how common are breast lifts among mothers, and how do they play into the cultural conversation around motherhood and body image?

What is a breast lift?

A breast lift, otherwise known as a Mastopexy, involves lifting and reshaping the breast tissue so that it sits higher on the chest wall, says the president of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons Dr Nicola Dean.

It can resolve issues of sagging, downward-turned nipples and misshapen breast tissue. There are several reasons why people may seek a breast lift, Dean says, including natural ageing, the effects of breastfeeding and significant weight loss.

Unlike a breast reduction or augmentation (implant), Dean says a lift does not change the size of the breast, rather it just alters its shape and position on the body.

“The benefit is that it’s all still your own tissue, there’s no foreign material there. That certainly appeals to many women,” Dean says, noting a slight shift away from implants due to increasing fears around potential long-term risks such as hardening, tightness and silicone leakage.

However, lifts are still a relatively significant procedure, says the vice-president of the Australasian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, Dr Amira Sanki.

“The operation takes about two hours, and it requires a full general anaesthetic,” she said. “It results in a scar that goes around the pink part of the areola, down the lower pole of the breast, and sometimes also in the fold of the breast.”

How common is it in Australia?

Sanki says her practice would usually perform 400 to 500 operations a year, 200 of which are breast-related. Of that 200, about 25 per cent are breast lifts.

“About one-third are young patients, who may have been born with very weak skin or breast tissue. About two-thirds are mothers who have finished breastfeeding, who hope to restore their bodies to the way they were before having kids.”

Sanki says the procedure generally costs between $10,000 and $20,000. In most cases, lifts are considered an elective, aesthetic surgery, meaning they must be self-funded.

Mothers who breastfeed may notice their breasts become saggier over time.Credit: iStock

However, private health insurers and Medicare occasionally offer rebates to those who can prove their breasts were severely impacting their day-to-day life, such as extreme rashes or back pain.

Before committing to a lift, Dean says people should consider whether they plan to breastfeed in the future, as the feeding process can alter the breast tissue pattern. She also notes the risk of complications during surgery is heightened for smokers and diabetics.

Motherhood and body image

For 35-year-old Sarah Plant, her breast lift and reduction, which she underwent in November, was “life-changing”. “My breasts would basically be able to have a conversation with my belly button,” she says. “I always felt top-heavy and ended up having terrible neck and back pain … After I decided to stop breastfeeding my daughter, they started to hang even lower and were even bigger. They caused a lot of mental and physical issues.”

Though Plant was open with friends and family about her procedure throughout the process, she says many others decide to keep it private for fear of what others may think.

“Talking about women’s health is still quite taboo. We were taught not to speak about those personal things while growing up,” she says. “Since it’s a cosmetic procedure, people may worry that others will judge them. But for reductions and lifts, it’s often also health-related, not just cosmetic.”

Body image researcher Dr Sarah Bonell says much of the judgement against mothers who elect to have breast lifts probably stems from outdated misogynistic beliefs that place women primarily as caregivers.

“It’s almost like if you’re vain enough to care about fixing your breasts afterwards, that means you don’t care enough about your baby. Priorities should be motherhood, not vanity,” Bonell says.

Though commentary from high-profile celebrities such as Rihanna can help normalise conversations around women’s bodies – particularly postpartum bodies – and their freedom to do what they wish with them, it can also push unhealthy narratives like the “yummy mummy body”.

“There’s no allowance for the body to change and shift,” Bonell says. “Bodies [after pregnancy] are treated almost like a deformity – the saggy stomach and saggy boobs. There’s nowhere for mothers to go and hear that whatever they look like is normal, and they don’t have to be ashamed.”

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