Why Many With Breast Implants Fail at Breast-Feeding
Women with breast implants who think breast-feeding will change how their breasts look are less likely to nurse their babies successfully, according to a new study.
Researchers from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) pointed out that the number of pregnancies a woman has — not whether she breast-feeds — is what causes breasts to sag over time.
“If a woman believes that breast-feeding will adversely affect her breast appearance, she decreases her chances of successful breast-feeding,” study author Dr. Norma Cruz, said in an ASPS news release. “This misconception is unfortunate. Reassuring women that breast-feeding won’t harm their breast appearance, and that it has significant health advantages for both mother and baby, is vitally important.”
Researchers studied the breast-feeding habits of 160 mothers with breast implants. They found that 86 percent of the 97 mothers who failed at breast-feeding thought that it would make their breasts look worse. The researchers noted that this misconception had a direct impact on their success.
On the other hand, of the 63 women studied who exclusively breast-fed their babies for two weeks or more, only 13 percent believed it would harm how their breasts looked.
“It makes sense that breast augmentation patients would be concerned about the effect breast-feeding could have on the appearance of their breasts. After all, these women have invested both time and money into them,” said Cruz, an ASPS member surgeon. “However, available evidence tells us that although breasts sag more with each pregnancy, breast-feeding doesn’t seem to worsen these effects in women with or without breast implants.”
The findings are troubling, the researchers noted, because the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health reports that not only does breast-feeding help strengthen the mother-child bond, it is linked to a number of health benefits for women, including lower risk of type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, ovarian cancer and post-partum depression. The agency adds that breast milk also helps children build their immune systems and fight diseases.
“Now that we know breast augmentation patients’ views on how breast-feeding will impact the look of their breasts, patient education becomes critical to improving perceptions and strengthening the health and lives of both mother and child,” concluded Cruz.
The study was slated to be presented at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ annual conference in Denver. The data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
GOP Presidential Hopeful Rick Perry’s Record On Women’s Health Scrutinized
As the GOP presidential primary campaign continues to heat up, news outlets focus on Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s state policy record: An NPR report today examines his funding for women’s health. Meanwhile, Michele Bachmann offers her take on employer-sponsored health insurance.
NPR: Gov. Perry Cut Funds For Women In Texas
Only 48 percent of Texans have private health insurance and more than a quarter of the state’s population has no insurance at all, more than any other state. To fill this gap, the state’s hospital emergency rooms and dozens of women’s health clinics have stepped in to serve the uninsured across Texas. To understand the health care landscape in Texas it helps to start with context, and perhaps nobody is better suited to explain it than Tom Banning. He is the CEO of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians, a group of about 6,000 doctors and whose members reach into every part of the state (Goodwyn, 9/20).
CBS: Michele Bachmann Says Tax Breaks Should Replace Employer Health Plans
Back in her hometown Monday, Republican presidential contender Michele Bachmann waxed nostalgic for an era when people were responsible for purchasing their own insurance, rather than being tethered to an employer for coverage. “When I grew up here in Iowa, we owned our own health insurance. We didn’t necessarily have it from our employer,” she said. Asked in a round-table with workers at OMJC Signal, a family-owned public-safety equipment manufacturer, how small businesses can afford health care for their employees, the Minnesota congresswoman said they shouldn’t have to buy it. “I think you should be able to own your plan, so your employer doesn’t own it — you get to own it, and you buy it with your own tax-free money,” Bachmann responded. She added, “You should be able to set aside whatever amount of your income you need to purchase the kind of health care you need for yourself, for your family,” (Huisenga, 9/19).
Finally, the HPV controversy continues —
The Associated Press: Bachmann Says Vaccine Retardation Claim Not Hers
Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann said Monday she was not arguing that a vaccine intended to prevent cervical cancer caused mental retardation when she repeated the scientifically unfounded claim last week. The Minnesota congresswoman said she was relaying what a distraught woman told her after a GOP presidential debate in Florida in which Bachmann criticized rival Rick Perry for ordering the vaccine in Texas (Beaumont, 9/19).
NPR: HPV Vaccine: The Science Behind The Controversy
Many find the public health case for HPV vaccination compelling. Cervical cancer strikes about 12,000 U.S. women a year and kills around 4,000. Strong backers of the vaccine include the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The vaccine requires three shots over six months and costs upwards of $400, which is not always covered by insurers or government agencies (Knox, 9/19).
Health Buzz: Depression Ups Stroke Risk
Depression may raise the risk of stroke, a new study suggests. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital analyzed 28 studies involving more than 317,000 people ages 18 and over who were followed for anywhere from two to 29 years. They found that participants with depression were 45 percent more likely to have a stroke and 55 percent more likely to die of stroke than those without the mood disorder. The study authors speculate that depression inflames hormones in the nervous system, which could increase stroke risk, according to findings published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Also: People with depression are likelier to smoke, eat unhealthily, and be overweight—all risk factors for stroke. “We think that in the future, depression should be considered as a risk factor for stroke,” study author An Pan, a research fellow in the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, told Time. “We still need more evidence to see whether such screening will be beneficial for patients, but I think our study provides convincing evidence to support further research.”
Stroke: 7 Signs You Could Be at Risk of a Brain Attack
Stroke can hit like a deadly lightning bolt. And if the victim survives, the aftermath can be debilitating—affecting functioning from movement to speech. While stroke is the third-leading cause of death and the leading cause of adult disability in the United States, it trails behind other major diseases in awareness and recognition of symptoms. Being informed, however, can protect you from suffering either an ischemic stroke, caused by a blood clot and the most common form of stroke, or the less common hemorrhagic stroke, caused by bleeding in the brain. Know the factors that may be putting you at risk:
Uncontrolled high blood pressure. As for all cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure is a major risk factor for stroke. The American Heart Association estimates that only 45 percent of people with high blood pressure actually have it under control, U.S. News reported in 2009. Female stroke victims, in particular, tend to have uncontrolled blood pressure, and in general, women who suffer strokes don’t seem to be treated as aggressively as men. High blood pressure doesn’t have any outward telltale signs, so getting it measured by your healthcare provider is essential to determine if you should make lifestyle changes or take medications to bring it down.
Smoking. Puffing on cigarettes is associated with a host of ills. An increased risk of stroke is one of them. When compared to nonsmokers, smokers have double the risk of ischemic stroke. Heavy smokers face an even greater risk: A study of women ages 15 to 49 published in the journal Stroke found stroke risk was proportional to the number of cigarettes smoked per day. The women who smoked two or more packs a day had nine times the risk of stroke of a nonsmoker. And a study in Neurology found that smokers with a family history of brain aneurysm, abnormal bulging of an artery in the brain, are six times as likely to have a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a kind of stroke caused by a bleed between the brain and the tissue that covers it. These types of stroke are deadly nearly 40 percent of the time.