Breast implants may improve women's sex lives, study suggests

Silicone gel breast implant (AP)

Getting breast implants may alter a woman’s sex life for the better.

According to a new study from Brazil, women who had cosmetic surgery to enhance their breast size experienced a significant increase in arousal and satisfaction following the procedure, HealthDay News reported.  However, the researchers also found that women who had stretch marks after getting breast implants did not experience the same improvement in their sex lives.

The study included 45 women who were planning on undergoing breast augmentation.  Before the surgery, Dr. Paulo Guimaros and his colleagues gave the women a questionnaire to assess the quality of their sex lives and sexual satisfaction.  The women took the same questionnaire two, four and 18 months after the operation.

Of the 36 women who did not develop stretch marks after the surgery, all reported improved levels of arousal and more satisfaction with their sexual experiences, according to HealthDay News.

To explain the study’s finding, some experts argued that getting breast implants can help boost a woman’s confidence in the bedroom.

"I think that the female breast is a very important part of a woman's body, in terms of how a woman feels about herself in public, how her clothes fit and how she feels about herself sexually," Dr. David Reath, chair of the public education committee of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), told HealthDay News. "It's very common for a woman post-surgery to say she feels more confident, that her outward body now fits her inward persona."

However, some experts believe that other psychological factors may be contributing to this finding.

"When we have exerted a great effort, spent a great deal of money and effort and time on something, we tend to justify that effort," Tomi-Ann Roberts, a distinguished professor of psychology at Colorado College, told HealthDay News. "Our good feeling is increased because of the effort, not the thing itself."

The study’s results will be presented this week at the ASPS annual meeting in San Diego.

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