Not pregnant, but question about future breastfeeding

[LurkingAndLearningForNow]

This s embarrassing..Hence why I'm asking strangers online.

DP and I are ver very VERY broody, so we've been talking about children constantly. We don't intend to have children for a few years, but the topic of breastfeeding came up and we both agreed it's what we want.

Since there are so many experienced BFers out there..Here's my embarrassing question. I have small breasts. Does breast size affect ability to feed? If so, what did you do to help make breastfeeding easier?

I'm right now, but I REALLY want to know. Being able to BF is so important to me.

[KatAndKit]

It makes no difference whatsoever. Unless you are a very rare person who has anatomically abnormal breasts without enough glands in. Assuming your breasts are normal but small, even a AA cup woman can breastfeed (although pregnancy and breastfeeding would make her breasts bigger for a while)

[EauRouge]

What Kat said :)

When you do decide to get pregnant then you could go along to a breastfeeding group to learn more before your baby is born.

See you in a few years!

[Poledra]

My friend has boobs she describes as '2 fried eggs on an ironing board'. She could have fed an entire maternity ward of babies with the amount of milk she produced, and bfeeding was a breeze for her.

I have boobs more likely to be described as melons, and I struggled to get bfeeding established.

I do not think either of these things was related to the size of our boobs at all.

[CMOTDibbler]

I'm a A/B cup, and I fed my ginourmous son exclusively on breastmilk for 6 months, and continued to feed him till he was 23 months old. No problems at all, including expressing at work, 5 days a week for a year

[LurkingAndLearningForNow]

Thanks! You've really put my mind at ease. I do hope I produce enough milk as I have severe endometriosis and mild PCOS.

[TruthSweet]

This has some interesting articles on PCOS & Bfing. This has some good practical information about PCOS & bfing too.

There is a chance that if you had PCOS very early in puberty on that the breast tissue may not have developed as is usual - one thing to remember though breast size (cup size) is independent of breast tissue size as the size may be down to fat stores in the breast (or lack there of). Large breasts are definitely not needed to produce adequate milk supplies and small breasts can do just the same job as their larger 'compatriots'. If you are concerned that you may have 'Insufficient Glandular Tissue' (aka Hypoplastic Tubular Breasts) have a look here. Even women who have IGT can bf but will need some form of supplementing to keep baby growing well (or feed incredibly frequently).

Hope this helps ease your mind.

[LurkingAndLearningForNow]

I don't have tubular breasts, just very small (aka zero cleavage) so that's a bit of a relief! Will look at those articles now, thank you so much for them and such an informative post!

[Figgygal]

I have 36A's and my attempts at bf were fruitless but I don't think it was due to Size.

I was so excited about finally getting boobs when got pg but 3 stone later they were exactly the same size and didn't change one jot .......never got sore, hard, hot etc

[LurkingAndLearningForNow]

I guess I'll have to wait and see..And take as many helpful supplements I can!

[TruthSweet]

Just be careful what supplements you take especially if you are on any other medications and look into them fully before taking. A lot of the herbal supplements have contraindications/drug interactions so be aware!

[LurkingAndLearningForNow]

I'd be sure to check with my doctor first, I just feel breastfeeding is SO important (well, to me) and I'll do whatever it takes to accomplish it, even if it's only fr a few months.

[PetiteMaman77]

Boob size definitely doesn't affect your ability to feed, I have small boobs (34A) and they didn't get much bigger when I had my LO. The only reason i had trouble feeding him was cos he had a tongue tie, so anything that affects latching or whatever can cause problems but not small boobs! If you need A or B cup nursing bras try www.petitemaman.co.uk :)