One breast not refilling - anything to worry about?

[Ducky5867]

Please help.

I have been breastfeeding Dd2 for 7 months, all fine but for the last 2 weeks it seems like one of my boobs has not been refilling! There is still milk in it, and dd seems to feed fine from it, but its about a quarter the size of the other one and always feels soft.

I have tried to get dd to feed from that size a bit more often to try to increase milk supply but that has not worked. I can do a full feed from the 'working' boob and its still feels fuller and is double the size of the other one.

I expressed from the small one and I only got 1.5ozs in 30 mins, changed sizes and got 3ozs in 10mins - very odd.

Dd1 was bf for 15 months and I have never had this problem before. On the one that is not refilling there felt like there was a small lump but after massaging for a few days that has gone. In total (with both DDs) I have had mastitis 6 times, so i am happy it's not that this time.

Apart from my body being complete out of balance, and I look very strange if not wearing my standard loose clothing, is this something I should be worried about - do I need to get Gp to check it out? I feel a bit silly seeing Gp to say I have a small boob - but promised DH if it did get back to normal by today I would investigate - thought I would start here first! Thanks

Breasts aren't sacks of milk, they don't "refill" as such. Milk is produced on demand. Your breasts will feel less "full" as BF becomes established.

Are you sure your breasts actually look different sizes (what does your partner/family think)? If one is actually massively bigger then sure get it checked out, but it's normal for each to be slightly different.

I don't know if this will help / reassure, but I have always had one breast slightly larger than the other. This is exaggerated when breastfeeding. Also, milk seems to flow faster from the larger breast, so feeds are generally shorter in that side. As my DCs have fed happily from both sides I've never worried about this. If your DD is happily feeding from that side, it might not be anything to worry about?

However, I've been fairly consistent with both DCs and over time - as this is a recent development for you, maybe it is worth getting it checked out - but might it be worth contacting a breastfeeding specialist rather than your GP?