Insufficient Glandular Tissue/ Hypoplastic breasts

[nicoletheo]

Hi all. I am new here. Just wanted to see if anyone here has any personal experience of this or has ever been diagnosed?
I had real trouble breastfeeding my first child and have just been to see a BF consultant ahead of the birth of my second (due in 5 weeks) and they examined me and think that I have this,

Can't get the hang of this sorry, didn't mean to post that incomplete message! Basically I have just been told it looks like I have this, which means I will likely have trouble producing enough milk for my baby for a second time. Wondering if anyone has any experience of this and especially if you can share any tips for things to do ahead of time. Thanks.

I don't have any advice as regards to breastfeeding but I also believe I have this problem, I finally summoned up the courage to visit my GP about it last week to ask some advice about them being corrected and he was so dismissive that it made me feel awful, he actually had to google the condition, he had no idea what I was trying to tell him! He then asked me if I thought I had had this condition all of my life, as if my breasts grew and then somehow disappeared! I really wish there was more awareness about this condition, it has severely affected my confidence, my clothes choices, my relationships.

Sorry no advice but how did they reach that conclusion? Tests, scans?

What did the BF consultant say?

Maybe google post-breast surgery breastfeeding tips as well as hypoplastic breast stuff?

Or research mixed feeding ?

Hi there, I don't have personal experience of this but have helped new mothers who have the condition.

Hypoplasia of the breasts is as you have described and often runs in families. It's where your breast tissue fails to develop during puberty and you have 'tubular' shaped breasts (or sometimes just one affected).

It can affect potential milk supply and your breast tissue again will not develop at the start of pregnancy. One of the first questions I ask clients who suspect this condition is 'did you notice breast changes at the start of your pregnancy?' and if the answer is no this could be why.

When looking at breastfeeding it can be about maximising the milk producing tissue you do have and working with your expectations for infant feeding. This can start in pregnancy via colostrum harvesting (collecting colostrum in syringes and freezing it), in the very early days and hours after birth (unrestricted skin to skin and infant access to the breasts plus more breast massage and expressing) and moving forwards to maximising milk supply via expressing and galactagogues (drugs think promote lactation) and sometimes combining formula with breast milk if you are unable to produce enough in a way that safeguards your milk supply and importantly WITHOUT FEELINGS OF GUILT OR FAILURE. Best of luck.

Thanks for the replies. I saw a midwife/BF consultant, she is actually part of the same group I went to for BF support with my first child when I was struggling with low supply issues. It was a visual/physical examination and lots of questions about my BF experience first time round and my experiences in puberty. I doubt they would do a scan for it but I've no reason to doubt her, I've looked it up since and lots of it fits. For those that don't know it basically means your boobs didn't develop enough fatty tissue during puberty and so don't hold on to as much milk, impacting your supply (well that's my layman's take on it anyway!)

Thanks for the advice on the

God I've done it again! Does anyone know how I edit a post? Anyway thanks for the advice on looking up BF post-surgery, that's a great idea. If anyone knows anything you can do to boost supply with this condition I'd love to know any tips. Thank you.

Thank you Tiffany. No I have never had changes to my breasts in either pregnancy, or in the months after the birth of my first. I also have a lot of the other physical symptoms described. namechangersgalore, that's not a great response, I hope you can find someone more sympathetic. I have t admit I'd never heard of it so for me it was a relief to be told about it as I honestly thought I was going mad first time round, I did everything and took everything and pumped at/after every single feed etc and it still never increased my supply.

It's a known condition, but there's not a lot known about it, if you know what I mean :) I have supported women whose breasts did have this 'tubular' look, but they managed to bf just fine. I have never heard of anyone being scanned for a proper diagnosis - usually, the diagnosis is made on looking and on taking a history.

It's not that the breasts don't make enough fatty tissue in pregnancy, it's that they don't make enough glandular tissue and as this is where the milk is actually made, there can be problems. But it is by no means a given that there will be.

The women I have known who have this condition and managed fine did breastfeed frequently, which of course makes more milk. One I knew breastfed for two years, though she struggled at first mainly because she was trying to space out the feeds. Once she stopped doing this her supply was good.

Hope it works out for you.

I'm pregnant with my second and I've just been to a lactation consultant who diagnosed type 3 mammary hypoplasia. I had the same issues as you in my first pregnancy - no breast changes in pregnancy or after birth, no engorgement and I had to supplement at 4 days after birth as baby was dangerously dehydrated.

The LC has recommended antenatal expressing of colostrum after 37 weeks and getting a supplemental nursing system this time round. Along with all the usual stuff of skin to skin, expressing after feeds, feeding on demand etc.

Honestly at the moment I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed by the whole thing and not sure how I'm going to manage.

I would get the support of a LC if you can and remember to be kind to yourself. You can only do your best with the equipment you were given.

Oh also, the LC recommended getting Domperidone to take immediately after the birth. Shes written a letter directly to my gp requesting it be prescribed, which I guess may or may not work lol

I don’t have experience of this but am on the Human Milk for Human Babies Facebook page, they match up milk donors with recipients. If it is v important to you that your baby only has breast milk, you could try that page for donations? I know hospitals have milk banks but they seem to only use it for premature babies.
(Just so you know all the options. Formula obviously much more accessible and probably easier!)

I'm currently bf and doing formula top ups with DS (8 weeks). When we got readmitted at day 5 because of DS' weight loss the infant feeding coordinator at the hospital said she though I had hypoplasia/igt from the shape of my boobs and the fact they didn't change in pregnancy. Also my milk didn't come in until day 7 and even then it was with a whimper not a bang. She is a midwife though so said she wasn't qualified to make a formal diagnosis.

She warned I might not be able to breastfeed exclusively (she was right) but that any breast milk was good. So far the topping up is working really well and DS hasn't developed bottle preference, but in the early days I did get very upset that I couldn't bf exclusively.

Every other health professional I have mentioned it to has just stared blankly at me though so I guess it's not that well known!

Thank you for all the replies, so nice to know others have experienced or are experiencing it. Squashpocket – I hope you are feeling OK. I'm exactly the same, everything you describe happened with my first, we were hospitalised because she was dangerously dehydrated. So terrifying. I'm not sure what I will do yet either. TonicAndTonic – that's good to know, I did end up top-up feeding with my first so I hope to try that again. It's hard work though eh!

I think the most useful thing for me has been seeing the LC and getting a plan in place for the first few days/weeks. It's really reduced my anxiety. The worst thing last time was finding out that I'd been starving my baby while thinking it was all normal. It was just awful.

Part of the plan the LC has given me is knowing the signs that the baby is getting enough milk and starting to supplement as soon as it looks like the baby isn't getting enough and not thinking of this as a failure. It's about taking care of baby.

Emotionally obviously I'm disappointed that I won't be able to fully breastfeed, but I'm trying to focus on the fact that this baby is DEFINITELY going to get fed and that's the most important thing.

Do you have an idea of what you want to do feeding-wise?