Tubular hypoplastic breasts- BF or formula?

[Christy2018]

After a long discussion with my midwife It seems unlikely I will be able to breast feed as my tubular breasts don't show any change indicating milk production. Anyone had a similar experience and miraculously managed to BF?
I was looking at lactation aids, supplements and pumps to aid my milk production but DP has seen how stressed I am about it and has suggested formula may be better. I'm 36+4 so now need to be realistic. Going to research good quality formula alternatives. Any recommendations?

Wow, I’ve just read this on Kellymom and I’m 99% sure I have it and just never knew.

Does it help if I say I’ve had 2 DC and them both without knowing about this condition? One had tongue tie too and I fed them both over the recommended 2 years.

If you’re only 36 weeks is it not a bit early to expect visible breast changes for milk production?

There is a book called finding sufficiency which might be helpful. Some women with insufficient glandular tissue do exclusively breastfeeding, some combi feed. You won’t know how much milk you can make until your baby comes. Also while tubular Breast can indicate less than average glandular tissue that doesn’t mean you don’t have enough. In fact you grow more during pregnancy (which you can’t tell from the outside) It might also be worth seeking out an IBCLC who
Has experience in support women with IGT.

Hi Christy,
I am in the same situation, I’m 21 weeks and have had no breast changes. I knew I had hypoplastic breasts before ( probably due to a thyroid problem I was too late in being diagnosed ) but I was hoping the pregnancy hormones might give things a boost. No such luck :(
I feel so disappointed and like a failure, as I would love to breastfeed and my midwife hadn’t a clue about this condition nor my GP so no help there either!

I've just read the Kellymom link and I fit almost all of them. And yet...my breasts didn't change at all through pregnancy or through feeding two children for 4 years!! I rarely leaked or got engorged, could never hand express much, could only pump from one breast not the other (but babies certainly managed to get plenty out). And certainly no obvious signs of milk production during or after pregnancy until the moment DS1 unlatched himself and I saw a bead of milk there.

Honestly bodies are so different, I think pretty much everyone who wants to try and establish breastfeeding no matter what their breasts look like or what has happened in the past should have a really good try, with good support. Forget about what is "supposed" to happen or when, the only thing that you can really know is whether they're gaining weight and had enough wet and dirty nappies and all of that happens after the baby is born.

Obviously it's a different story if you've had surgery or have a diagnosed condition but I know someone who had major surgery on her breasts and managed to nurse her children with almost no breast tissue left at all. And I know one with enormous bountiful breasts who couldn't get nursing established for various reasons.

Also, my midwives were very hit or miss when it came to breastfeeding - one was great, two were worse than useless and I knew more than them just from reading the La Leche league book (which is fab by the way). And the one that was great turned out to have been trained by the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers before she became a midwife.

I would love be part of an awareness campaign to bring education to health professionals and just the public in general about this condition. It’s so heartbreaking to feel so alone when no one understands it or can help you and reading so many stories it seems that this condition is actually more common than people know. It goes far beyond the appearance which can be difficult enough to cope with. So much could be done to help women, having midwives and doctors that can recognise it and possibly refer to milk donation services. I just rang my local Trust’s milk bank and they said that if you can get an NHS consultant to write to them explaining why you need their service they may be able to help. I asked can I do this before I even have my baby and she said yes and they may be able to reserve some for me . I was surprised she even knew of the condition, she said that most consultants don’t even know about the milk bank let alone using it for this reason. More women should contact them to show how much of a need there is.

I have all the markers for it.
I combi fed both mine using an Supplementry Nursing System.

I read Making More Milk on my second pregnancy and had to supplement much less the second time round. I think taking goat's rue helped, as well as doing breast compressions to keep the flow going. I also expressed colostrum(which I seemed to have loads of) before the birth.

You won't know till the baby is born so give it a try and maybe have the number of an lactation consultant if you need experienced help.

Are there any breastfeeding groups in your area? I would get advice from one first.

For what it's worth I didn't have much of a change in breast size until day 4 post parum