Erm..am i going to breastfeed with one breast?

[SarahF2019]

31 weeks pregnant. And im planning to breastfeed. But ive noticed changes in my nipples since the first trimester - hardness, swelling, change of shape, soreness etc. All normal and feels normal BUT ive noticed that my left nipple is always and consistantly harder, larger, more swollen..etc than the other. im not concerned just curious as to why its always 25-50% worse than the other.. consistantly too, over the last few months.
Will this mean i will breastfeed easier via my left breast. I know this is tmi but id love to know anyone else who has had this issue?

Some of us are just a bit asymmetrical. One of my boobs is bigger than the other and I breastfed from both fine...BUT if one of your boobs is always harder I would suggest seeing your GP for a quick exam to exclude any other causes xx

Yes I'm left handed but right boobed 😂

It is perfectly normal for your two boobs to be different to each other, including during breastfeeding. Your baby may well soon equal out any differences in output though!

If it comes to it, many many people feed from one side only, for many reasons.

I'd ask your midwife or GP to take a look to ensure there's nothing sinister going on, and then relax and know that you and your baby will likely work it all out once you start feeding together.

You need a check, not to alarm you but things can happen in pregnancy that can be untoward, you can't just put it down to pregnancy.

There's whole theories in psychotherapy based on 'good breast bad breast' 😂, babies often have a favourite and women sometimes struggle more feeding on one side - but best to balance it out if you can, regularly clear the ducts and hope to avoid mastitis. Top tip, write down the numbers of some of the breastfeeding support helplines they are so helpful.

Go to the go for sure! If all is ok medically but you struggle to feed yes you can just feed from one breast! It will make you more lopsided though!

Go to the go for sure! If all is ok medically but you struggle to feed yes you can just feed from one breast! It will make you more lopsided though!

*gp

One of my nipples was inverted, pre-breastfeeding and was very different to the other!

I fed from right boob only. Breastfed for 18 months with no problems. It just felt comfortable for me and my baby. Previous two children fed from both boobs.

I had a similar experience to you, one boob got much bigger and the nipple got really big and dark. My boobs looked awfully weird by the end of my pregnancies! But funnily enough it was the other boob that was the favoured one and seemed to produce more milk when pumping. Boobs are funny things...

I feed only from 1 boob as my other one has an inverted nipple and even my boob monster couldn’t latch. She’s still feeding at 2.5 so we haven’t done too badly

Hi @SarahF2019, we're going to move your thread over to our Pregnancy topic as we think that's probably a better place for it.

Thanks for all the responses so far.

My one is larger and when my little one was born, she would only feed off that side for the first 3 weeks was really strange but swapping positions helped. I think its quite common. Best of luck to you x

My DD favoured the right breast, my left one was a whole size smaller because of it, but evened out a few months after I stopped breast feeding. Would echo what another poster said though, get changes in the boobs checked out just in case

I've always had a I've a bit bigger than the other. When I first got pregnant the small one caught up, but now the one that was originally bigger has had a growth spurt and pulled out ahead again. Goodness knows what I'll look like after breastfeeding 🤷

I always found once side easier than the other. Weirdly it wasn't the same side for each baby.