Does PCOS make breastfeeding difficult?

[NightSkyWanderer]

I'm a long way off yet, I'm only 4 months but I've came across quite a lot of information online that seems to suggest having pcos can cause problems with breastfeeding. Apparently it can a huge reduction in milk, therfore making it difficult to breastfeed.
I'm just wondering from anyone who has pcos if this is indeed the case.
Is your pcos insulin resistant or lean pcos
I asked my midwife but she dosent have a clue and wasnt even aware of what pcos was.
I had been hoping to breastfeed once baby was born and wondering now if that will even be an option

I've got PCOS and also pregnant with my first so I can't speak from experience but I've done a lot of reading even before pregnancy as it's something I worry about.
I think 30% of women with PCOS apparently have difficulty breastfeeding. I think (but can't remember) 5-10% of women in general are unable to breastfeed. I guess women with PCOS are included in this statistic.
My understanding is PCOS may make it more likely to have low prolactin levels and it's the low prolactin that makes the production of milk difficult? But it isn't everyone. So it's not impossible.
I think doctors can prescribe medication to support prolactin and milk production but whether or not they WILL, I have no idea.

I’ve got PCOS to the extent it took over 7 years to conceive. I had heard about the low milk supply and was worried.
I’m breastfeeding my 4 month old currently.
He did have to have some formula top ups in the early days as struggled to regain his birth weight but we have been able to wean off these to just breast.
Congratulations on your pregnancy and best of luck with breastfeeding.

Like snow i had to partially formula feed for the first few weeks but by the end I had so much milk i donated some to the hospital

and i had no problems with milk production with the other two babies

good luck 💐

I have PCOS and had problems with poor supply. Breastfeeding appeared to go really well, though, so midwives missed that my baby was dehydrated and starving (she latched well, but was sleepy and never fed foe long enough). She ended up in neonatal intensive care on Day 5 (and I only got out of hospital on Day 4!) I pumped and pumped and pumped, and never got my supply up.

So that's as bad as it can get. There isn't a worse situation. I combined formula and breastfeeding successfully (with advice from a lactation consultant on how to make this work) for as long as my baby wanted boob and bottle. She preferred the former for comfort and the latter for food. It worked out well for is

Therefore, don't worry about it. It may be okay, you may have some supply issues - but it doesn't have to stop you having a positive breastfeeding experience. Just remember that most midwives and health visitors know very little about feeding, so try to know where to access expert feeding support should you need it.

I've never heard of this! I breastfed my son until he was 17 months old and always had a reasonably good supply. I collected colostrum for a week before I had him too, not sure if this helped supply. Been diagnosed with PCOS for about 20 years.

I have PCOS and fed DC1 to 15mths and DC2 to 9mths. It was a struggle at first, especially with DC1, but no more so than most people I don't think and with DC1 my issue was over supply.

I have PCOS and breastfed my DS until he was 20 months. If anything, my problem was over supply and had a few bouts of mastitis. Best of luck x

I have PCOS (which led to gestational diabetes) and supply has been fine.

Im only 5 weeks post partum but she was back at birth weight within about 5 days and has fed well from the start.

I did express colostrum from about 37 weeks, not sure if that helped, but psychologically meant I was in a good head space to start as I knew I could produce milk iyswim.

I have PCOS and i did struggle with breastfeeding - however my DD was in NICU after birth due to an infection so its hard to separate the impact that might have had vs what was the PCOS. I breastfed with top ups for 9months in the end. Of two other women in my NCT group with PCOS, one bf absolutely fine, one ended up switching to formula due to her DC being diagnosed with CMPA.

When i saw my endocrinologist at around 12months post partum, i mentioned this to him and he said that it is something he has heard about anecdotally but there haven't been any widespread studies done. So, it seems to be a really mixed picture!

I think if you go into it with an open mind, get the details of a really good lactation consultant in advance, then at least you are giving yourself the best chance. And remember that any breastmilk benefits baby. So even if you only manage it for a short period or you have to top up as well, you are still helping your baby get all the benefits of breastmilk.

A pp above mentioned medication to support milk supply (domperidone) - GPs cant prescribe this as its a drug used off label. You normally have to be referred to the infant feeding team and then they help you get it. However, the evidence is really mixed and lots of women report it doesnt really make a difference. There are loads of other techniques you can try first - kellymom.com is a brilliant resource.

I have pcos and exclusively pumped (expressed) for my dd. I had planned to breastfeed but she refused the breast after being unwell in her first days.
So our feeding journey was tough but it couldn't be attributed to pcos. My supply was always very good.

Never heard PCOS could cause issues with breastfeeding. I have the insulin resistant type (I definitely cannot be called 'lean'!). Only produced colostrum after birth, but milk came in day 3. As with other PP if anything I then had an oversupply!

The only problem I had when getting started was because both babies were mildly jaundiced at birth. Made them a bit sleepy, which meant lots of stimulation and 3 hourly feeding for them. Expressed a bit, and bottle fed to help too. Uncomplicated vaginal birth first time around, and C-section second time, so that didn't affect things either.

Breastfed DC1 until 23 months. Would have gone to 2 years, except I fell pregnant with DC2 and developed a nursing aversion. DC2 got breastfed until about 18 months, but then he started biting me and wouldn't stop, so no more boob for him.

I had PCOS - lean type - and absolutely no problems breastfeeding 2 babies until 18 months. I had loads of milk, no supply problems at all. And I am fairly flat chested!

I have PCOS and fed my youngest for 6 months. He weighed 11lb 6oz at birth and I managed for all that time to keep up with his needs before it became too much. So try not to worry too much

I have pcos bad enough that I needed fertility treatment to conceive and don’t ovulate at all on my own but breastfeeding was luckily never a problem, no trouble with milk supply at all, hope this makes you feel a bit better 😊, I do have insulin resistance, multiply cysts, facial hair, weight gain ect and didn’t affect my breastfeeding journey at all, I will say I did go to an amazing local breastfeeding antenatal class ran by volunteers and this really made the difference when figuring it all out. I’m hoping my next journey will be as successful!

I have pcos. Exclusively pumped for my first as it was lockdown and no support for tongue tie etc. Had a ridiculous oversupply and could pump over 2l a day off 4 pumping sessions.

Currently breastfeeding my 5 month old - initial issues were again due to tongue tie but we had that released by a private lactation consultant. No issues with supply once we’d got the first few difficult weeks out the way and tongue tie was sorted.

I have pcos and I successfully breast fed both do my children. My eldest weaned at just under 2 and my eldest weaned at 3.5 years.
I know a few others with pcos who also never had any issues.
I've never heard that it could be problematic tbh.

Good luck with your pregnancy ❤️

I had PCOS..didn't have a problem.. BF both for two years.. exclusively for 8 months before weaning.. both became chunky monkeys just on breast milk alone.. fed on demand.. used to carry eldest around in a sling she seemed to be on me 24/7.. no pumps or expressing.. l wet nursed my friends baby who was born day after when she had to go places.
Gave loads of my milk to the breast milk bank for incubator babies.. (hand expressed).

Pcos lean and insulin resistant
I did bf.but it was huge struggle.

Constant 24/7 feeding from birth with both dc.
But it may have been reflux and lip ties etc

I have insulin resistant PCOS and had lots of supply problems, a breast feeding consultant told me it can be because of less milk ducts and insulin plays a part in milk production. I used a hospital grade double electric pump 8 times a day to stimulate supply in the first few months. Ended up combination feeding and continuing breastfeeding until 14/15 months for both but it was a tough journey.

If PCOS was an 'issue' from get go (I.e. puberty) it can cause issues due to insufficient glandular tissue.

Insulin resistance/diabetes in the mix and may struggle further with supply.

I learnt all this the hard way :(

For some the hormonal imbalance when developing causes the problem. Lack of glandular tissue is one of the reasons PCOS will lead to low supply. However, not all women with PCOS will have this issue, I suppose it depends when the imbalance occurred and how much of a shift it created within the biological system.

Intervention to get pregnant, insulin resistant. Over supply was unbelievable. I couldn't find a bra to fit at first

I have PCOS (lean) to the extent I didn’t ovulate and both dc were conceived via fertility treatment.

Zero issues bf and fed both until they weaned themselves aged around 3.

I had problems BFing DS because of my PCOS, my lactation consultant told me that I had a very small amount of breast tissue which would make it very hard to nreast feed and I'd not achieve it exclusively.

Have lots of foods that help stimulate breast milk production and if you're struggling with supply see if you can get domperidome from your GP. It can help greatly.

But like everything else, the experience varies greatly.

For me, no. Breastfed first child until 18 months and second child about 15 months. No issues with supply etc. All fine.