Breastfeeding after reduction

[sanfair]

I had a breast reduction 10 years and was told I would not be able to breastfeed but a little googling indicates some women have managed to do it although it may depend what procedure you had.

I've got three weeks to go until the big day (assuming he turns up on schedule) and I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who's been in the same boat.

I am in the same boat - had a reduction in 2004, didn't try to breastfeed my first child because I thought I was unlikely to be successful, will be trying to breastfeed this one.

There's a lot of info and advice available at bfar.org/ - they have community forums there too that you can join. It takes a couple of days for your membership request to be approved, presumably to deter voyeuristic weirdos.

THere's also a (now out of print in UK) book dedicated to the subject called "Defining Your Own Success" by Diana West. You can get second hand copies on ebay though, I've got one. It's very good - really comprehensive.

Essentially it is possible to breastfeed after reduction, but it's not possible to predict how successful you'll be until you try. It seems that most women end up supplementing to some degree -either with their own expressed breast milk, or with formula, and either using bottles or an at-breast supplementing tube. Some women don't need to though. If your surgery was 10 years ago, you've got a much better chance of some milk ducts having reconnected than if it was just a couple of years or so.

Good luck!

Hi
I had a breast reduction about 9 years ago and had a baby nearly 3 years ago.
Surprisingly I did manage to produce some milk but supplemented with formula. I was advised to start pumping at 37weeks (not to stimulate supply but so I had a small supply of colostrum to take with me to hospital). This seemed a bit wierd and as colostrum is only produced in tiny amounts anyway, I only got a few mls at a time. But its good stuff.

My baby was small for dates so wasn't great at sucking for a while, but I offered her the breast each feed, then either topped her up with formula or expressed breast milk.My milk supply definately increased but never quite to the point where I could fully breast feed. I was just made up I was producing any milk at all.
At my local hospital they have a breastfeeding clinic and I met with one of the midwives from there and she drew up a care plan for me to put in my notes.

If you've any more questions give me a shout I'll be happy to answer any I can.I'm currently 22 weeks pregnant and will def give it a go again this time.

Bet you can't wait to hold your little bundle.

Excellent. Thanks for such positive comments. I'm feeling a bit more confident than I was earlier. I figured my chances were very low but maybe it'll still happen.

No personal experience but my aunt had a breast reduction about 5 years before she had her first child, and managed to bf without supplementing, with no problems at all, for her 2 children. I don't know if this is very unusual or not but thought I'd post! Best of luck!