Pregnancy after breast reduction

[oldbeforem]

Has anyone had a breast reduction and then gone onto have babies?

I know it's unlikely I will be able to breastfeed but I'm worried the breasts will grow back and I will need another one!

Do you wish you'd waited until after?

I did have one after. I was Ok after first baby and then massive after 2nd. After 4 years of a mismatched top and bottom sizing, (16 top and 12 bottom) I decided there was not going to be any reduction or equalisation other than via surgery. I have never ever regretted it.

I cannot say if you will get bigger again after pregnancy. It is expensive so I would just look at doing it once. Everyone says your breasts get smaller after breast feeding. Mine went back to their original size the first time but stayed enormous the second time. So who knows what your body will do. However, if you can afford to do it twice, that might be the way to go if necessary. You might of course remain perfect so getting it over and done with before DC could the best way to go for you. At least you get more years of being happy with your shape. Babies do not have to breast feed. You may well not lose all sensation in your breasts either. I didn't.

I had one before children. I truly don't believe I'd have children (or DH) if I hadn't. My self esteem and sense of self was so badly impacted by my huge breasts.

1. They still get bigger during pregnancy as for any other woman.

1. My breasts are bigger now than post surgery, but that's because I'e gained weight, not because of pregnancy. My breasts after babies went back to pre-pregnancy sizes and bras.

1. Breast feeding is difficult and hard, but not entirely impossible. In most cases I've know, including me, the problem is that you simply can't produce enough milk because too many of the potential milk ducts are damaged by the surgery. However, I know many women (including me) who were certainly able to do some bf at the beginning, and I pre-harvested colostrum for both DC ahead of time too. However, within 3-5 weeks I was supplementing with formula and stopped shortly after as the tiny amount I was generating was such a small amount compared to what DC needed overall.

1. DS was a nightmare, couldn't latch etc etc etc. DD fed like a champ. Poor little love - she was so good that we didn't actually notice at first that there wasn't enough milk until my nipples basically fell off (okay, not quite, but it felt like it) and we realised she'd been happily carrying on trying with nothing coming out. I pumped and formula fed for a week and she latched back on no problem the following week. (but, as above, I stopped shortly thereafter as it just wasn't worth it - 5 minutes BF then a huge bottle anyway).

1. You will be told ridiculous things by the BF experts. I had one woman tell me I had to just keep trying, generate milk blah blah blah and in the NEXT sentence, told me she was telling her daughter not to do it until after kids as she would struggle with BF. I was lucky in that the NCT BF person we were allocated had experience and she was a huge support and very practical.

Overall, my advice is not to put it off simply because of BF. It affects you on so many levels and not being able to BF is really a very small issue, especially if you can do at least a little in the beginning.