Tubular breasts and breast feeding

[ThisChic]

I'm not actually planning on having a baby for a good few years, but I'm thinking ahead here, especially as I'll likely get breast implants soon too (ones which don't affect the ability to breastfeed, which is possible)...

I suspect I have mild tubular breasts (breasts that are a bit triangular looking rather than the typical round boob shape), and I wonder whether this causes problems, in general, for breast feeding?

Does anyone on here have tubular breasts and they've had experience of breast feeding? Did your breasts grow during pregnancy as expected? I've read mixed things online about tubular breasts and insufficient glandular tissue...

Thanks

No personal experience, OP, but when I was going to see my lactation consultant, she had posters up in her consulting room about tubular breasts / insufficient glandular tissue. Maybe you could contact ones near you and ask if they do such a thing as a pre-pregnancy consultation? They might be able to point you to other resources as well - https://lcgb.org/find-an-ibclc/

I have them and was never able to breastfeed as didn’t produce milk. Also my breasts never changed shape during pregnancy

I’d never heard of them but having googled my friends breasts look exactly like that and she breast fed two children with no issues.

I think it must be one of those things that varies between woman to woman, and you don’t know until you’re examined by a doctor…. I don’t know for sure that I have tubular breasts, but I suspect I do just because they aren’t totally round…. Which I used to think was just because they’re small and that it was normal variation…

Thanks… how did you find out you had them? Did you have a scan of your breasts?

I was in a similar position (suspicion due to shape). My breasts grew during pregnancy and my milk came on quickly despite a traumatic delivery first time and a planned section the second. I could never manage a good latch despite lots of support and had to use nipple shields. The kids didn't seem to mind - DC1 mixed fed and DC2 exclusively breastfed.

Same here. The most I could get was 20ml when pumping for an hour 🤦🏻‍♀️ So my son was mixed fed - boob was 80% for comfort I suspect as the older he got the more annoyed he got when I tried to breastfeed him. I lasted till 11m by which time there was literally a drop of milk coming out. I wish someone examined my boobs when I gave birth and my son was losing weight quickly as it would have saved me a lot of heartache over not being able to breastfeed 😔

I almost certainly have these. I haven’t had it confirmed by a doctor because by the time I figured it out I had already breastfed and I’m not bothered about how they look now. Surgery never would have been an option for me anyway.
The reason I’m so sure is because they are like text book examples, it is very obvious.
Anyway, I breast fed for 2.5 years with zero supply issues, in fact at one point I had an oversupply and it took absolutely ages for my milk to dry up after I’d stopped.
When my breasts were very full of milk, I got to experience what it would be like if they weren’t tubular which was ..interesting, however when dc had emptied them they were flatter than ever.
They went up and down so much I think this made them more deflated looking by the time I’d stopped bf. That was four years ago and with the effects of bf plus age, they are unfortunately worse than ever in terms of volume and they are even more asymmetrical. I can’t find a bra that works and I have tried every kind under the sun. I tend to hide the shape with baggy clothing now. When I was younger I used to do different things to try to make them look filled out but I’ve just lost the will to care anymore. I got diastasis rectii in pregnancy so my ab muscles are basically fucked and I cannot contend with trying to make my stomach look flatter plus my boobs look “normal” so I have just given up.
Anyway, the downsides for bf: hard/ impossible to find a nursing bra that was comfortable, had to hold the boob I was feeding with, kind of like a bottle, in baby’s mouth especially as the breast emptied (or she just couldn’t stay latched, particularly as a newborn) - this was often uncomfortable and I was very limited with which positions I could use. On the positive side, feeding lying down was easiest. It was awkward though because I had no free hand to do stuff.
Another positive was I never had any hint of sore nipples (this could be because they’re partially inverted though rather than breast shape).
The biggest problem was that none of the general bf advice seemed to apply to me and the doctors/ nurses I spoke to about the issues I had weren’t able to give me advice that worked. If you can see someone with specialist knowledge, definitely do.
Otherwise, just bear in mind you are probably better able to figure out what works for you than someone giving general advice.
for example; When I had just given birth I was trying to put baby to breast straight away and she was trying but not getting it. Midwife said not to worry about it and suggested bottle feeding but I figured out that dd could latch on if I was upright (because I point down). They had me sort of reclining and that just didn’t work.
Even a lactation specialist nurse was watching my boob flop out of the baby’s mouth and saying I don’t know why that’s happening lol.
They got a bit fuller during pregnancy (and very sore). Once I was established on bf after a few weeks and after I really settled into it, my breasts were more like normal (other than when they were very full of milk) and this was when it became harder.
I would not get too ahead of yourself if you are not even ttc though. I think you will have to try take it as it comes to a large extent because it’s unpredictable due to many, many factors, most of which you won’t be able to control. It’s good you are aware of the issue in advance though.

I agree with those saying it’s unpredictable. I posed a similar q on tubular breasts a few months ago (albeit minus the implants bit) and I even messaged a lactation consultant who basically said: you don’t know until you try breastfeeding!

That said, I’ve had friends with non-tubular breast who could breastfeed but couldn’t pump, couldn’t breastfeed etc etc. So, it all seems like a heck of a mixed bag.

Anecdotes on MN seems to suggest that if your breast change whilst undergoing IVF/pregnant, you’re more likely to be able to breastfeed.

Sorry, to add, I got myself so worked up about it and went for a breast ultrasound and the sonography said there was obvious milk ducts and appropriate breast tissue, so maybe get a scan (mine was private and maybe £250)?

I forgot to mention, I could not pump at all with any kind of pump.

Thanks for your posts. What I'm getting from this thread is that there's a lot of variation....