Anyone had a breast reduction and still breastfed?

[*Ang*]

Am seriously considering a breast reduction for a number of reasons and even tho my surgeon has said I have a 70% chance of bfing the next child after surgery I was wanting to hear from anyone who has successfully managed to do this?

[mooshie]

i haven't personally had a reduction (but would dearly love to) however my friend did after the birth of her first child unfortunately she was unsuccessful in feeding her 2nd child she tried and persisted so much but in the end it just didn't happen.

i tell you what tho boob jobs are happening all around my circle of friends and i can just say the reduction and lift that i have seen one girl have is just AMAZING, i am soooooooooooo jealous she can wear tops without a bra,and still be perky from memory she was aaround at 16DD and went down to a C cup - looks great.

good luck

[shellbell3]

I didn't have a reduction, I went bigger and had implants put in. I know reduction is a bigger surgery but not entirely sure how different. I had no probs feeding as the implants were put below all the tissue and the milk ducts weren't affected. Maybe find out exactly where they do the incisions, where they are taking from and what parts of the breast are being affected.

[Gemma]

I couldn't really bf but I thought you might want to know my story anyway...

I had a reduction more than 10 years ago and was told there would be a chance I couldn’t bf. They leave the milk ducts connected and I think they do the surgery better these days. Well I had big BB’s and was young and kids weren’t on my mind then. The surgery was great and my BB’s looked fantastic. Amy was born by emergency caesarean so that did not help my milk supply. Her first feed turned out to be the best she would ever have. The colostrum had to be syringed into her mouth. I was told from all the medical staff in the hospital that I might not be able to bf and my milk finally came in on day 4. There wasn’t a lot there and as soon as we went from cup to bottle Amy was not interested in the breast. I persisted for a while and expressed for 3 weeks but there was only about 23-30mls each express. I was determined to bf Amy but it wasn’t to be.

Do I regret the surgery? That is a hard question. I would have loved to bf Amy but it has turned out okay as DH did the night feeds and he has a very strong bond with Amy as he is a SAHD. I would way up the pros and cons of the surgery. For #2 I will be finding out everything I can about increasing my milk supply. The funny thing is that I had a drop in my BB's everyday for 6 months. I would love to hear from others that have been successful.

[*Ang*]

Thanks for sharing your stories ladies. I think I have almost accepted the fact that I may not be able to bf and am "comfortable" with that idea, mainly because I have been waiting years to get this surgery done and really dont feel like I can wait anymore.

Gemma, do you mind me asking after your milk came in and then went down did you find that your breast went back to their post -op shape or did they go "funny" as that is the other thing I am concerned about - essentially paying to get the op done only to have them all misshapen after I have had another child?!

[Gemma]

LOL they have not bee their post-op shape for years as I have put weight on! They are still smaller than before I had them done. As for misshapen, there was not much milk there but they haven’t misshaped and they are the same as pre-pregnancy.