BF after breast reduction?

I had a breast reduction about 15 years ago and didn't BF DD6 due to mixed messages in hospital, no support from professionals and a lack of self education. The standard line (from her very first feed) was 'Oh, you've had a reduction. You can't feed. Here's a bottle.' This was followed by the next midwife insisting 'You must breastfeed. It's the best thing for your baby. Don't you want to do what's best for her?? You at least owe it to her to try!' (Yes, I am quoting word for word... I will never forget it!) On top of all this, DD was small, not very hungry and a disinterested feeder. When the MCHN visited the day after we came home she asked, 'are you BF or FF?'.... I promptly burst into tears and wailed 'I don't knooooow!!!' She suggested we continue with formula (even though my breasts were leaking milk) as we had already started down that path.

When pregnant with DS4, I decided to educate myself. I bought the book, Defining Your Own Success: Breastfeeding After Reduction. It was fabulous. I felt prepared and empowered. I was determined to give BF my best shot. Then DS was diagnosed on US at 20wks gestation as having severe renal abnormalities. When he was born, the importance of knowing that he was receiving adequate fluids outweighed my desire to BF. We comp fed from day 7 and continued to do so until he was 2 months old. A good effort, I think, but not the peaceful, settled BF experience I was hoping for. The stress... the stress... his kidney... am I going to damage it? He only has one!!! Must feed him enough... should I just put him entirely on FF??? Aaaargh!! Tried a supplemental feeding system but couldn't make it work... he'd spit out the little straw.

Anyway, DH and I are TTC #3, and I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but I like to be prepared...:) I'd like to hear anyone's experience of BF after reduction... successful or unsuccessful. Did you need to comp feed? When did you start? Has anyone taken Motilium to increase supply and did it work?? What else did you do to improve your chances of success?

I had a friend who BF after having a reduction, unfortunatly her bub was slow to put on weight, my friend was commenced on motilium to increase her milk supply, but bub was still slow to gain wt, so she started to supplement feeds. When it was time to stop the medicaitons her milk supply dropped. She BF for about 10 weeks.

My uneducated guess would be it would depend what was removed in the breast reduction. Milk glands are throughout the breast and will certainly still produce milk, even if there are less than there may have been initially. But that would very much depend on how your procedure went.

It's worth bearing in mind though, that supply also depends on demand, so the milk being removed from the body would be replaced. Women successfully bf twins (so effectively one baby per breast) or with only one breast, so a reduced number of milk ducts won't necessarily mean your baby won't get enough milk. I couldn't see why at the very least you couldn't try and at least partially bf. Every bit of bm is good!

One of my mates had a reduction of one breast, and had a lot of difficulty feeding from that breast. However, she fed from the other breast and topped up with formula until bub was 8 months old.

good luck,

K

I had a reduction in 2003. Had DD in 2005 & I tried to BF her in the hospital. She attatched really really well but it seemed no milk was coming out. My nipples bled but from what I could tell, no milk. Day 2 after having her I was told by the midwives I had to decide whether I was going to feed boob or bottle. (yep, they said it... no help to get me BFing :( ) I said that considering it seemed no milk was coming out & DD had to be "topped up" with formula after every feed then I guess I'd go bottle. So she was formula fed from that moment on.

I had DS in 2008. After he was born I was still a bit dopey from having the pethadine. I had had my shower & was sitting in a chair waiting to go to my room. The midwife asked if I wanted to try to feed DS & I said "ok". She placed him in my arms but I couldnt get him in a good spot & he wouldnt attatch (I had no idea what I was doing!) The midwife came back after a while & asked how I'd gone. I said I wasnt able to breastfeed my DD & it looks like it might be the same with DS. She said "ok, I'll go prepare a bottle for him". No offer to help him attatch or to even see if I had any milk :(
about 5 days later at home after I got out of the shower I saw something dripping... it was MILK! Unfortunately I still couldnt get DS to attatch even though apparently the MCHN said I had a "good supply"... too bad she didnt show me how to hold DS & get him to attatch :cry: (I'm still getting over the dissapointment of that whole situation)

If I have number 3 (which hopefully one day I will.... if I find the right man) then I WILL breastfeed. I know the milk comes in & comes out. No-one will stop me & I will speak up & get more help if I'm struggling.

I suggest you give it a go. If you have problems then ask someone to help... you dont want to be regretting it for the rest of your life (not asking for help). You can only do your best, if you try your hardest & it doesnt work then thats the way it is but if you dont give it your best shot then you'll never know IYKWIM.

Sorry I went on a little bit, as you can tell its still pretty raw for me... something I hope you wont have to go through ;)

Good on you for asking questions & reading books etc... I wish you all the best & hope you are able to successfully BF your next bubba :hug:

Hi ladies, thanks for your replies :)

Breeze, I know exactly how you feel, and it sounds very much like my own experiences. I received little support in hospital and active discouragement from several of the midwives:shakehead:, even though I very much had the desire to 'give it a go'. The other side of the coin was the midwives who insisted that I MUST BF and made me feel that I would be a bad mother if I couldn't. I wasn't able to find anyone, after the delivery of either of my bubba's, who could offer practical support and encouragement whilst still taking a balanced and realistic approach to my situation. I guess after my daughter I didn't know how to ask for help in the right way and after my son, so much was unknown with regard to his health that everyone (myself included) was too frightened to take a risk with his feeding and subsequently his renal output.

The book I mentioned, Defining Your Own Success, was fantastic. Specifically written by and for women BF after reduction. It is full of facts many many stories of feeding after reduction. Some women were able to BF fully, some had very little success, and many BF and offered comp FF. If you intend to try to BF again at some stage, I highly recommend the book, it's the only one I have ever been able to find written specifically on the topic. I ordered it over the internet from the US 4 or 5 years ago. I can't remember the site, but I'm sure it would turn up in Google. I did have a giggle in hospital after DS was born... a MW turned up when DS was about 12 hours old and insisted that I needed to offer him a bottle and that there was no point trying to BF. I'm sure you already know, at that stage a baby only requires a feed of a few mls of colostrum (which I was producing) each feed, and so there was no need to feed him 15mls of formula. She was insistent that I FF, so I handed her the book and asked her to read it on her break and make sure it was returned to me. She read the blurb on the back, quietly left the room... then apologised when she brought it back!:p For the rest of my 5 day stay, the book went back and forth amongst the MW's. Many of them admitted that they had no idea that a woman could still BF with ANY success after reduction.

Anyway, thank you for sharing your story. It's nice to know that other women understand how I'm feeling, as I understand you. I am determined to give BF my best shot this time, although I am realistic about the possibility of having to comp feed if my supply can't keep up because of the absent breast tissue. I simply want to make sure I give myself, and bubba, the best chance of success by ensuring that I am educated and prepared. I am also ready to educate a few more midwives if necessary!:p

Interestingly for you and I (and other women in the same situation), I have read numerous times that after a reduction women have more success BF with each subsequent baby. I think it's called recanalisation (sp?), when the duct form new pathways for the milk?? Anyway, here's fingers crossed :crossfingers:that for both of us (when the time comes) it'll be third time lucky!