Breast Feeding After Breast Reduction Surgery
This is one of those posts that you might want to skip over if you are either not interested in breasts as a functional body part or if you get the willies reading about bodily functions that aren’t part of some joke. I’m talking about the ins and outs of breast feeding after a breast reduction surgery.
20 years ago when I got a breast reduction I swore to myself that NO ONE would ever know that I got the surgery. My self image was in the toilet; I thought my breasts were disproportionately large for my body. I scheduled it during spring break my senior year in high school and I told no one but my closest friends (who I swore to secrecy – not a great strategy to keeping a secret, but somehow it worked).
I know, I know, many women worry about the exact opposite, but for me the constant back aches, the hunched shoulders, the huge granny bras all added up to a deep dislike of my boobs and my body.
So, I opted for a reduction and with my parents’ baffled consent, I got one. Of course the doctor told me about the risks involved, including the possibility that I couldn’t breast feed after a breast reduction, but at 17, those words went in one ear and out the other.
Now, with my second child here, I thought I’d come out of the closet, so to speak, and share my experience with the reality of breast feeding after a breast reduction surgery. If my story can help any woman out there who is going through the same thing, then it’s worth breaking my silence.
With my first child, I wasn’t able to breast feed at all. End of story. Yes, I had milk and yes it came out, but only in droplets coaxed out by my friend (NOT) the hospital pump. I kept up the pumping for a few months then gave up entirely.
With this newborn, I’m amazed that we are actually breastfeeding! Well, we’re doing relatively well for now at least. Partly because the baby is a good sucker, partly because I have no expectations and am more relaxed, partly who knows…all I know is that it’s working. Somewhat.
My first child tried to suck enough to get something out of me but ultimately expended too much energy for the result and we switched to formula right away. We were scared to death when she lost more than 10% of her birth weight and kept losing more.
Some weight loss is normal and fine, a lot of lost weight is not. Keep this in mind and monitor it carefully. Weigh your baby as much as you can and don’t think you’re a failure if you have to supplement with formula.
With our second, we have been weighing her often to make sure that she’s getting enough. We also are supplementing so that she doesn’t burn more calories than she takes in. As luck would have it, things are actually going OK. I’m able to supply her with roughly 50% breast milk and 50% formula.
In a perfect world I wouldn’t have to supplement…but then again, in a perfect world I wouldn’t have felt the need to reduce the size of my breasts 20 years ago. As the home health nurse reminded me 4 days into trying to breast feed this newborn, I chose to have the surgery for health and self esteem reasons, all of which did wonders for me for 20 years.
It’s easy to beat yourself up as a new mom for even the slightest of things. Going back and questioning the efficacy of having a breast reduction is not one of them. Neither is having trouble nourishing a baby. That’s what formula is for. Plus, in the last 20 years I’ve been very happy with the result of my breast reduction, so there’s that. ( I wonder, am talking to you or myself here?)
I’ve been asking every professional lactation consultant and nurse and doctor in sight what is normal for nursing mothers and what can I expect as a mom who is breast feeding after a breast reduction surgery. Guess what – there is no answer. There is no normal. Essentially, you get what you get and you make your decisions from there – whoo hooo…
Any breast feeding is good – good for the mother and good for the baby. That’s what I have to remind myself of as I go through this process again. This time I’m having much more success than the first time and any success is still success. Engorgement, mastitis and depression aside, success is still success, no matter how small. Even bottle feeding after a good suckling at the breast feels like good bonding.
So, that’s my story – breast feeding after a breast reduction is very hard and painful but ultimately doable…Don’t judge and don’t compare, just go with what you’ve got.
in future posts I’ll write about my engorgement issues, post-partum depression after breat reduction, and what to do about cracked nipples. Yes, scintillating, I know.
photo credit: c r z
