BF after a Boob Job

[funfarrell]

My cousin is pregnant with her second baby. She is due in two weeks time. She was unable to BF the first time as by day four no milk had come and she was never able to express colostrum. The lactation cnslts said this was due to her having had a boob job and so never had enough breast tissue. she was able to hand express a little amount from one boob after a week but gave up trying to BF as she felt so disappointed. Does anyone know if she will be bale to do it this time or is it a case of she will never due to her surgery? I can't advise her as i FF so haven't paid much attention to BF advice.

[cosmic]

Funfarrell, just to clarify - was it a breast reduction that she had? My understanding is that if they cut around the nipple (as they do with reduction surgery) they usually cut away most of the milk ducts making bf difficult/impossible.
If it's enlargement, it depends where they make the incision. These days I think they stay away from the nipple to leave all the nerves and milk ducts intact so BF isn't a major issue.

From what you said, I assume it was reduction?

[draught]

I am no expert but my lactation consultant was telling me stories of women with reductions who she had been able to assist with breast feeding so that they were able to partially breastfeed. I think it is a case by case thing though, depending on the extent of the surgery. Her best bet is to get an LC that she is comfortable with if she wants to try again. If she is in Qld I can give you the name of the woman I am talking about.

[funfarrell]

Hiya Cosmic, No it was an enlargement and i have seen her scars which are under her boob, so her nipples were intact.

[funfarrell]

Thanks draught. She ia actually in the UK but i appreciate your offer.

[Rainbowbrite]

My SIL never had a boob job at all, BUT never produced any milk at all with both her kids :confused: They said it was something to do with hormones i think. Maybe its just her, not the surgery?

RB

[cosmic]

hmm... in that case, I'm with Draught. Sounds like she needs the help of a really good lactation consultant. My recent ABA magazine happened to have an article in it about breast surgery and I got the impression that it wasn't such an issue with enlargement - though of course it will depend on the individual and how the surgery was done.

And like RB said, it might just be her. I know someone who had 2 boob jobs (first one leaked so she had to replace the implants) and still BF no worries at all.

[xkwzit]

Hi Funfarrell

Like cosmic, I'd also heard that enlargements weren't supposed to be too problematic, as all the tissue is left in place. Even some women who have had reductions can BF somewhat, if there's sufficient connective tissue left in place under the nipple. May be a different LC?

Cheers

[cosmic]

Hey Funfarrell, I went and had a look at my BF books and had a quick look on the net and they all say pretty much the same as what has already been said here.

One thing I found interesting was the comment that with a breast enlargement, the problem may be lack of breast tissue in very small breasts - and I took that to mean there wasn't enough breast tissue before the surgery. Which I must say I found interesting because I always thought it didn't matter how big or small your boozies were, they all had the same capacity to produce milk, but perhaps in some cases they don't. :confused:

I also read that it's a lot to do with the nerve endings being intact to be able to tell your brain to produce the hormone that gets the milk going. So if nipples are numb (or overly sensitive) after surgery that could be a sign of trouble.

And my BF mag (from the ABA) indicated that the best results are achieved when the surgery was 5yrs ago or longer and everything is back to 'normal' again.. so if it was a case of nerves being out of whack from recent surgery, perhaps she will have better luck next time.

Hope that helps. PM me if you want any more info but that's all the key points.

[JanetF]

There are websites devoted to bf after surgeries of various kinds. A quick google will throw them up for you :)

[TwoZeds]

Hi,

I read all the posts on this topic and just wanted to reassure everyone that it can be done. My 2nd child is now 4 months old and I was able to successfully breastfeed my 1st child and my 2nd. No problems at all. It definitely was a concern for me to begin with but I thought "what the hell, give it a go". I have had my breast implants for about 15 years now, insertion around my nipple, and apart from early on in the piece, do not experience any loss of sensation.

I would tell anyone in my position to give it a go. There are plenty of women who have 100% natural breasts who cannot breastfeed, so as long as your Dr ok's it, then go for it.

I think my attitude of "If I can't then it's OK too" really helped me through the beginning when I could have thrown the towel in.

Good luck to anyone who has had an augmentation.

TwoZeds.

Believe it or not...no one can even tell that it's been done when I am breastfeeding in public, which was a concern for me 1st time around. This time, I just breastfeed anywhere....as far as I am concerned, if there's no picture of a women breastfeeding with a red line through it, then it's ok to do.