nursing from one breast only

[jennifer13]

hello,
I am due to deliver my first baby next week. It looks like I will likely only be able to nurse from one breast because I had a biopsy which severed all the ducts on the other. Has anyone had any experience with nursing strictly out of one side? I am working with a lactation consultant, but anecdotal experience would be helpful. I'm mainly wondering if anyone out there has successfully fed out of one side and if/how/when you supplemented with forumla, if you had to feed more often, pump to maintain milk supply, etc.. I am starting with a small goal of the first 6 weeks since I know it will be challenging. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Jennifer
due 5/8

[trumansmom]

A good friend of mine was only able to nurse from one breast. I will try to get in touch with her this evening and see if it's okay to give you her email address. She lives in another city, so it may take a day or two for us to be able to connect.

Breastfeeding was (and is!) very important to her. I know she worked hard and was able to nurse her first son to over a year, and I think she's still nursing her 13 month old. I know she did some supplementing, but I don't know how much.

I'll get back to you as soon as I can reach her. Congratulations on being willing to make that 6 week commitment. Breastfeeding can be challenging (We had a really hard first 4 weeks.), but is so very, very rewarding, both for you and your child.

Good luck!
Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/29/01

[Momof3Labs]

I bet that you will be able to do it! After all, there are many women who exclusively bf'd twins with two breasts - so why couldn't you feed one baby with one breast? I've also known of women who have fed off of only one breast because baby has a preference (faster flow, greater supply, who knows what) and end up doing that exclusively.

Go in with the attitude that you CAN do it, and your chances of success will be much greater - with bf'ing, a positive attitude goes a long, long way!

Good luck!

[Rachels]

Hi, Jennifer! Congratulations on your approaching due date! You will be just fine nursing from one breast. Think in terms of exclusively breastfeeding at first. In those early weeks, it's really important not to supplement if you can avoid it to help your body learn how much milk it needs to make. After that, your breasts will adjust to your baby's needs and will make exactly the amount of milk that he or she drinks. It's amazing, really. I know several people who nurse from one breast only. That breast just makes LOTS of milk. One thing you should be prepared for is that your lactating breast will be quite a bit larger than your other breast. Some women feel more comfortable wearing a pad on the non-nursing side, although that's a purely aesthetic issue. Your breasts will be the same size again after you wean.

I think your goal of six weeks might actually make things harder for you than just assuming that you can in fact nurse successfully, because it sets up the mindset that you're facing an uphill and ultimately impossible battle. In fact, six weeks or so is when it starts to get considerably easier for many people (me included!), and after that, it's quite easy. The body is incredibly good at compensating. Think of all the folks who nurse twins, where each baby gets the equivalent of one breast's worth of milk.

Getting the support of a good LC is essential-- I'm glad you have someone already. Can't wait to hear about your baby's arrival! Let us know if you need support.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[jennifer13]

Thank you all so much for your support! It's been hard because while I have lots of friends who nursed, I don't know anyone in this particular situation. And the books talk about nursing after surgeries such as reductions/implants, which generally affects both sides.

Yes I supsected that lopsidedness would be inevitalbe, and I'm prepared to be super-boob if that's what it takes.

My lactation consultant seems to be a bit more cautiously optimistic about milk supply and said that it could be that I end up feeding more often, but that if baby is a good nurser I may have no problems in that area. I definitely won't supplement unless down the road ped and l.c. think it's best

And thanks for the thoughts about the 6-week goal, other people too have said to give it 3 months. I chose 6 weeks because it seems less daunting than 3 months and at least seems to be giving baby a good healthy start.

Thanks again and I'll keep you posted- could be any day now!

Jennifer
due 5/8

[mamalolita]

With my first baby, I nursed from both breasts for the first week. However, I got a severely sore nipple on my left side and I endedup with a staff infection (on the cracked side). I slowly let my sore side dry up and nursed mostly on my good side. I got a suplemental nursing system from a lactation consultant at my hospital (a pouch that you put formula in with a tube that you tape to your breast so when the baby suckles, s/he gets formula and your milk at once). Since my good side wasn't producing enough, it took about a week of using the SNS to get my supply up to speed. The more your baby suckles on a particular breast, the more milk you produce in that breast.

I guess this info isn't very helpful if you are planning on nursing from one side only from the very beginning. Your body will produce however much your baby is demanding on that one side. I know of a few moms who had babies that refused one side or another, so they breastfed exclusively on one side even though there was nothing "wrong " with the other side. Good luck. It's definitely possible!

[cara1]

There were definitely periods of a couple of days at a time when I nursed DS strictly off one breast because the other was sore. It was okay, except that for only 2 days at a clip, he'd run out of milk. I'd assume that if we continued that way, I'd build up enough of a supply in that one breast. My other concern about your situation is that if only the ducts have been severed, does that mean that the milk production apparatus is still intact? That would make me wonder if the non-nursing breast would continue to produce milk and become engorged, with no way of relieving it. I have no idea if this is the case, but might be worth looking into. Best of luck to you!