Ellen,
I can't answer to the breastfeeding success rate of women with severely
tubular breasts. However, I do want to comment on it briefly. Recently I
had a mom respond really well to a stepped-up herbal galactogogue
therapy, and she literally grew more glandular tissue in a way I have
not seen before. In addition, there is the JHL case by Powers and Vicki
Bodley where a woman with dx'd insufficient glandular tissue with baby
#1 went on to grow fuller breasts during a subsequent pregnancy
(apparently due to tx of secondary infertility)and then fully and
successfully lactate. While we may not have experienced a lot of success
in general, there are little break throughs that are bringing more hope
to the picture.

In a conversation with Randall Craig MD, we discussed the concept of
"windows of growth." The ages of about 12-17 or so are a major window
for breast growth. I believe that hormonal issues may lie at the root of
many improperly developed breasts, and if that is so and we identify and
treat during the window of opportunity, I wonder if we might be able to
enable corrective growth.  Even past that point, breast cancer research
is pushing strongly into gene research, looking at how to turn cell
growth on and off. If they figure out how to turn the [cancer] cells
"off," they will also have the opposite issue figured out, how to turn a
cell "on."  Randall believes that we may be just a few years away from
this knowledge, and with it may come help for women who want to
breastfeed but didn't have enough glandular tissue developed in puberty.

I am laying this all out to suggest that, while we may not have all the
answers and thus a woman might choose surgery feeling that her
breastfeeding future is hopeless, there may be more to hope for in the
not-so-distant future. If the young woman is interested in any glimmer
of hope to breastfeed, let her know that research may be bringing some
answers in the next few years--she can make an informed choice.

Lisa Marasco

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