At 07:10 AM 6/3/03, you wrote:
>Has anyone worked with a breastfeeding woman who has had breast reduction
>surgery and successfully breastfed (no supplements)?  If so, please be
>specific about treatment. I realize it depends on type of surgery performed,
>however, my partner and I who have been LC's for a combined total of 15
>years have yet to find a totally breastfed baby of a mom who has had breast
>reduction, no matter what type of surgery.
I had one client who was able to fully feed her baby after BR surgery.  Mom
was 16 when she had the surgery in which her areolas and nipples were
removed and moved to a higher part of her breast.  She was 33 at the time
of her first birth.

She was advised by all HCPs, friends, and family that her breasts would not
release any milk that she produced.  When she did have milk flowing she was
similarly advised that she would not have enough milk to sustain her
baby.  However, her breasts nourished her baby fully. She used no
galactagogues to stimulate milk production. She fed her baby well into her
second year.

I have worked with others who had BR surgery, all of whom had to use some
form of galactogogue to maintain a milk supply. Some of these were able to
provide all of their baby's needs at the breast and some were not.

One thing that I have found interesting is that all of my clients who had
BR surgery had plenty of colostrum, satisfying their babies to good weight
gain, only to find that the mature milk flow was inadequate to nourish
their babies.  This delayed failure seems to be a greater loss to them than
if they had not had a promising beginning.

I have begun to gently caution clients in these cases that we need to
follow output and weight closely after the mature milk is in.  Of course, I
emphasize the immense life-long value of the colostrum that they provide
their baby.

It is my opinion that the number of years since the surgery is a critical
factor.  I had two clients who fed a first baby adequately after BR surgery
with the addition of galactogogues, then had further surgery after which
they had limited supplies.

Pat Gima, IBCLC
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Mailto:[log in to unmask]

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html