Moira,
I have worked with a woman with mild/moderate gigantomastia; she grew from a
"D" cup to a "KK" during pregnancy. I was called in after the baby was born
and they had come home to help with latch, and she didn't even want me to
see her breasts, she was so mortified. Her areola and nipples felt quite
"tough." Her breasts bilaterally had pau d'orange, the first time I had ever
seen it. Quite a challenge.  She could not do cradle hold or cross cradle
because she could not hold baby and see down to the end of her breasts at
the same time!  I was finally able to get the baby to latch in side-lying
position, but it took her a couple of weeks before mom and dad were able to
do it themselves. Mom went on to breastfeed for over a year, and her breasts
gradually diminished in size, though they did not return to pre-pregnancy
size. 

I say this case was "mild/moderate" because I have done some research and
found out just how much more severe it can be. I have also discussed this
topic with Dr. Randall Craig, an infertility specialist in Chandler, Arizona
who also has an interest in unusual things like gigantomastia. He has
published on juvenile gigantomastia in a British journal, and on pregnancy
gigantomastia in a lay magazine. The latter was an article in Redbook
Magazine a few years ago about a woman named "Shatsi" and her experiences
through two babies. Shatsi's growth and production were extreme but finally
were somewhat controlled by long-term use of bromocriptine. She did some
breastfeeding; it is an interesting read:
http://static.highbeam.com/r/redbook/june012001/mybreastswouldntstopgrowingp
ersonalaccountgestatio/

You might consider contacting Dr. Craig for his input, as he learned a lot
through Shatsi as well as some other cases. Depending upon the ultimate
growth, mother may be able to breastfeed; early intervention may help to
control growth and allow for this.

~Lisa Marasco MA IBCLC

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

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(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html