I saw this email on another mailinglist, and found it very interesting, bc
of the combination of a full milk supply combined with severe scar tissue.
this woman gave me permission to forward this to you:

<<<
When I was 21 I had a breast reduction. I went from a size 38DDD or F to a
38C. The type of operation I had done involved removing the nipple, cutting
out a "slice"of breast tissue and then reattaching the nipple. I was told
by my doctor that I would NEVER BF. At that time I had no idea if I was
going to have kids so that was ok with me.

Lo and behold when I was pregnant with my son I began to produce colostrum.
I was shocked and then excited. I read about other women who were able to
BF after a reduction so i decided to give it a try. After my son was born,
I did have milk and I thought he was getting it until the 4th day when he
had screamed all night long. The midwife came and told my husband to get
some formula as he was not latching at all. I had milk pouring out of me
but Isaac would not latch. The midwife had as much training as a LC and she
could not get him to latch. We had to put cabbage leaves on my breasts as
they were so red, bruised and swollen.

I got myself a cheap Evenflo pump and pumped one oz of milk a day for Isaac
for 6 weeks. We also had jaundice problems which resulted in daily
bilirubin tests for my son. It was a nightmare. I felt so bad about even
taking the risk of BF. Isaac was formula fed mostly. The midwife conceded
that perhaps he was a lazy nurser and that the next one may not be.

So here we are now. My second son also had the same latching problems but
this time through the help of BFAR listserv ( breastfeeding after
reduction) I mananged to  have the resources on hand to keep the milk
supply up. I used an SNS( supplemental feeding system), rented the best
pump I could find( Hospital grade) and pumped diligently every two hours
for the first 3 weeks of Liam's life.

This time around I can see that my sons were not lazy nursers but were
unable to latch due to scar tissue. I checked with two other LC's plus the
midwife and they all saw the same problem.

So I pump milk and use a pacifier and Thank God I can do this as I never
thought I could. My goal was to make the milk my son needed and I did. Do I
wish I could nurse him? With all my heart. Do I regret the BR? Well yes and
no. I would never have been able to make it through life with the size I
was before. I had back problems and I can just imagine trying to nurse with
breasts twice as large as I am now( pregnancy put me back to DDD).

I use orthodontic nipples and pacifiers for Liam so that it will at least
be most like natural. I also pump and feed Liam at the same time so we can
have the eye to eye contact that nursing moms have.

It won't be the same but I am pleased with what I have accomplished. Now my
next goal is to do this for one whole year. Will I make it? If the pump
will leave my nipples alone so they won't hurt then we are off to the
races!

Even on the BFAR list I am the only one with my type of surgery that can
produce milk with no formula supplementation.

If anyone knows of someone who needs advice on a BR or help to nurse after
having a BR..don't be afraid to refer them to me...at this point I could
write my own book *LOL*

calliope, <[log in to unmask]>>>>

--
Annelies Bon      http://utopia.knoware.nl/users/abon/bfbronnen.html
mother of Dirk 7yo, Tom 5yo, Pieter 2yo
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