Does cup size affect how much milk breasts can hold?

[freckledgirl]

I know that any size breasts can produce enough milk for a baby. But I'm curious if smaller breasts hold less milk, so a baby might want to eat more frequently because he's not taking in as much at each feeding. Thoughts?

[KempsMama]

Per Kelly Mom:

*Storage capacity: Another factor that affects milk production and breastfeeding management is mom’s milk storage capacity. Storage capacity is the amount of milk that the breast can store between feedings. This can vary widely from mom to mom and also between breasts for the same mom. Storage capacity is not determined by breast size, although breast size can certainly limit the amount of milk that can be stored. Moms with large or small storage capacities can produce plenty of milk for baby. A mother with a larger milk storage capacity may be able to go longer between feedings without impacting milk supply and baby's growth. A mother with a smaller storage capacity, however, will need to nurse baby more often to satisfy baby’s appetite and maintain milk supply since her breasts will become full (slowing production) more quickly.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/milkproduction.html

[Limabean1975]

I don't know the facts, just my own experience. My first baby, DS, was a super-frequent feeder. I'd heard about babies nursing every 2 hours being "frequent" - I was lucky if he stopped for 10 minutes in a 2 hour period. As he got older, he continued to be a much more frequent nurser than his peers.

DD spreads her nursings much farther apart than he did, but she is/has been still a very frequent nurser by the standards of her peers.

I am small-breasted.

[lifeguard]

I am very large breasted & ds wanted to nurse CONSTANTLY. I don't think breast size really affects it much.

[freckledgirl]

Thanks for weighing in and for that awesome link! I think I must have a smaller storage capacity than others. My baby's eating and sleep habits are making so much more sense now!

[KristyDi]

I think nursing frequency depends on both mom's storage capacity and the baby's personality and metabolism.

One thing I have noticed though. I am large breasted (F cup now, closer to G right after DD was born) I've only been uncomfortably engorged 2 or 3 times and all in the 1st few months. As dd got to be an older infant I could go 6-8 hours (without pumping or nursing) with out being in pain and my dd is a frequent nurser usually. I could tell my breasts were full, but they were just heavier than usual, no pain or leaking. I get the impression that that's not the case for most moms and I'd be interested to know if other large breasted moms have had similar experience.

Also, I'm not sure it's linked to breast size, but I have only ever leaked once, the night my milk came in. I've never used nursing pads at all.

[KempsMama]

See, I'm large breasted too, G when nursing, and I leak for months and become engorged very easily. I also had OAL and oversupply. Everyone's different!

[SilverFish]

i'm very small-breasted (not even a A cup) but my baby often only nurses every 3 hours and has been mostly sttn since 12 weeks or so. i felt engorged pretty frequently for a long time, and sometimes still do... like now, when baby has decided she needs to ramp up my milkl production

i like to think of my breasts as all business... no heaving bosoms or enticing cleavage over here! we just make milk!

[akind1]

I am large breasted - a G cup; I get engorged and leak, but not often (have to go I would say 6+ hours between nursing/pumping for this to happen) but DS nurses every 3-4 hours, and has since he was 2 weeks old. He is 8 months now.

[mambera]

Originally Posted by KristyDi

One thing I have noticed though. I am large breasted (F cup now, closer to G right after DD was born) I've only been uncomfortably engorged 2 or 3 times and all in the 1st few months. As dd got to be an older infant I could go 6-8 hours (without pumping or nursing) with out being in pain and my dd is a frequent nurser usually. I could tell my breasts were full, but they were just heavier than usual, no pain or leaking. I get the impression that that's not the case for most moms and I'd be interested to know if other large breasted moms have had similar experience.

Also, I'm not sure it's linked to breast size, but I have only ever leaked once, the night my milk came in. I've never used nursing pads at all.

I had the exact same experience. I know from pumping that I made 1 oz per hour and my 'storage capacity' was 4 oz. After 4 oz my body would just shut off production. I went 8 hours once without nursing or pumping and still only pumped those same 4 oz in the morning. (This was when DD was small - at this point my rate is less than 1 oz/h and my storage capacity is more like 3 oz.)

I'm normally a C but now I'm a D (DD is 14 months).

I think that small breasts can be a factor in limiting your storage capacity but larger breasts don't guarantee a larger storage capacity.

Milk production is governed by a feedback loop. Milk in the breasts secretes a factor called FIL (feedback inhibitor of lactation) that tells your body to slow down production. The more milk sitting in the breasts, the more FIL, and the less milk your body will be making. (That's why it's important to keep your breasts very empty if you're trying to increase production.) I think if you make a lot of FIL or have a lot of receptors for it, your body is more sensitive to 'full' signs and your storage capacity will be lower. I think that is probably a more important factor than breast size.

[myk]

i totally agree with the above. after my supply regulated itself, i was NEVER engorged or uncomfortable unless i left my daughter all day. i know i have way more glandular tissue than most people (i'm a HH non-pregnant, non-bfing) so most likely, my production needs per gland is very little, so they're never in a rush to produce a lot just in case. i bfed for just over 4 years and i think i stopped getting engorged after the first few months - again, unless i left her all day (and that was when she was 18 months old and bfing frequently). she did, however, like to nurse frequently the whole time (every 3 hours for the first year, and even at age 2 nursed 4-6 times a day).

[CherryBombMama]

one time i woke up when ds was still only weeks old (i EPed) and i pumped out 24oz! this was after only about 4-5 hours of no pumping and i am normally a 34B, barely. more like a 34A 1/2 if that existed lol

[ErinYay]

Maybe there's something to this breast-size thing! I'm (non-pregnant, non-lactating) a large A, small B, and am engorged EVERY SINGLE DAY, and have been for SEVEN AND A HALF MONTHS NOW. BFing I'm a nice solid C, but it's clearly aaaaaaaall milk.

I have OAL, and while my supply has regulated a lot better than it was for the first 3-4 months, I still refill very quickly, still leak through my shirts at every feeding, and STILL shoot across the room. V is on solids, but still nurses a lot. She goes many nights without eating from 12a-6a (we cosleep, but she's weird), and those are NOT pleasant mornings for momma!

[jdg]

For camparison, I was an A cup pre-pregnancy, am a D cup now. Babe is 9 weeks old. I pump twice a day and get about 6 ounces per session if she just ate and up to 9 ounces if she hasn't nursed in a few hours. I only lose about a cup size when I pump until "empty".