Can a flat chested mum nurse successfully?

[Jeenyi79]

Hi there, well. Let me introduce a little of who I am first. I am a working mother of a 18 months old baby. I had an emergency caesarean with my little one and he is now a happy little guy reaching 2 years old now. I tried to nurse but it was NOT successful. Well, even I am a flat chested mum (barely an A cup), but I was convinced and full of confidence that I can nurse my little precious just like normal.

Below is my previous experience of breastfeeding.

I tried to nurse my little one after I woke up from my surgery. At first, I though he is sucking perfectly. But i doubt that if he gets anything from me. Later , I felt hard lump on my breast, the nurse told me that I have breast engorgement and advised me to put on some warm water to soften it.

I did and it works, but my baby ( 2nd^t day of birth) seemed hungry still and crying. So my confidence drop of sudden, thinking if my boobs are too small for him? But my nipple look perfect ( not inverted), when I was back home for the 3^rd day. My mum inlaw was upset that he was hungry and insisted to give formula for my little one. And so I gave in. but I still not giving up try to breastfeed him.

I tried to express my milk with the tools but it does not work for me. The amount was just a few drops.

The doctor told me that I must let my little one sucking directly from my breast in order to trigger my milk supply, so I tried but he does not seem to be interested anymore. (most of the time he will fall asleep or cried out loud. This situation really breaks my heart and again my mum inlaw insisted again to feed him formula.

And  soon my body started to send signal to stop my milk supply due that I haven’t express it so often. I felt so bad to my little one that I could not breastfeed him. I know mum’s milk is the best for him.

I am planning to have my second baby and I really want to try breastfeeding again.  I would love if anyone have can advise me on the below question:

What is the best position for breastfeeding for flat chested/small breast mum?

[Marissamom]

a small breasted woman can absolutely breastfeed successfully. your breasts can make as much milk as someone with larger breasts, but you may have to feed the baby more often at first. and any newborn, regardless of breast size, needs fed very often because breastmilk is digested quickly, much faster than formula, and their stomachs are tiny. my first fed slowly, and would nurse 45 minutes, then take a 15 minute break, and then nurse again whenever she was awake, my second was 15 minutes on the breast 10 minutes off, whenever awake. it's completely normal for a young baby to nurse all the time, especially in the first few days, because it can take a few days (2-5, usually) for your milk to come in fully. and nursing a lot helps your milk come in and establishes your milk supply. 

as for nursing position, I liked the cross-cradle hold when my babies were tiny. 

[Jeenyi79]

thank you Marissa mum,

last time my baby refused my nipple and i don't know why. he will suck for 5 minutes then he does not want to latch on any longer and then continue crying.

i just wonder if anyone can advise me how to handle this if it happen again? continue formula or let him cry out?

i guess every baby is different? i really wish my next one will be a successful one! 

[PatioGardener]

Hi Mama, and Welcome to MDC!

First some questions...

When is your second baby going to arrive? Did your breasts grow during your pregnancy with your first baby? Did you ever have surgery on your breasts? Did they develop when you were a teenager?

Breast size has little to do with how much milk a mother can make. Mothers with smaller breasts may have to feed their baby more often, but they still make enough milk for baby.

In the first week after birth, baby will want to nurse ALL THE TIME! Seriously, I think my baby nursed every hour for the first 2 weeks of his life. It was really important to put the baby to the breast every time he was fussy, no matter when I fed him last. Some times he ate 4 times in one hour!

In order to prepare for your next baby, it will be a good idea to learn as much as you can to get ready - which is why it is wonderful to see you here on MDC! And then you can be prepared to tell your mother-in-law before your baby is born that you expect her support for breastfeeding, and you will not have formula or bottles in the house. Here is a great article to get you started.

It will also be good to have a plan to see that baby is getting enough milk after he or she is born. Here is a good check list.

[Marissamom]

Originally Posted by Jeenyi79 

last time my baby refused my nipple and i don't know why. he will suck for 5 minutes then he does not want to latch on any longer and then continue crying.

i just wonder if anyone can advise me how to handle this if it happen again? continue formula or let him cry out?

i guess every baby is different? i really wish my next one will be a successful one! 

could he have needed to be burped? did you ever try offering the other side? usually if a baby is pulling off the breast crying it's because they have air trapped in their stomach or the milk is slowing down on that side. so I would try burping the baby, then offer the other side, then if they're still hungry after the second side, offer the first side again, just keep switching sides back and forth until the baby doesn't want to nurse anymore. try to avoid all bottles and pacifiers for the first few weeks, as introducing an artificial nipple in the beginning can cause the baby to become confused because they use their tongue differently than they do at the breast. 

[sunnygir1]

Yes, the mama I know with the smallest breasts has successfully breastfed 3 children with no problems.  Pre-pregnancy breast size has very little to do with milk production.

I agree with others that you should do some reading about breastfeeding before your next baby comes.  Do you plan to have your baby in a hospital?  If you stay a day or two in the hospital after the birth, they should have a lactation consultant on staff who can help you get your baby started breastfeeding.  You can also make an appointment with a lactation consultant even after you are home with your baby to get the help you need.

Of course you should be aware of potential problems, but know that most women and most babies are perfectly capable of having a healthy breastfeeding relationship in which the baby gets plenty of nourishment.  This is what our bodies are meant to do.

If the baby cries after nursing I agree that you should try burping the baby, then offering the other breast, especially if the baby is still fussy.  Also, try other ways of soothing the baby, rock, sing, hold and walk, swaddle, etc.  Take a break if you need it.  If your baby nurses for 5 minutes at a time and does so very often, he or she will still be able to bring in your milk and get fed.  Some babies get frustrated, but can still nurse successfully.

[carepear]

The best thing to do is to try to prevent this.  No artificial nipples at all until breastfeeding is established.  This means no pacis, no bottles, no formula.  The worst thing you can do for latch and supply is to offer a bottle of formula.  Your mother in law sabotaged your breastfeeding relationship.  Was she a formula feeder?

I would recommend reading, researching and going to a LLL meeting to prepare.  Good luck mama!
 

Originally Posted by Jeenyi79 

thank you Marissa mum,

last time my baby refused my nipple and i don't know why. he will suck for 5 minutes then he does not want to latch on any longer and then continue crying.

i just wonder if anyone can advise me how to handle this if it happen again? continue formula or let him cry out?

i guess every baby is different? i really wish my next one will be a successful one! 

[Llyra]

I have no breasts at all, really-- I wear a AAA training bra, when I wear one at all. Anyway, I nursed twins successfully. It shouldn't matter at all. And i understand how the confidence factor is so important--- I gave up breastfeeding my first, very early, because she was fussy and cried a lot, and didn't sleep very well, and I let people around me convince me that breastfeeding was the problem. When I was pregnant again, I was determined to make it work, and I did. It absolutely can be done!


What does help though is learning as much as you can about the normal course of breastfeeding, and the normal behaviors of breastfed babies-- their feeding and sleeping patterns can be very different from bottlefed babies. The way that bottle-fed babies will drink a lot of milk, very quickly, and then sleep very soundly for several hours, is not the biologically normal pattern for human babies. It is normal for infants to be very fussy in the early days, and to want to nurse constantly, and to have trouble settling down on the breast-- all that fussiness leads to lots of switching sides, and lots of feeding, which helps to stimulate a full supply of milk. It is also important to be alert for signs of nipple confusion-- the way a baby uses its mouth to suck from a bottle is very different from the suckling action needed to nurse from the breast, and some babies will have trouble going back and forth-- once they've had bottles, even just one bottle in some cases, they will resist going back to the breast. Not all babies are subject to nipple confusion but when it happens, it is difficult to overcome. It can be prevented by resisting the pressure to give bottles in the early weeks. That's not always easy when our well-meaning relatives are yammering at us to give bottles, I know. My mom was the same.

The PPs have given great advice. I don't know where you're located, but I'd highly recommend checking out a La Leche League meeting, if you can find one near you== check the LLL web site for help finding one.

[CheriK]

PatioGardener gave you great advice, as well as the many posters who suggest attending La Leche League meetings while you're pregnant.  It's so so important to have a good support network, and real-life support is critical.   If you don't have a nearby LLL group, search for other breastfeeding moms in your area.  If you're able to, meeting with an IBCLC while you're pregnant to discuss your last experience and how to avoid problems this time around may also help.

It sounds like you know what happened with your first baby - formula supplementation led to decreased breast stimulation and a baby who wouldn't take the breast, which signaled your body to stop producing milk.  Definitely read now about what to expect during the early days of breastfeeding.  Have names and #'s of folks you can call if you have questions or concerns (even if it's the midd of the night).  Don't even have formula in the house.  Can you keep MIL out of the house, too? (I'm only partially kidding - if "helpers" aren't helpful, it's best not to have them around)

It's normal for you to just produce drops at first.  Newborn babies only need drops, but they need those drops very very frequently.  Nursing whenever your baby is interested during the first few days will signal your body to increase production and you'll see more than drops soon.

If baby crys, offer to nurse.  If he only nurses for 5 minutes, that's okay.  If he's still crying, walk, rock, sing, change diapers, then offer to nurse again.  Babies cry for lots and lots of reasons, not just for hunger.  And nursing is soothing and relaxing, even if baby isn't hungry. 

Are you noticing any changes in your breasts during this pregnancy?  How about during your last pregnancy?   

I am not even an A cup when not breastfeeding, but I breastfed twins successfully (not without some initial struggle, though) and had oversupply with my singleton.  Breast size doesn't correlate to milk production.  A woman with smaller breasts is more likely to have a smaller storage capacity though, which means her baby may need to nurse more frequently throughout the day and night.  My twins nursed every hour for many many months.  That really was hard when nursings took 45 minutes.  There were days when I literally did nothing but feed babies.  But it got easier. 

[Jeenyi79]

oh thks... glad to hear that you successfully breastfeed your babies. yes.. i am planning to have my second baby probably next year.

nope.. i never have breast surgery before,,,,is just that my size was just AAA since puberty. and the weird thing is during my 1st pregnancy... my breast does not grow bigger. but after postmortem 1 week... it engorge a little and slightly bigger than usual!

yes.. thanks for all the advise and support! i love to try again for my second baby. believing this time my baby will latch on easily.

my 1st baby is almost 2 years old now... he seems like not a milk fans...haha.. we have to spoon feed him with milk due to that he does not like to suck from bottle ! until now i don't kind of understand why he is that way. but anyhow... he is a happy and healthy little guy to me now! 

[BarefootScientist]

YES! Small breasted women can absolutely breastfeed. I was tiny like you before my first pregnancy. I did get a little bigger during pregnancy, but never a B I don't think. And I nursed my son for 2.5 years with OVERsupply. My aunt is smaller than me, I mean hardly a nipple LOL and she nursed twins. So no, having small breasts does not mean anything about whether you can breastfeed. Now I don't know your situation so I can't tell you for sure what went wrong or whether you have other problems, but it sounds like it was not a problem with your baby - or your breasts - but just a problem of things not working out due to lack of confidence, bad advice, etc. The fact that you were engorged makes me think that yes, you did have enough milk. Perhaps you had a problem with latch at first. As many others have suggested, I would recommend reading up on breastfeeding before the next time and getting hooked up with a LLL group and/or a IBCLC.

Good luck!

Edit: Oh, I forgot to answer the position question. I liked a variety of positions. I usually used the normal cradle hold. I also liked the football hold in the very beginning (when my breasts were a little bigger I suppose). And lying down.

[Chloe'sMama]

I am small chested as is my sister and we both successfully nurse our children... (I am tandem nursing my two and she has 3 children).  I actually think my friends with VERY large chests have a harder time and have ended up supplimenting with formula, but I think it has to do with ease of nursing in public and not wanting to expose themselves.

Next time, maybe set up an appt. with a lactation specialist right away.  They can help you!