Breastfeeding with breast implants

[swelldoula]

I'm 21 weeks pregnant, and I'm looking for some advice and/or personal experience from those of you who have successfully breastfed with implants. Here is a brief background on me-

This will be my third baby. I exclusively breastfed my first without any major problems for 14 months (I would have gone longer if I had known then that I should!). The only real issue I had with her was that after a few months, she decided to nurse exclusively from only one side. Again, this really wasn't an issue for my DD, just for me, as it made me super lopsided for the rest of our time nursing. My supply seemed to be ample from just the one side though, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

I planned to breastfeeding my second child, thinking I wouldn't have any real issues again. However, I had a ton of problems- we got thrush, I was forced to go back to work early, he was tounge tied, and I had PPD. I managed to nurse him for about two months, supplementing with what I was able to pump at work, but my supply dried up pretty quickly. 

This time around, I am absolutely hell bent on exclusively breastfeeding. I'm not working anymore, and I will be staying at home for at least the next two years. My main concern is that in the spring of 2010, I got breast implants to deal with the unevenness caused by nursing my first child only on one side. They were placed under the muscle and the incision is underneath my breast- from what I understand, the ideal way to go to have little to no impact on milk ducts.

I'm looking for some personal stories from other mamas who have successfully breastfed after implants. Did you have a low supply? If so, what did you do to boost it? I would really like to try to nip any issues in the bud before they become big issues. I know how important nursing on demand is, especially in the first few weeks- is there anything else that I should do to make sure this is going to work?

[swelldoula]

No one? Should I post this somewhere else??

[Kaydove]

I don't personally have experience but wanted to say that it usually is a case by case basis and hard to predict how it will work out for you, but the type of implant and surgery makes the most difference, as well as how long its been since the surgery. I wish I had a resource for you but I don't know of one off the top of my head. Good luck!

[~Adorkable~]

i had reconstructive breast augmentation in '96 after my breast got very misshapen from a hormonal unbalance that caused me to gain 3 cup sizes then lose 4 in the span of two years. I have under the muscle implants and areaola incisions (thought to be some of the harder incision location to breast feed after, i would not have gotten them put in that way if i had known that) i then had one follow up surgery to correct a thin skin area on my left side 18 months later.

i was very worried as well

i can happily tell you in my case at least the worried was for nothing, my milk came in on day 2 and my supply is top notch, i have been breasting TWINS for 14 months and going strong, they were fed exclusively on breast milk for nearly 9 months.

every body is different and that does not even need implants to be that way. so i would go into it with positive thinking and a pocket full of good info. you have breastfed before and experienced how each time it can be totally different and you have worked through hard things. you sound motivated and i bet you are going to be in a good place with all that in your corner.

the only thing i have ever noticed is that my left side is slower than my right, i have no idea if it because i had a second surgery on that side or if something about that side caused both the need for the second surgery and the slower let down. win i pump and when i have weighed the babies after nursing directly, i will eventually get nearly the same about of milk out of it, it just takes a longer time.

this is not totally a bad thing, in reality it is my right side that had borderline overactive/forceful let down and my more sensitive twin did not like that side when it was full, it was just too much for him. So I'm glad i had the "slow" side for him to relax at.  In the end both babies got very used to drinking from both sides and had no preference.

the other things that i have had one spot that has had persistent plugged duct. i have always been able to get it worked out and have not gotten mastitis, but it has not been fun. Again no idea if it because of the surgeries, but yeah it is my left side again, though it is way up high in an area that you would think is the least likely to have been affected by anything.

here is a website devoted to the topic of breastfeed after breast or nipple surgery. 

hope this helps

[swelldoula]

Thanks for the input and resources! I've been al over the BFAR website, and there is definitely some good info there. I also picked up a copy of "Making More Milk". Hopefully I'll have all my bases covered if a problem does come up.

Thanks again :)

[JudiAU]

I don't have personal experience but I do "know" 3-4 women on another birth board with implants who nursed without issue.

[Vegan Princess]

Hi,

My guess is that based on where your incision is, you'll likely be fine. I have many friends who've breastfed with implants with no problem. I, unfortunately, had mine done via a nipple incision. I had a lot of problems nursing my daughter. I ended up nursing using a lactaid and supplementing. But we did manage to have a great nursing relationship and stuck with it for 20 months. Reading a bfar and reading the books should prepare you to know how to handle any issues if they come up. But I'm confident you'll be fine. :-)

Cindy