I have no idea how to use this board. I don't really feel comfortable posting questions in a public forum but I guess I'll have to.
So how has pregnancy affected the results of your surgery? What about mulitple pregnancies? Did you increase back to your pre-surgery size? Was breastfeeding after the surgery as difficult as you imagined or easier? How soon after surgery did you get pregnant? TIA

Hi, and welcome! The first thing I would recommend to you is to review past and current post from these very brave and smart ladies. If you spend the time researching their trials, tribulations,and successes I think you would conclude that the best thing you could do if possible is postpone any surgery till you are finished having children. Some ladies have gone through so much just to give their lo even tiny amounts of bm a day. If you are ready to face the potential of that possibility then there will be support and lots of info here, I have found nowhere else.

Breast surgery is a very personal and important decision. If you bf your current children succesfully, you should be prepared for a possible real challenge post surgery.

You have come to a great place to learn and make an informed decision. So enjoy these ladies stories, questions, and solutions.








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Here is my story:

By the time I finished high school I was on the large end of DDD/F. I had my first child at 24 and grew to a size K. When I weaned her, I did not shrink back down. I had serious back/shoulder/neck/headache pain and couldn't care for my daughter the way I wanted, so I decided to have the surgery. Post surgery I was a C. I got pregnant 11 months after surgery, miscarried, got pregnant again 16 months after surgery. I grew back 2 cup sizes with pregnancy/nursing (which is still smaller than my high school size) but again have not shrunk post-weaning. Most women do, though, I'm just unlucky.

Having BF my first, I had an advantage over most BFAR mamas in that I already knew how to BF, I just had to make adjustments to BFAR. I educated myself and was prepared to supplement, or so I thought. But giving my second DD formula was a lot harder than I thought. Without herbs/meds I only made ~25% of what she needed. With domperidone, I got up to ~65%. BFAR in the early months was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I'm very glad I stuck with it.

For me, the surgery was very much a blessing and I have no regrets about doing it. But in my case, I was a size K and likely would have gotten even bigger with more pregnancies. I had serious pain issues and, more importantly, couldn't do things like bathe my child, run around in the yard, carry her around, etc.

I don't know what your situation is, but I wouldn't recommend the surgery to anyone who wants children and is smaller than a DDD. Even those bigger than DDD, I'd only recommed it if you had significant pain issues. You CAN BF post surgery, but you should be prepared for one of the biggest struggles of your life.

I hope this helps.

Thanks!
Ok- I am currently in a 32 K. I'm only 5'1" and 140 lbs. My breasts just keep growing and growing and not shrinking back after pregnancy. I BF my first for 5 months and then went to bottles; I BF my second until 15months when I had to stop due to continued extreme weight loss well into my 6 months of pregnancy; I am still BFing my 3rd which was a challenge in itself b/c he was 7 weeks early and was in NICU for awhile following his birth. My biggest issues are the back, shoulder, and neck pain and its advancing to where the nerves in my hands/arms are hindered giving me numbness and weakness in my hands and arms. PLus, how does one buy clothes that fit? If I get a 16 top, it buttons but hangs every else and looks really bad IMO.

I don't know if there are different types of memberships to this site. Perhaps the way that you registered doesn't allow you to get into the other forums? Maybe the administrator could help you if you contacted her.

I had my BR 10 years before giving birth to my first child. My breasts grew in the years after the surgery but no more than 1 cup size (I don't think this is uncommon). They grew again a during pregnancy and again when I started breastfeeding. Now that I have weaned off of domperidone (a drug that helps many BFAR moms make more breast milk) and herbs I am down a size again but still about a size bigger than I was pre-pregnancy.

There is a really great book called "Defining Your Own Success" by Diana West (who started this website). It is a fantastic resource for women who have had BR and want to BF. The one thing that I have learned since I joined is that you can breastfeed no matter how much breast milk you make. However, the reality is that most of us are not able to make 100% of what our babies need. In my case I think that I was able to make about 60-70% of what my son needed for the first 7-8 months of his life.

Happy to help.