Hello,

My name is Stephanie and I am currently researching breast reduction surgery. I have a 14 1/2 month old daughter that I am currently nursing now. I am torn on weather or not I want to wait untill I'm done having children or take the risk and have the surgery.

Here is a bit more about me:
I have always been large breasted. I remember being in 6th grade waiting for my breast to develop. If there was ever a wish I regretted it would be that one. I think I was in an A cup for maybe a month. By the time I was in 8th grade, I was already crossing over to a D cup. I don't even remember being a B cup. It felt like I skipped over that completely. My breast continued to develp throughout high school. By the time I graduated I was about an F.

I started to develop rashes in between my breast because of the constant friction of skin, in additon to the strain it put on my back, and the marks my bra straps left on my sholders. In the year of 2007, my then boyfriend proposed and a wedding date was set for Novemeber of that year. Looking for dresses was very difficult. I am naturally a tall, very skinny girl 32F and size 2. It was at that time when I first looked into getting a breast reduction surgery.

When I first went to the surgen, he asked me to wait 3 months, then come back. He was concerned that my breast were still growing. He wanted to make sure they weren't. He did tell me that with all the issues I was experiencing, my insurance would cover the surgery. I was a bit worried about having the surgery because there had been something I didn't think of...would I be able to breastfeed my future children? The prospect of not being able to do so bothered me. I was so wrapped up in the idea of getting a reduction, that I didn't think of the possible consequences.

However, fate solved my problem for me. Two days before my second consultation, I found out I was pregnant. Part of me was estatic, but another sad that I would have to wait.

So, now here I am again contemplating having the surgery again, but I don't want to hurt my chances of not being able to breastfeed my next child. I was able to nurse my daughter without any suppliments whatsoever, and I would like to do the same next time. Is this an unreasonable goal if I do have the surgery?

Has anyone had any experience with the "Laser Bra" technique? I know nothing is ever gaurenteed, but the doctor says he is confident women can beastfeed successfully if the reduction is done this way.

So that's my story. I look forward to any information anyone is able to provide.

I forgot to mention:

When I became pregnant my breast grew to around an G or H cup. When I delivered and my milk came in I was around a J cup. Now I'm back down to a very saggy H.

I also nursed my first child before my surgery. I have since had another child and am expecting again. It is very rare for those of us who have had surgery to be able to exclusively nurse without help. Some of us acheive full supplies with the use of herbs and/or medication to boost our milk production. Many of us need to supplement with formula or donated milk, even with doing everything possible to boost our supplies.

I'm not familiar with the Laser Bra technique, so I don't know how it compares to other techniques. I do know whenever glands are removed, your ability to produce milk will be impacted to some extent. Nerve damage plays into it as well.

I also know that you CAN successfully breast feed, no matter how much milk you make. You may need to re-define what it means to breast feed, though. The book Defining Your Own Success by Diana West is a good starting place to learn about what it means to breast feed after surgery. I'd encourage you to read it before making any firm decisions.

This is a tough situation! I hope that you'll find some help with the Defining Your Own success book and also reading about our experiences bfar'ing. My guess is that you will likely have less milk, have to work harder to make milk and that you may have to try galactogogues and other techniques. You may feel guilt about the difference between nursing your first and nursing your next ones. Also you may find that you want a second reduction after you have finished having kids. It might be more cost-effective to wait until you are done with babies (cheaper than bfar'ing and/or having a second reduction.)

On the other hand we all know what it is to have rashes/pain etc... due to breasts being big. I really enjoyed the effects of the reduction for the first few years after I had it done. I have enjoyed it less with the stress of bfar'ing.