Many women, driven by dissatisfaction with their bodies, seek medical help and surgical and reparative interventions to improve their self-esteem. Even in adolescence, some girls suffer from aesthetic pressure about their bodies or posture problems and dream of undergoing reconstructive breast surgery. But there are many questions about the postoperative period and how to move on after these procedures, and whether they will be able to have a normal life like other women. At the top of this list of questions is breastfeeding after mammoplasty.
Motherhood is a dream for almost all women, but when this dream is divided with the desire for “improvements” to their bodies, it can become a concern. For those who are not yet mothers or even for those who already are but still intend to have more children, getting all points, doubts, and fears clarified by a specialist is the best way to be sure of what you are doing and what risks may be involved. Knowledge on the subject will provide peace of mind and security!
As with any surgical procedure, mammoplasty has risks. And among these possible risks is the inability to breastfeed, which is not always mentioned. Mammoplasty is the name given to the breast reduction procedure. In this procedure, all excess skin and breast tissue is removed, which inevitably decreases the number of milk ducts. Due to these changes in the structure of the breast, women may experience not only difficulty producing but also delivering breast milk to the nipple.
According to recent research conducted by the British Association of Plastic Surgeons, as breast reconstruction surgical techniques have advanced more and more, it is possible to preserve enough glandular tissue to produce breast milk and feed your baby just like any other woman. That’s why they affirm that the inability of a woman to breastfeed after mammoplasty is a big myth! The vast majority of women who face this difficulty give up breastfeeding their babies due to lack of medical guidance, and not because their bodies do not produce enough breast milk.
I Had a Breast Reduction and Can’t Breastfeed – What Should I Do?
Breastfeeding is a special moment for all women and everyone needs support, comfort, and guidance from the beginning. For women who are going to breastfeed after mammoplasty, it is no different—they need even more attention so that they do not give up at the first difficulty.
There are many cases of women who are unable to breastfeed after mammoplasty and suffer great frustration for not having nourished their child as they dreamed. But when supported by specialists and doctors who give advice, assistance, and information, it is possible to persist in stimulating breast milk production and to breastfeed. In addition to breastfeeding itself, there are other techniques used to continue the stimulation of breast milk production.
One such technique is relactation, where the baby does not use a bottle and receives supplementation directly while suckling from the mother. This way, besides feeding the baby, it will stimulate the mother’s milk production, and the baby will also get the little that is already being produced. Many women are able to overcome the difficulties in breastfeeding after mammoplasty this way, and with time they produce enough breast milk to stop using the technique and breastfeed exclusively from the breast.
Another very common technique is expressing breast milk using a pump. This way, besides stimulating milk production, it’s possible to offer the pumped milk to the baby. Some women, even with stimulation, may still have difficulty in milk production and need supplementation, but can still keep breastfeeding alternately. What they need is motivation, persistence, and above all, the desire to breastfeed. Only then will it be possible to overcome obstacles, difficulties throughout the process, and finally succeed in breastfeeding their baby.
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Photos: igrodela, MelhordeSantos.com
