thinking WAY ahead - breastfeeding with implants?

megganc

so i know i'm thinking ahead, but i'm a planner!

when i was younger, i had a medical condition that caused my boobs to be 2 cup sizes different (we're talking a b and a d!) so when i turned 18, i had surgery to correct the issue.  I have an implant on one side (submuscular) and i was wondering how that would affect breastfeeding?  my doctor told me i still could breastfeed, but does it hurt more? does that boob produce the same amount? etc...

any 2nd time mom's have any experience with this? 

MrsNiner

Go to the BFing board and ask. I know there are some women over there with implants.

megganc

MrsNiner:

Go to the BFing board and ask. I know there are some women over there with implants.

 awesome suggestion - they were actually talking about it already!  thanks!

holly321

I have not had implants, but I had a tumor removed.  My OB said I had a really good chance of breast feeding normally (he also stated that women with breast implants can often bf with little to no issue.)  He was concerned that there may be supply issues, which I did have.  But my surgery caused a lot of internal scarring, so I think that may have been my issue.  When I pumped, I could easily get 6-10 oz from the "good" side, but only 2 from the other.  Of course, DD had breast preference for the side I had surgery on.  I also got my period had 5 weeks pp, while EBF.  So, the moral of my story, the outlook is good, I think I just had a lot of other issues involved. 

Also, about pain, (I realize our surgeries are very different....) I have a lot of numbness, so it didn't bother me. Did the scarring from the surgery give you lack of sensation?  I honestly think it would hurt you less than another woman.

megganc

holly321:

I have not had implants, but I had a tumor removed.  My OB said I had a really good chance of breast feeding normally (he also stated that women with breast implants can often bf with little to no issue.)  He was concerned that there may be supply issues, which I did have.  But my surgery caused a lot of internal scarring, so I think that may have been my issue.  When I pumped, I could easily get 6-10 oz from the "good" side, but only 2 from the other.  Of course, DD had breast preference for the side I had surgery on.  I also got my period had 5 weeks pp, while EBF.  So, the moral of my story, the outlook is good, I think I just had a lot of other issues involved. 

Also, about pain, (I realize our surgeries are very different....) I have a lot of numbness, so it didn't bother me. Did the scarring from the surgery give you lack of sensation?  I honestly think it would hurt you less than another woman.

 i have a lot of scar tissue because when they put in the implant, they also did a lift on both sides so it would be uniform.  I've got numbness, but its mostly where the anchor scars are and not the nipple area.  I never thought about it being less painful because of the surgery - that's a good point. 

i hope everything worked out with the tumor you had removed... that's really scary stuff!

holly321

megganc:

 i have a lot of scar tissue because when they put in the implant, they also did a lift on both sides so it would be uniform.  I've got numbness, but its mostly where the anchor scars are and not the nipple area.  I never thought about it being less painful because of the surgery - that's a good point. 

i hope everything worked out with the tumor you had removed... that's really scary stuff!

Thanks it was and everything was fine! 

And my scar is the nipple area.  When I was under, my surgeon got the genius idea to use my areola  as a flap "to reduce scarring." So he pretty much removed it.  And the tumor was several inches away.  So hopefully you won't have similar issues!

 

magel050485

I have three friends with implants and two of them breastfed successfully.  They both had submuscular implants that were implanted through an incision under the breast.   They also have breast implants that are proportionate to their bodies.  The third person I know has had her implants replaced and they went through the nipple.  Her implants are huge (like FF) so everything around them got stretched and damaged.  She was able to breastfeed for 1 month but couldn't keep her supply up.