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Breastfeeding/breastfeeding with fibercyctic breast disease

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Expert: - 9/14/2009


Question
I am trying to have a baby but was just diagnosed with fiber cystic breast disease. I was wanting to try to breast feed but am not sure how that will work because I am small breasted and now my doctor has mentioned removing the cyst. I think I may be pregnant now and is breast feeding going to be an option for Me now?

Answer
Dear Carrie,

Congratulations for thinking ahead toward having and breastfeeding a baby, and thus giving him or her the best start in life.

Fibrocystic breast tissue is quite common and is now considered a normal variation. To learn more about this, take a look at "Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book" by Susan Love, M.D.

Many women go on to nurse babies after surgery to remove a fibrous cyst on the breast. Be sure to tell your doctor ahead of time that if she or he does go ahead with surgery, to be careful not to sever the milk ducts in your breast. As far as being small-breasted, this too is not a bar to nursing a baby. See the following excerpt from my book (see below):

"The size of your breasts has no relation at all to your ability to produce milk. Many small-breasted women breastfeed very successfully, and some have even donated extra milk for the benefit of sick or premature babies!
  Your breast size depends on the amount of fatty tissue in your mammary glands. But the amount of milk you produce is determined by the milk-producing components in your breasts, which are independent of the fatty tissue (see Chapter 3). Your bra size is completely irrelevant to your ability to nurse your baby.
  However, breast size is relevant in two ways. Babies of women with large breasts sometimes have trouble latching on at first (for suggestions on dealing with this, see Chapter 6). At the other end of the spectrum, women with small breasts have smaller storage capacity, so that even if they produce as much milk, they may deliver less in a single feeding, and so they may need to nurse more frequently. But with the proper support and guidance, women with breasts of any size can provide all the nourishment their babies need."

Once you do have your baby, you should see a lactation consultant who can help you get off on the right start to breastfeed.

Good luck with your surgery -- and your pregnancy!

Regards, Sally
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Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters. Now in revision for a fourth edition, with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D.  

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Sally Wendkos Olds

Expertise

What do you want to know about breastfeeding? I can tell you what`s good for the baby, what`s good for the mother -- and the father, how it`s related to a woman`s sexuality, how working moms can nurse, how to overcome obstacles, and lots more. As the author of THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING and author or coauthor of 8 other books and more than 200 articles about child and adult development, I can offer sound, sensible advice on breastfeeding, child care and family issues.

Experience

I nursed my 3 daughters and am the grandmother of 5 breastfed children. My book THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING (written in consultation with pediatrician Marvin S. Eiger, M.D.) was first published in 1972, and in 1999 came out in an updated 3rd Edition by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books. It is now a classic, with over 2 million copies in print. I am now revising this book for a fourth edition, consulting with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D. This new edition will be published September 2009. I welcome any and all suggestions for the new edition. I coauthored college textbooks A CHILD'S WORLD: INFANCY THROUGH ADOLESCENCE, and HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; both are leading texts in their fields and have been read by 2 million students. I am the coauthor of HELPING YOUR CHILD FIND VALUES TO LIVE BY and RAISING A HYPERACTIVE CHILD, and author of THE WORKING PARENTS' SURVIVAL GUIDE & THE ETERNAL GARDEN: SEASONS OF OUR SEXUALITY. My newest book, A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE, published in 2002, tells the story of the way of life in a remote village in Nepal, where all the women breastfeed! My book, SUPER GRANNY: COOL PROJECTS, ACTIVITIES, AND OTHER GREAT STUFF TO DO WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS, will be published March 2009. I speak often to professional, parent and general audiences and make many radio and TV appearances.

Credentials I received my B.A. in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, where I minored in Psychology, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude.

Other points of interest I have received national awards for my writing, and am a former president of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. I am listed in the World Who's Who of Women, International Authors & Writers Who's Who, and Contemporary Authors, and am a member of several professional and civic organizations. I believe: that all parents are working parents; that parents employed outside the home need special support; that mothers' well-being is crucial to their children's welfare; and that the family is the best institution in the world and the one for which we are least prepared. My thrills come when parents or kids tell me they were helped by my writing or speaking or just understanding. To find out more about me, go to

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