Lop sided?

[Hilltopgrouphome]

Tracy makes a very strong point to breast feed one side each time. However, recently I heard that doing so will cause you to become lop sided as one breast natrually produces more milk than the other. Have any of the breast feeding moms on this site found this to be true?

Thanks,
Wendy

[annamum]

This is from a person who is truly lopsided but not because of Tracy's methods. My dd refused my left breast from day one and I was trying to get her on this less preferred without any luck. After 3 weeks of fighting with her and eventually putting her on the right one only, I even stopped pumping and decided that the right breast will have to be the only one she feeds from. It worked great, in fact she was always on the top of the charts. My non-producing breast is my normal pre-pregnancy size and the right one is bigger. I used to be much more lopsided but now they don't look so different any more (my dd is now 18 months). When it was more of an issue I was putting a pad to make them look same size. And I got used to it LOL.  Anyway, after you stop nursing your breasts are supposed to go back to its original size.

Now, being a moderator for this forum, I haven't noticed any unusual number of women having this problem. I think, your breast adjusts to demand and it doesn't matter if you nurse from each breast at the time or from one only and then from the second one at the next feed because eventually you will offer each of them to your baby. I also belong to another forum where moms offer both breasts at each feed and they also have problems with being lopsided. It just happens to some women, for reasons you mentioned, one breast produces more, or because of baby preference (which may come and go).

Also, many women here, feed from one breast only at the beginnign and when their baby hits a 3 months growth spurt they start offering a second one to satisfy baby's hunger. This is actually common here and you should follow your common sense. Also, there are BW moms who don't single side feed at all and do what their intuition tells them is the best in their paricular situation.

This is my take on this. Hope I helped you a little.

[amheusser]

Your body will adapt amazingly to what your baby needs, whatever you change (whether single-sided or reduced schedule or whatever).  It may feel like you're lopsided for a few days, but as your supply regulates itself that should get better.  There are pros & cons to single-side or double-side feeding, so if single-side doesn't work for whatever reason, it's not a big deal.

[branwen]

Even though I feed from both sides, my right breast produces more than the left.  My dd also prefers the right breast- I'm not sure if this is why the right produces more or if it is just naturally that way :wink:

[Maddys Mum]

Hi.  I always fed my 3 month dd from alternate sides since birth but recently realised that that my breasts were uneven.  I think, in my case, that it's just easier for her from the right side, although she'll happily take the left.  To make matters worse, I got thrush in both nipples, but far worse on the left side!

In a bid to try and even things up a little I now always feed from the left side first (easier now the thrush has cleared up!) and offer the right side if she wants it.  I think it's made a small difference, but I'm now at the stage where I'm not so bothered as I was. 

I also think she's now coming into a growth spurt, so I know she'll want both sides each feed. 

In the end, you'll probably find that it really doesn't stress you like it did at first.  And of course you must remember that just because you're so conscious of it doesn't mean any one else notices!