Keeping Both Breasts Going for Nursing

Hi K.,
This does happen at times especially when triggered by travel and stress. If you are not experiencing pain, heat and swelling in the right breast you can probably rule out mastitis or blocked ducts. In the mean time, Fenugreek and Fennel help increase breast milk supply and Goat's Rue increases breast tissue so keep stimulating the right breast as much or more than the left and the issue should clear itself up. Be well, L. Golub, Clinical Herbalist ###-###-####

Only thing I can think of is to start nursing on the weak side... when there both going strong rotate which you start nursing on ... I alsways forget and start on one side and I know that can turn into problems... so I try and rememeber. Good luck.

D.,
FTWM two kids (4 and 6 mos) check out www.meetup.com Westminster Whole Food Nutrition group.

I don't have new advice - just to say I understand. I stay at home but am working at hand expressing milk for short trips away. It's definitely harder on one side. It makes me admire my baby - she makes it look easy.

I had the lopsided nursing breasts too, and my doctor told me that I just had more breast tissue in one breast than the other, so I just couldn't produce the same amount. The lopsidedness has always been there but is more pronounced during pregnancy/nursing. I just kept pumping them both and didn't give up on the low producer until I weened my daughter completely. I tried all of the solutions, like the fenugeek, some nursing tea, drinking more milk and water, etc. Nothing really works if you don't have the breast tissue there. I felt like a failure, but looking back on it now, I was just hyped up on hormones. You can only do what your body will allow!

K.,

I just wanted to drop a note and let you know that I am having the same issue. I will love to see your responses, because I am also starting to feel like it is apparent. Let me know what people say if that is okay.

That happened to me too with all of my children. It is also very common. I found some nursing pads that were really bulky and added quite a bit of padding and put them on the side that was unerperforming to even things out. I also nursed as much as I could and as long as I could on the underperforming side to make sure I was producing a much as I could on that side. Good luck!

This is very normal. Happens every time I nurse. Even with this last baby. He wouldn't nurse, so I pumped & saw every ounce that was coming out of me. It's almost impossible to make the output equal. The only thing that I've found helped me was to spend more time on the breast that is puting out less milk. More time stimulates more milk. Either that, or pump for a few minutes on that breast after the baby is done. Even though no milk is coming out, it sends signals to the brain that more milk is needed in the future. It takes the body a few days to catch up with the signals your breasts are getting, but it gets there eventually. This can help, but ultimately, you're likely to always have one with more output than the other. Good luck!

This happened to me with my first, I was actually going to college at the time so I was pumping breast milk and running around going to classes. When my left side would go down in production I would make sure that I fed my daughter on that side first and feed her more frequently on that side to get production back up again. I made sure that I didn't neglect the good side and pumped it out. So after about a week it was back again, but I really think that me or her (or both)favored the right side because it was more comfortable position. Hope that helps.

Try something called "mothers'milk" tea, you can usually find
it at those herbal stores..i used it, mostly with my oldest
but it helped alot!! Good luck....

I think it is pretty common to have that happen. I had one side that both my kids seemed to prefer. I don't remember if you could tell by looking, but I know one side felt more full when it was feeding time. I think sometimes one side just works better...maybe try pumping the weak side more often, like between feedings? I never tried that, but it seems like it would respond to supply and demand.

I always had trouble with one side doing better than the other, too. What worked for me in keeping my supply up was Mother's Milk tea. Drink 3 cups a day. I really liked it and it worked for me. But pumping is hard! Sometimes your body responds well and sometimes it doesn't. Good for you for keeping it up, tho. Try the tea and see if that works, and try not to worry and be stressed when you want to pump because that can affect your supply. Take lots of pictures of your baby with you and try to think about him when you're pumping. It really helps. :) Good luck!

I think every woman has a breast that out performs the other. Just make sure that breast is getting the same action as the other and you will be great! I know when I pumped it was the same way, one breast gave more than the other. It all works out. Remember breasts work by supply and demand so maybe you can pump a little longer on that side to encourage more milk in that breast.

I didn't have time to read all the posts, but I too work and pump every day and my right used to be my super producer, and now it is not. I always start on this side now, because I was told that would help and now they are about equal now. You might try that.

It is actually not uncommon for one breast to produce more milk than the other. You could try pumping just that one side twice as often to encourage more milk production. I used Fenugreek with both of my pregnancies and I feel it did help me. It has a maple syrup kind of aftertaste! Best wishes to you!

You might try a massage in the bath to help encourage things to loosen up. Try to start pumping and nursing on that side first so it gets the strongest suction from baby.

If it continues I would contact a lactation consultant from your local hospital who might be able to take a look and see if something unusual is going on.

You may already be doing this, but I remember being told to make sure I alternated which side the baby latched onto first with each feeding , as they take the most during the first half. As some others pointed out, increased demand will increase quantity. Good luck!