Breast surgery and breastfeeding

Breast surgery and breastfeeding

I was listening to the radio this week and heard reference to breast surgery and breastfeeding on a number of occasions.

There seems to be genuine and wide spread interest,  confusion and concern in whether  breast surgery is compatible with breast feeding.

The answer is it can be, it just depends on a number of factors.

The factor that influences the outcome the most is the type of surgery and where the incisions are.  If the incision is around the nipple or the outside of the breast towards the arm, where the nerves come from the spinal cord,  the nerves are often cut.

This is important because, the nerves in the nipple are really important for relaying messages to the brain to give feedback about what is going on there with feeding.  If the nerves are cut, they take years to regrow. Nerves can regrow but they are very slow and unreliable as to how much.

This is for any type of breast surgery including making breasts larger or smaller and removing a part for any other reason.  So if there is no message getting back to the brain, breast milk supply can be an issue.

For some women who have even had a relatively minor procedure such as an abscess drained or a chest tube inserted at some stage, there may be nerve damage.

It isn’t a given, it is individual just like most situations.  And you won’t know until you  give it a go.

Obviously if it is a choice then delaying any breast surgery until after you have had your children  is the safer way to go.