I quit breastfeeding, one breast is larger than the other (slightly)

Probably, all women are characterized by a degree of panic and suspiciousness in almost any situation, and with the birth of a baby, the state of anxiety over trifles completely turns into commonplace. This is how we are designed and there is nothing we can do about it. The motto “Calm, just calm!”, as Carlson called, although useful, is rarely applicable to the real life of a mother. During breastfeeding, every woman faces many different “whys?” and doesn't always know what to do with them. For example: why does one breast become larger than the other during breastfeeding?

Such a problem as different sizes of mammary glands is familiar to every second mother when breastfeeding, so if the situation has affected you, know: you are not alone. The phenomenon in which one breast is asymmetrical to the other is natural for many women when breastfeeding, and it is not worth the nerves and worries. We assure you that this is not scary at all and you can influence the situation. Today we will talk about how to fix this and whether we can expect changes soon.

Types of breast asymmetry

There are three types of asymmetry, due to which the following degrees are distinguished:

Easy. In this case the differences are minor. They are practically invisible visually. This pathology does not require any surgical intervention.
Average. With such asymmetry, one mammary gland is one third larger than the other. The defect becomes noticeable to others, especially if the woman is wearing tight-fitting clothes. At the same time, she faces significant discomfort.
Heavy. The breast becomes half the size of the other. The entire proportionality of the female figure begins to be disrupted. This pathology is rare.

A woman encounters a visual change in the size of her mammary glands during the feeding period. Especially if we are talking about the first child. This pathology, which manifested itself during the lactation period, is considered acquired.

Why does one breast become larger than the other during breastfeeding and how to solve the problem?

Lactation is a natural process for the body after childbirth. For many mothers, it starts easily and goes away without problems. Others may face various difficulties. It often happens that one breast is larger than the other with guards. This phenomenon is natural, and with timely control the situation is easy to correct.

Who is guilty?

When the “workdays” of a nursing mother are overshadowed by such a phenomenon as different breast sizes, she is primarily concerned about its causes. In fact, they are simple and logical. Among the most common are the following:

You may be surprised, but nature has blessed few people with ideal symmetry of body parts. Arms, legs, eyes and mammary glands can be of different sizes. More often than not, this is not noticeable, and you may not even be aware of your asymmetry in any part of the body. Maybe you didn’t think about different breast sizes before the birth of your baby, or you simply weren’t worried about it, but with the advent of lactation, the phenomenon became more noticeable. The different size of the mammary glands formed a different attitude towards them in the baby during breastfeeding: milk flows better from one gland, and the nipple is more conveniently shaped, so she received the title of favorite and visually enlarged.
Sometimes the baby's preferences directly depend on the quality of milk production. It happens that during feeding one breast receives more baby treats, and the other receives correspondingly less, which is why the child gives preference to the first.
The root of the problem sometimes occurs even before the baby is born. Perhaps the mother suffered some kind of inflammation or injury, which resulted in different sizes of the mammary glands. As practice shows, the causes of the problem can be improperly treated (or not cured at all) lactostasis and mastitis.
When feeding at night, a woman often offers her baby only one breast, while the other one suffers from it. Remember that more milk is usually produced at night, so you should empty both glands evenly.
Breastfeeding is a separate chapter from the first year of a child’s life and its importance cannot be overestimated. Countless books and articles have been written on this topic, and thematic websites and forums for mothers sometimes contain so much information on this issue that it is difficult to comprehend even after 9 months of pregnancy. But there are main points in this topic that every mother should know about. For example, the correct attachment of the baby to the breast is of paramount importance. Some women do not pay enough attention to this nuance, so they suffer from cracks and pain. Then the mother provides the baby with the breast that is less damaged for feeding, and thereby provokes a different size of the mammary glands.

Sometimes during breastfeeding, a “privilege” for one breast occurs due to wearing a sling or mother’s back pain: it may be inconvenient for her to feed the baby with the other breast.

We have listed the main causes of this problem, among which you will probably find one that is typical for you.

Factors influencing different breast sizes

Uneven devastation. As a result, one mammary gland gets used to producing less milk than the other.
Incorrect attachment of the baby leads to damage to the nipple, and the mother subconsciously tries to avoid feeding from the injured breast.
Night feeding in one position.
At night, it is also necessary to turn the baby from one side to the other more often.
The decrease may be a consequence of inflammation in the gland before pregnancy.
The result of incomplete pumping can also be a different size of the mammary glands.
The difference is in the structure of the breasts.
The different shapes of the nipples and ducts lead to the fact that one gland is able to secrete more milk.

Factors not related to breastfeeding

In addition to the fact that asymmetry of the mammary glands can be associated with breastfeeding, there are also anatomical and physiological reasons:

one breast may be larger than the other from birth - this is a feature of the anatomical structure, in this case it is customary to talk about congenital asymmetry;
most often, breast asymmetry appears after injury or an inflammatory process in one of the glands;
breast hypoplasia, which is a pathological condition and requires specialist consultation;
Some women have an asymmetrical structure of the nipples and mammary ducts. In this case, deviations in the anatomical structure can lead to visual asymmetry.

In fairness, it is worth noting that the human body is characterized by some asymmetry. All parts of our body are somewhat asymmetrical. If there is no pathology, then a slight increase in one breast in relation to the other is quite normal.

What to do if during breastfeeding one breast is larger than the other

First of all, you should calm down, make sure that the baby really prefers a larger breast , and more often apply it to the smaller breast in order to stimulate it to lactation. In addition, you need:

focus on the correct grip of the nipples of both one and the other breast;
use both glands with equal intensity during feeding;
When using pumping, you should strive to obtain an equal amount of milk from both mammary glands.

Attention! If one breast has become noticeably larger than the other during breastfeeding and this difference persists after the end of lactation, you should contact a mammologist to make sure there is no pathology, for example, the development of a tumor.

To some extent, the appearance of the mammary glands will be improved by special exercises aimed at strengthening the pectoral muscles . They will not be able to greatly influence the size of the breast, but they will be a good help in the fight against ptosis (prolapse of the mammary glands) . Different breasts after feeding need special shapewear that will hide the asymmetry from prying eyes.

The listed techniques are good for small differences in the size of the mammary glands, but if one breast is two or three numbers larger than the other, only surgery (mammoplasty) will help.

Situations vary: some patients have their larger breasts reduced, while others, on the contrary, have an implant inserted into a smaller breast. At the same time, symmetry of the nipples and areolas is achieved (location at the same level).

Since after breastfeeding the mammary glands in most cases need a lift, surgery to correct the size of the mammary glands is combined with a lift, including threads.

To achieve an ideal breast appearance, a combined operation is also performed, when one breast is reduced (reduction mammoplasty is performed), and the other is enlarged with an implant.

How to deal with the existing problem?

We managed to figure out the causes of the problem, but the question remains open: what to do if, during breastfeeding, one breast is larger than the other? There are solutions, and they are quite simple and unsophisticated. To avoid asymmetry or correct it if it has already appeared, you need to follow the following principles:

control the lactation process so that during feedings the baby receives the same volume of milk from both mammary glands;
If the problem is already clearly evident, always start feeding from a small breast so that it is completely emptied before the baby is full. Try to give smaller breasts more often, but only until the situation visually improves;
at night, also offer the baby both breasts alternately;
When pumping, try not to express your large breasts completely, which will somewhat reduce the flow of milk. On the contrary, try to empty the smaller mammary gland completely;
short feedings, which are often practiced by nursing women, and nighttime breastfeeding should also be adjusted so that the baby attaches more to the smaller mammary gland, which will stimulate the natural process of lactation in it. And this will subsequently lead to normalization of the size of the mammary glands.

Correcting mother's behavior during breastfeeding is a priority task, which is quite simple to cope with, but which will certainly lead to visible results. It usually takes 3-4 months to correct the visible effect.

Opinion of breastfeeding consultants

Experts have different opinions regarding different breast sizes. Some believe that after the end of the lactation period, the bust will return to its previous size and become symmetrical. Others have the opposite opinion - after the period of breastfeeding, the glands will not change.

Nuances of postpartum disproportion

Disproportion of the glands is considered a problem not only of an aesthetic nature. Such a change can negatively affect lactation, since there is more milk on one side. The breasts fill faster.

This may be due to physiological processes occurring in a woman’s body.

The manifested disproportion is not considered a disease and does not require special treatment. The pathology is based on improper organization of the lactation process. The mammary glands are not emptied quite evenly, which affects their subsequent filling.

Go under the knife

Sometimes a set of independent measures is powerless to solve the problem of different sizes of mammary glands, and it is solved with the help of a surgeon. For mothers, it is noteworthy that medical intervention may not interfere with breastfeeding. If the size of one breast is larger than the other during breastfeeding, a professional can offer the woman several options for solving the problem:

most often, a special implant is inserted into the bust without touching the milk ducts;
Reduction of larger breasts sometimes occurs using reduction mammoplasty;
There is another method - hypoplasia, in which an implant is inserted into one breast, and the other is proportionally reduced;
in the event that the shape of the bust resembles a triangle, adjustments occur with a change in shape, and not just size;
Among mothers, the breast lift procedure is becoming more and more fashionable and in demand.

It is almost always wiser to delay surgery until lactation is complete. Be sure to consult with a specialist to make the most correct decision regarding breastfeeding.

Causes

The reason that the mammary glands have become different sizes may be improper attachment of the child. If the baby begins to loosely grasp the nipple, this subsequently leads to the formation of microcracks and the onset of inflammation. The woman begins to feel discomfort and, without noticing it, offers the baby one breast more often than the other. Due to this, more milk is produced in one mammary gland than in the other. Asymmetry appears. But these are not all the reasons leading to this pathology.

When the reason is mom

The main and most common causes of asymmetry can be considered:

Disrupted pumping process. If a woman constantly expresses more nutritional fluid from one breast, then asymmetry develops.
The occurrence of inflammatory diseases in the female body that affect the mammary glands and disrupt lactation.
Incorrectly organized night feeding. At this time of day the milk is stronger than during the day. And if a woman, due to her habit or convenience, places the baby on one side, then a certain mammary gland will then be filled with milk.
Another reason for asymmetry is that when feeding, a woman prefers only one position that is comfortable for her. She feels comfortable in it. But at the same time, stimulation captures one mammary gland, which then becomes large. In this case, you should try to alternate between both breasts, without thinking about comfort.

When it's about the baby

Sometimes the baby himself begins to suckle on one breast more willingly than the other. The reason for this may be a more comfortable nipple shape. As a result, only one mammary gland is emptied, which is then more actively filled with milk.

A child may also choose one breast only because it is easier to get food from it.

This problem is relevant during the first weeks of lactation, since the milk ducts are not fully developed, they are clogged, and milk begins to actively flow. Warming up the tight breasts from which you need to express milk will help you cope.

If a woman initially had asymmetry of the mammary glands, the baby will suck better from the gland that contains more milk. As a result, the disproportion will increase. The baby should try to be given another breast, which has less milk.

If it's about hormones

Sometimes the cause of the asymmetry that appears can be hormonal disruptions occurring in the female body. During pregnancy, certain hormones begin to be actively produced, affecting the condition of the entire body. One breast may begin to enlarge faster and stronger than the other. Even after the lactation period, asymmetry continues to be present.

If the problem does not go away over time, then you should consult a doctor. Surgery may be needed.

Typical situation

For many mothers, the situation is when the breasts are different immediately after feeding the baby. Most women begin to worry about this and completely in vain.

The reason again lies in the individual characteristics of each mother. A difference in the number of milk ducts and their width in each breast is absolutely normal. This directly determines which breast is easier for the baby to get his favorite milk from.

If immediately after feeding one breast becomes larger than the other, this will almost always be a reason for asymmetry, which you risk experiencing in the future.

The solution to this problem during breastfeeding is to normalize the lactation process, which we wrote about just above.

Doctors' advice on proper breastfeeding

Lactation should be established from the first days of the baby’s birth. In order not to encounter such a problem as breast asymmetry, you must adhere to the following medical recommendations:

The baby should be offered two breasts, starting with the smaller one.
When the glands are very different in size, then after feeding you need to completely express the one that is small. And the breast that is larger should not be fully expressed.
To stabilize lactation and improve the condition of the mammary glands, feeding should be done not according to the clock, but at the baby’s request.
Smaller breasts are offered as often as possible.

What should I do to solve the problem?

When faced with asymmetry of the mammary glands, a woman tries in various ways to solve this problem. And the sooner the necessary measures are taken, the more effective the result will be. But you need to understand that it will not be possible to eliminate the pathology in one day. We'll have to be patient.

Non-surgical therapy

You can cope with gland asymmetry on your own. To do this, you need to normalize lactation and follow tips such as:

the baby should receive the same amount of nutrition on both sides;
you need to start feeding from the gland that is smaller in size;
At night, the breast should be offered to the baby alternately;
when expressing, large breasts should not be completely emptied, this will reduce the flow of milk;
with short feedings, a small gland should be offered first.

Home therapy to correct breast asymmetry can take about three months.

Surgical correction

When you cannot cope with bust asymmetry on your own, then you should seek the help of a surgeon. This method will be effective if there is a significant difference in size, and this causes discomfort to the mother.

A specialist may suggest the following options:

an implant is inserted into a small breast without affecting the milk ducts;
the large mammary gland is reduced using a method called reduction mammoplasty;
hypoplasia is carried out, which implies the first two options at once.

But surgical intervention should be resorted to only after completion of lactation.

Recording the time

It is not enough to know what needs to be done to ensure that the breasts return to their previous uniform size during feeding. Every mother worries: when can we expect the situation to change?

On some thematic forums you can find a common opinion that everything will return to normal immediately after you stop breastfeeding and without special methods. There is a possibility of such a wonderful outcome, but it is not that great.

It is better not to rely on chance, but to start correcting the different size of the mammary glands immediately after discovering the problem. Your actions will also benefit the baby, because they will be aimed at improving the lactation process. Here, efficiency is important for the mother: the sooner she takes action, the sooner she will correct the situation, and the easier it will be for her to do this.

Of course, you won’t be able to establish lactation and adjust your bust size in one day. As a rule, with breastfeeding, the average time to get rid of the problem is 2-3 months, but this time is individual for each specific mother.

How to avoid asymmetry: prevention methods

To avoid the problem of breast asymmetry, you need to follow the rules. These include the following recommendations:

Offer the baby both breasts at one feeding, the same number of approaches;
it is necessary to ensure that the emptying of the chest is uniform;
it is important to systematically change your position at night;
you should also express evenly so that the emptying is equal;
You should not rub the chest with camphor oil during the feeding period.

These simple rules will help you avoid problems associated with asymmetry of the mammary glands.