[snicholet]

I have heard a lot of women say that they had a hard time nursing or their milk coming in cuz they had pcos. Anyone here have this problem cuz I have never heard it brought up before?? Just curious.

[~Veronika~]

I had that problem. I noticed my entire pregnancy with Ian that my boobs never got any bigger (I wore the same bra the entire 9 months). I did notice that I was secreting colostrum before Ian was born, and my lactation consultant told me that was a good sign. When Ian was born he was 9 pounds 3 ounces. After 3 days, he'd lost an entire pound, which forced us to supplement with formula. I had real problems getting him to latch (probably due to his undiagnosed reflux at the time), so I opted for pumping instead. I was never able to pump more than 3 ounces per breast, and by 8 weeks, my milk supply was basically gone. The lactation consultant said it was probably due to PCOS.

Not being able to breastfeed was probably one of the worst disappointments in my entire life.

V.

[3Sapphires]

i was also worried about this while pregnant with my son, but after a day of working at it, we got a good latch and technique down.

the only problem I has was I was not making as much milk from, my right breast. So I nursed more frequently om that side and squeazed as he was suckling. after a week the flow improved, but the left was still the favored breast.

One thing that was really encouraging was everyone was telling me I had to supliment, and I refused, on the day we left the hospital, he had gained 4 ounces, I have heard most BF'ed babies usually loose some weight, so I was thrilled that he was doing so well.

[Kelllilee]

i've not had any issues BFing. both my girls have been BF exclussively for over a year.

[nursenic]

I was able to BF my son solely for the first 8 weeks. After that we had to supplement due to lack of supply. I do think that is was due to PCOS. Some people have issues and others don't it seems.

[teshamariee]

My dd is now 11 mo and I'm still breastfeeding twice a day. But it's been a challenge all along and I'm told, due to PCO.
My breasts did grow some while I was pregnant but not as much as I would have expected. Then when she was born she lost a lot of weight and cried a lot. Finally when she was two weeks old it occurred to me that she was probably hungry so I gave her some formula. She stopped crying and was a VERY happy baby and began to gain weight and did great. I kept breastfeeding for all but one meal a day and started trying every trick I could find including Mothers Milk Tea and Fenugreek. I also learned about domperidone aka motilium from a friend of mine and ordered some from inhousepharmacy.com. I've been using it all along and believe it is the only reason I've been able to breastfeed as much or as long as I have.

More about it:
Domperidone was originally used for disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and currently isn't approved by the FDA because it had bad effects in hospital patience to whom they gave HUGE doses.
"Domperidone (Motilium™) is a drug that has, as a side effect, the increasing of milk production, probably by increasing prolactin production by the pituitary gland." http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/domperidone.shtml
Google Domperidone for more info.

[MarieJ]

My milk didn't come in until he was 7 days old (bf and supple until then), then he was EBF for 6 months. I struggled with supply issues the entire time, as soon as I'd miss my daily intake of oatmeal, or didn't drink enough water, my supply would go down. I was also on bp and thyroid meds, so that probably had a lot to do with it along with my pcos.

[Kalia20]

Ive had no supply issues

[beangoddess3]

I too had a lot of issues BFing my daughter. I had less milk in my right breast than my left, and she was severely jaundiced so we had to supplement and her latch was horrible so I used nipple shields at first, which worked and then she started latching better but my milk supply was so low she would only breastfeed for a couple of minutes on each side. I also pumped after I BF her so I was up like 24 hours a day for the first two months and then my supply just got so low, I stopped entirely. I never got more than 2-3 ounces total out of any pumping session. I was told by a lactation consultant that it was due to PCOS but she suggested taking herbal supplements and medications like phenugreek (sp) to increase supply.

I am 5 weeks pg now, and am hoping it goes better the next time around!

[momme]

Had had problems nursing Madison but I have been nursing Kyler (with some issues) for ten months today. YAY! Its hard and really drink lots of water. I wear a very loose bra druing the day in the hosue and I NURSE ALL THE TIME! I am determined to get to a year and I would love to nurse him as a toddler.

GOOD LUCK! to you all... PCOS robs some of the most precious things from us!

[Jill0924]

I have had issues, not sure if it was more the PCOS or more the prematurity issue (I had to pump for two months before we could even try to bf). I still have a low supply but am able to pump about 12 ounces a day, so at least they get a little bit! You can try fenugreek and blessed thistle herbs - they were recomended by my lactation consultant. oatmeal is supposed to help increase supply too. Also there is a recipie in the bf board for lactation cookies!

I bf twins with extra milk. I bf them for 15 months and my 1st for 16 months...... No issues at all...

[::MummyToThree::]

No issues here either.

I exclusively pump, I have not taken anything to increase my supply. The only thing i take is a prenatal vitamin.

I pump 45oz a day (Summer takes 24oz I donate the rest)