One Breast Produces less...help!

Hi J.!

I have three daughters, and breastfed them all. I conquered anything and everything during my breastfeeding days.
My suggestion is to feed more frequently on the side that produces less. I always learned that the more you nurse, the more you will produce. I always nursed one breast per feeding, but that doesn't work for everyone. So, I would suggest to try to nurse off both sides at each feeding until you notice it producing more. I hope it works!

M.

Hi- I am going through that right now as well. Lefty produces 1/2 what righty does & everyone says it is normal. I have a manual pump that I use after nursing to get every drop out & we put that into a bottle that daddy feeds her. That is suppossed to promote an even better milk supply. As long as you are getting enough milk to satisfy him, you should be ok. The righty will look bigger to you, but no-one else should notice (ok, maybe your husband!). Good luck & Happy 4th of July!

Totally normal for one side to produce less than the other. Lots of moms I have talked to said they experienced the same thing. Lefty was my lower producer too. (I was EPing) There is not much you do to encourage one side to produce more, it is anotomical. Pumping is not an accurate indicator of how much you are producing when baby is nursing. The pump just can't recreate the same action of a baby. It sounds like your supply is very good. As long as your baby is growing and having plenty of dirty diapers, you are feeding him well. Congrats on your new little one!

I had the same problem with my son (now 3 years old) and now with my daughter (4 months old). I breastfed my son until he was a year old. I just made sure to nurse him on the side that produced less and pumped most of my milk from the left side. I was still able to produce enough milk to satisfy my son and I produce enough to feed my daughter. Don't worry about it as long as you're producing enough milk overall. You could have less milk glands on that side, I think that is my problem. My left breast is bigger than my right, but even though I notice it most people don't. You can maybe wear padding on the side that's smaller so they look more even. They went back to normal after I stopped breastfeeding my son.

I also had a similar problem. I was always told to let him feed more on that side - to let milk production pick up, but it really never did - (not with any of my 3 sons),
you could try pumping just that one to try to get it going more. My kids just favored one over the other, it doesn't really hurt anything (as long as he is getting enough from one)- just makes mommy a bit lopsided for a while; however, the one that my boys favored has always been slightly bigger than the other one, even before breastfeeding.
if you are super concerned, I would call your doc. and they can refer you to a lactation specialist.
hope this helps.

PUMP PUMP PUMP!!! The more you stimulate it the more it SHOULD produce!

Hi J.,
Congratulations on your new son!!I had the same problem and still have this problem. I'm not even sure how it happened? I think my daughter favored the good side. I've been nursing for 15 months (now down to just evening and morning feedings) and haven't been able to change the situation. So I'm loppsided in the chest area also.
I was told originally to have my daughter nurse first always on that side and as frequently as possible....but it never seemed to help. So I keep her nursing there as much as possible to keep some supply, but it seems that when I was nursing full time she got plenty from the good side plus the little from the other. So I wouldn't worry about it too much. I also heard that when we pump we don't get as much as they do sucking, so I'm sure your baby is getting what he needs.
I hope this feedback helps.
Good luck and take care.
J.

Hi--I had a similar problem, and I guess what I did when my kids were really small (extended nursers here) was try to nurse more frequently on that side to encourage production. Is the herbal tea you tried that raspberry leaf tea? That helped me!
Good luck! S.

Have you tried calling a lactation consultant? They can give you better advice. Also, they may recommend you to nurse on that side more to help the milk to produce. I would always start nursing with the side thats producing less. Then switch to the other. If the side with a larger quanity is a problem after feedings after your baby is done just express whats left. Sometimes that helps to even them out after feedings.

I had the same problem and at about 9 months my left side gave out all together. This happened w/ my second son and not my first, although my left side did give up before my right when I weened my first child. My sister had the same thing happen. I don't know of any way to increase the production. I always tried to nurse more on that side to try and increase the supply w/ the whole supply and demand thing, but it didn't work. Sorry I have no advice for that, but at least you can rest assured that it is pretty common.

Hi J.,
I have a six week old as well! I starting pumping and bottle feeding my daughter when she was 3 weeks old because she wasn't latching on very well. That is when I noticed the one breast produces more milk than the other (and it is still producing more today). I looked that up on babycenter (great website for advice) and they say it's common to have one breast produce more milk than the other. I don't believe that there is anything you can do to have the other produce more. I would just make sure that you are still having him feed from that and switch off if he is still hungry to the one that produces more. Hope that helps. By the way what town to you live in? I live in Waverly and I am 27 and Jade is my first child. Take care.

What you pump is no indication of your supply. Oddly enough my left breast responded to the pump well, but my right breast didn't... so I could always get a couple more ounces out of my left breast. Weird... huh!

HOWEVER your baby nursing gets out way more milk than ANY pump, so don't base your supply on what you pump, your baby gets out way more than that. :) As long as he is satisfied after a feeding, don't sweat it!