[melissa4u]

I started a thread a few weeks ago in another section. I feel like that this is section is much more appropriate for it. I will link a post to it.

Basically, I wanted others to know about underdeveloped breasts and breastfeeding. If you have underdeveloped breasts, you are HIGHLY very likely to encounter milk supply issues. Underdeveloped breasts are "Insufficient Glandular Tisuue", or "IGT".

IGT is not having enough milk producing cells. Therefore, you will more than likely not be able to produce enough milk for your baby. This can cause some hurt feelings. When I was breastfeeding my baby, I had a hard time keeping up with her demands. I took a few things that helped to increase milk supply, but I guess I just didn't have enough glandular tissue to keep up and produce more milk. I got so upset when I knew that I wasn't able to continue breastfeeding.

Luckily, now, I have found things that can help A LOT with IGT.
Progesterone supplements can be taken during pregnancy up to the 37 week mark. It has been known to increase lactation tissue.
Metformin can be taken during pregnancy and during lactation.
There are also herbs that can be taken after birth, like Alfalfa and Goat's Rue to increase milk supply.
There are some reports online and in books of women using the above supplements/herbs with success.

I was really sad why I couldn't breastfeed, almost to the point where I got depressed. I did not know about IGT before, I wish I had known this when I was pregnant, I could have done things a little different and maybe my outcome would have been better.
Its better to learn later than never, right?
I know better now, so I can prepare for my future pregnancies.
I am really passionate about this because I know a lot of ladies do not know this and I don't want them to feel like a failure, there are things that we can do.
You can notice early on in pregnancy if you have IGT, there is much more info and links in my original thread that I posted:
http://www.breastnexus.com/showthread.php?tid=9759

[em2727]

just wanted to say that I have IGT (confirmed by a lactation consultant) and must supplement with formula. MY second pregnancy I took alfalfa during pregnancy and goats rue after birth and then went to using shatavari. I still have to supplement alot, but I just want those of you to know that you can still breastfeed with IGT but more than likely will have to use some amount of formula. If you haven't had children yet I do think that some of these programs may help develop your breasts. Had I known about this stuff when I was a teen/early 20's i would have done these things prior to having children in hopes of developing more mammary tissue to breastfeed. I am currently breastfeeding my daughter and the book "a breastfeeding mother's guide to making more milk" is an awesome resource, has photos of IGT breasts and explains possible reasons for underdevelopment.. My one breast grew quite a bit during pregnancy but the other did not, assymetry is a big tell tale sign of IGT, and also widely spaced small breasts and ironically stretch marks. If anyone has questions about igt, PM me I have done a lot of research.

[melissa4u]

Hi em2727,
Thank you so much for replying to this thread.
I am currently on BO hoping to complete the development of my breasts.

I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind
Did you take alfalfa from the first month of pregnancy all the way to the last month?
Did you immediately use goats rue right after birth?
How much did your breasts grow?
Have you seen a great amount of increased breast milk with your second pregnancy?

Thank you!!

[em2727]

Hi em2727,
Thank you so much for replying to this thread.
I am currently on BO hoping to complete the development of my breasts.

I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind
Did you take alfalfa from the first month of pregnancy all the way to the last month?
Did you immediately use goats rue right after birth?
How much did your breasts grow?
Have you seen a great amount of increased breast milk with your second pregnancy?

Thank you!!

sorry i am not on here much as I am not currently following NBE. To answer your questions, I started alfalfa about 15 weeks onward, once morning sickness subsided and continued until after I had my daughter probably to month 3. I began using goats rue about 3 days after birth, I only had a one month supply and switched to shatavari for a couple months after that. During pregnancy I grew 2" in bust and still have the growth while breastfeeding. I grew about 1 cup size. I have lost all but 5 pounds from pregnancy and my bust is still 37" while it was 35" prepregnancy. I do think my breasts grew more this pregnancy, my first pregnancy I think i only grew 1/2 a cup. I have more clevage now while breastfeeding> I don't know if I will maintain the growth this time, I know I lost the growth after I weaned my first child. I won't know until I wean my daughter for sure. I did not see a huge amount of milk increase from my herbs, but every baby is different and my daughter is larger than my son was, she just eats more in general, so that could be why i don't feel i am making more milk this time, she may be getting more milk from me, but still needs the same amount of formula because she needs more calories overall.

[melissa4u]

Hi Em,
Thank you so much for answering the questions.
How much alfalfa did you take?

Also, did the doctors prescribe anything for you like progesterone supplements or anything else to increase glandular tissue?

[sumi12]

if ur breast is underdeveloped , yet u can talk to a doctor as soon as possible

[sumi12]

just wanted to say that I have IGT (confirmed by a lactation consultant) and must supplement with formula. MY second pregnancy I took alfalfa during pregnancy and goats rue after birth and then went to using shatavari.

[Extremelypunctual]

I have IGT bad. I only ever made a couple drops.

It would take about 3 days of non-stop pumping, Fenugreek, Blessed Thistle, Goat's Rue, Alfalfa, Hops, and Domperidone to make a 1/2 ounce of milk total. I did fall into depression because of it. The sense of shame was severe.

[em2727]

good link from LLL on breast hypoplasia
http://www.llli.org/llleaderweb/lv/lviss2-3-2009p4.html

[em2727]

So I weaned my daughter about 2.5 months ago and I am all dried up and breasts have gone down, I will say that my smaller side seems to have retained some tissue. I am currently wearing a 34B bra and my left side is a bit too big for it and my right side a bit too small, so I would say that my right side is probably a 34A now vs the 34 AA and my left is a 34 large B cup. Overall I am thinking I retained about 1 cup size on each side. I did not have that from breastfeeding my first child, they went way back down to 34A/AA. I took a lot of herbs during my pregnancy I mentioned before. I am also seeing that perhaps I can get my boobs evened out as I see a big difference in size, but my right seems to be 2 times smaller still but there is more tissue now. They are still very much tubular in apearance, I have given up fixing that, right now I am just aiming for even tissue.

while breastfeeding i was wearing 36B cup and that was a bit small on my larger side and way big on my smaller side, I shrunk down now to a 34B and have all these bigger bra's I want to fit back into lol. I thought briefly I was a 34A on my left side but the 34B fits about right so I am saying that is my size for now.