The great breastfeeding myth…..

Women with large breasts can’t breastfeed. Sooooo wrong!

While some studies show that women with large breasts have problems with breastfeeding an equal number of studies show that women with small breasts have problems with breast feeding!

The problem being that researchers and reporters tend to generalize results to apply to everyone.

The reality is that most women with large breast DON’T have problems breastfeeding.

Let me explain…..

When a baby is breastfeeding she needs to latch onto the areola and not just the nipple otherwise they cannot suck properly.

The areola is the dark circle around the nipple. She needs to do this because milk is stored behind the areola and the baby’s sucking motion massages the areola which helps to release the milk.

Women with large breasts have larger nipples and larger areola ..…babies have small mouths.….no massage.….no milk.….

So, how do you ensure that your baby is latching on effectively?

Firstly, it’s all in the timing. Make sure that baby’s mouth is open wide before letting her latch on. You can tickle her lips or cheek with your nipple to encourage her.

This will ensure that her mouth is open enough to latch onto the areola and not just the nipple.

Secondly, there are is a position that you can try which is a very successful technique for women with large breasts to use:

The football hold:

As you can see baby is held tucked under the arm. Your back needs to be well supported and baby should be supported on pillows to bring her up to your breast rather than you leaning your breast down toward her.

This position gives you the ability to clearly see your baby’s mouth and check if she is latching on effectively.

It might also help while you are supporting baby’s head with one hand to support your breast in the other hand.

Be mindful to keep your fingers well away from the areola because you don’t want to get your fingers in the way of baby latching on.

One last important point for women with large breasts, while you are breastfeeding, you should try not to wear underwire bras.

The underwire can press against breast tissue and cause plugged ducts and mastitis.

You need a good supportive nursing bra that is made especially for women with large breasts.

The companies listed on our shopping page have a range of bras available.

If you are having ongoing problems getting baby to latch on or you feel that you are not producing enough milk to nourish your baby you MUST get professional help from a lactation specialist.