Breastfeeding With Small Breasts: How To Do And Tips

Breast size does not affect lactation but following specific methods makes nursing easier.

Reviewed by Julie Matheney, MS, CCC-SLP, CLEC, IBCLC Julie Matheney Julie MatheneyMS, CCC-SLP, CLEC, IBCLC MomJunction on FacebookFollow MomJunction on YouTubeFollow MomJunction on Instagram Specialty: Speech Pathology and Lactation Experience: 12 years
Written by , Medical Doctor Dr Bisny T. Joseph Medical Doctor Follow MomJunction on Linkedin Specialty: Health and Medical TreatmentsExperience: 5 years
Edited by , BSc, MBA Rohit Garoo BSc, MBA Follow MomJunction on Linkedin Specialty: Baby Health and WellnessExperience: 9 years
Fact-checked by , B.Tech Anindita Ghatak B.Tech Follow MomJunction on Linkedin Specialty: Health & WellnessExperience: 3 years
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Breastfeeding Mother, Indicating Breastfeeding Tips

Image: ShutterStock

Breast changes during pregnancy increase maternal breast size. But then still, some mothers may have small breasts, and they might want to know if breastfeeding with small breasts affects breast milk supply. Generally, breasts size does not determine one’s ability to breastfeed.

Mothers with smaller breasts can have a normal milk supply as milk production and supply are determined by hormones and how often you breastfeed. Therefore, if you have concerns regarding milk supply, frequent feeding can help establish a robust demand and supply cycle, which will boost your milk supply and help effectively meet the baby’s nutritional needs.

Read on to learn more about the breast milk supply, its storage, breast changes during breastfeeding, and tips to breastfeed with smaller breasts.

In This Article

Do Small Breasts Make Enough Breast Milk?

Breast size may not affect the production of milk each time

Image: Shutterstock

Breast size may not affect how much milk is produced each time. The ability to produce and store milk depends on the number of alveoli with milk-creating cells present in the mammary glands (breasts). Most women develop enough glandular tissues during pregnancy, irrespective of their breast size (1). There is no evidence to suggest that smaller breast sizes could have a negative impact on infant feeding.

Larger breasts with more fatty tissue may not have more milk supply since fatty tissue does not have any role in milk production or storage. According to breast anatomy, the alveoli cluster together to form lobulesiMilk-producing gland in the breasts. , and could determine milk production. Women with fewer breast alveoli, irrespective of their breast size, may have to feed more often as their baby grows older. Furthermore, it is important to note that breast augmentation surgeries or any other breast surgery may negatively affect your milk supply.

protip_icon Quick fact
Breast reduction surgery may have the highest potential to negatively affect milk supply (5).

How To Breastfeed With Small Breasts?

The following strategies may help to meet infants’ nutritional requirements in mothers with small breasts.

  • Frequency: You may feed more frequently to ensure the baby gets enough milk in each feeding session.
  • Feed from both breasts: Babies can get more milk if you feed from both breasts in each feeding session.
  • Latch: Ensure that your baby latches correctly to the nipple.
  • Breastfeeding hold: Mothers with smaller breasts may try V-hold with two fingers than U-hold or C-hold around the areola to make the feeding comfortable. Ensure that your fingers are not placed too close to the nipple.
  • Seek support: If you need more help to establish feeding positions and techniques, seek support from a certified lactation consultant.

    Seek support for breastfeeding with small breast

    Image: Shutterstock

Breastfeeding Positions For Women With Small Breasts

You may feed in any comfortable position for you and your baby. Your position doesn’t matter. Get comfortable and be prepared to be in that position for a while. Laid-back breastfeeding is recommended for all mothers in the initial stages regardless of breast size. You may try various breastfeeding positions to find the comfortable one. Your baby’s position matters to get a deep latch.

Tips For Breastfeeding From Small Breasts

The following tips may help to feed well from small breasts.

  • Ensure proper latch and position: This may help the baby to suck and swallow enough milk. Describing her breastfeeding experience with small breasts, Aishah, a mother, states, “Thank goodness, I didn’t have any issues feeding with small breasts. My baby Ava didn’t have any problems latching on, and it has been successful (i).”
  • Switch which side you offer first: Rotate which breast you start with. If you have a breast that produces less, you can offer that one a little more often, but try to switch and not favor one breast over the other. .
  • Feed frequently: Milk production is enhanced when the prolactiniThe hormones responsible for lactation and the development of breasts. hormones are released in response to the sucking reflex or the milk letdown reflex. If the baby is fed more frequently, mothers may have more milk supply.
  • Use a pump: A quality breast pump with the right size pump flange may help empty the breasts after feeding and create an artificial demand to enhance milk production.

    Use a breast pump for breastfeeding with small breast

    Image: IStock

  • Use comfortable nursing bras: Pick a nursing bra that fits you well and provides optimum breast support without causing discomfort.
  • Track baby’s growth: If your baby is growing and developing at a normal pace, this indicates that they are getting the required nutrition from breast milk. 

Do Breasts Go Through Changes For Breastfeeding?

Breasts go through changes during pregnancy to prepare for breastfeeding. You may notice increased size and fullness of breasts during pregnancy. These changes may also occur two weeks after delivery since the breast milk production adjusts to your baby’s requirement at this time. Areola and the nipple skin color may become darker in breastfeeding mothers. Your nipple size may also alter during breastfeeding.

If breast milk production is more than the newborn’s requirement, breasts may become engorged with milk. You may express breast milk and store it to relieve engorgement. The more you remove milk, the more you will make, so be cautious with removing too much as it will perpetuate the oversupply.

Why Does One Breast Have More Milk Than The Other?

Baby consumes more from one breast

Image: Shutterstock

Natural asymmetry can be the reason for uneven milk production from breasts. One breast may have more milk than the other in the following circumstances.

  • More milk-producing tissue (glandular tissue)
  • Forceful letdown responseiAn occurrence where milk comes out too fast and forcefully from the breasts when the baby begins suckling.
  • Large milk ducts
  • Baby consumes more from one breast, stimulating it more than the other

You may speak to a certified lactation consultant to determine the possible underlying cause for one breast producing more milk than the other.

Will Breastfeeding Change Your Breasts’ Looks?

High BMI may cause breasts to look less firm

Image: IStock

The breast may change in appearance in all women, irrespective of lactation or not. Pregnancy usually causes more breast changes than breastfeeding. Increased breast size and fullness during pregnancy may cause stretching of ligaments supporting the breasts.

It is a myth that breastfeeding may make the breasts saggy or droopy. Breasts may appear less firm due to the following conditions.

  • High BMI (body mass index)
  • Several pregnancies
  • Smoking
  • Larger pre-pregnancy breast size

Breasts do not have any muscles and may go back to pregnancy size after two or three weeks of delivery and gradually reach pre-pregnancy size if you have the same bodyweight. Fat tissues eventually replace milk-producing tissues within six months or after stopping breastfeeding. 

What About The Storage Capacity Of Breasts?

The storage capacity of breasts is not directly related to the breasts’ size. It depends on the milk production and the number of lactation tissues (alveoli) in the breasts. Storage capacity may vary slightly in each breast.

Storage capacity may vary slightly in each breast. You may use breast pumps to know the amount of breast milk stored in each breast. This can be measured by pumping the milk-filled breast until it is empty. You may pump in the morning, one or two hours before feeding. Pumped milk can be stored in a bottle for later use (2). Speak to a lactation consultant if you feel the breast milk’s quantity is less than what it should be or there is a significant difference in each breast’s milk storage capacity.

When To Be Concerned?

It can be concerning if breast size does not change during pregnancy or the first week postpartum. This may indicate lactation failure, true low milk supply, or hypoplastic breasts (insufficient glandular tissue), which may interfere with adequate breastfeeding. However, some women without any breast changes in pregnancy or postpartum can have a normal milk supply. You may talk to your doctor if you are concerned.

protip_icon Did you know?
Some mothers with true low milk supply or hypoplastic breasts can offer breast feeds using an at-breast supplementing tool. This device helps a baby consume the mother’s pumped milk, donor milk, or formula while actively nursing on the breast (6).

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can you breastfeed with underdeveloped breasts?

Women with underdeveloped breasts have a condition called mammary hypoplasia. Although these breasts produce normal hormones, they lack the glandular tissue to produce sufficient milk for their babies (3).

2. Do soft breasts mean a low milk supply?

After six to eight months of childbirth, the lymph and blood flow to the breast decreases, so they start feeling softer. This does not necessarily mean you have a low milk supply (4).

3. Are flat nipples a problem for breastfeeding?

While having flat nipples is harmless, it may cause breastfeeding difficulty due to latching problems (7).

4. Will my nipples go back to normal after breastfeeding?

Yes. In most cases, nipples return to their original size and color once the mother stops breastfeeding (8).

5. How can I make my nipples erect while breastfeeding?

Some techniques, including rolling your nipple between your thumb and forefinger, compressing your breasts to push your nipple outwards, and touching your nipple with a cold compress, can help your nipples get erect while breastfeeding (9).

The breast size rarely affects the breast milk supply or composition since this factor depends on the breast’s alveoli and not the fatty tissue. However, if you are concerned that breastfeeding with a small breast affects your milk supply, you may consult a medical professional to check if you are suffering from a low-milk supply. If no issues have been found with your milk supply, the doctor may suggest increasing the feeding frequency, alternative breastfeeding, or breastfeeding practices. You may even use the right latching technique as another way to ensure proper milk supply to the baby.

Infographic: Breast Hypoplasia And Tips To Breastfeed Your Baby

Mammary or breast hypoplasia is a condition that could be one reason a woman has an inadequate milk supply to sustain her baby’s feeding needs. Here is an infographic explaining more about this condition and tips to continue breastfeeding your baby.

hypoplastic breasts signs causes and breastfeeding tips (infographic)

Illustration: Momjunction Design Team

Key Pointers

  • Breast size does not usually affect how much milk the breasts produce since it is governed by the number of alveoli (milk-creating cells) present.
  • The milk storage capacity of the breasts has nothing to do with their size as well.
  • If you are still concerned about breastfeeding with small breasts, you can increase the frequency of feeding and feed from both breasts.
breastfeeding with small breast_illustration

Image: Dall·E/MomJunction Design Team

Personal Experience: Source

MomJunction articles include first-hand experiences to provide you with better insights through real-life narratives. Here are the sources of personal accounts referenced in this article.

i. Small breasts can breastfeed too;
https://youtu.be/wtS9dSd4pmY

References

MomJunction's articles are written after analyzing the research works of expert authors and institutions. Our references consist of resources established by authorities in their respective fields. You can learn more about the authenticity of the information we present in our editorial policy.

1. How Breast Milk is Made; WIC Breastfeeding support.
2. How Much Milk Should You Expect to Pump?; Breastfeeding USA
3. Megan W Arbour and Julia Lange Kessler; Mammary hypoplasia: not every breast can produce sufficient milk; (2013)
4. Low Milk Supply; Nursing Babies, Nurturing Families
5. Breastfeeding after Breast or Nipple Surgery; Cleveland Clinic
6. Hypoplasia; La Leche League International
7. Flat Nipples; Cleveland Clinic
8. How Your Body Prepares For Breastfeeding; Healthy Children; American Academy of Pediatrics
9. Inverted and Flat Nipples; La Leche League International

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Julie Matheney
Julie MatheneyMS, CCC-SLP/CLEC/IBCLC
Julie Matheney did her Master's degree in speech-language pathology and has worked on feeding and swallowing disorders for over a decade. As part of a hospital-based rehabilitation team, she works on helping children to feed and swallow.

Read full bio of Julie Matheney
Dr Bisny T. Joseph
Dr Bisny T. JosephMedical Doctor
Dr. Bisny T. Joseph is a Georgian Board-certified physician. She has completed her professional graduate degree as a medical doctor from Tbilisi State Medical University, Georgia. She has around 5 years of experience in various sectors of medical affairs as a physician, medical reviewer, medical writer, health coach, and Q&A expert.

Read full bio of Dr Bisny T. Joseph
Rohit Garoo
Rohit GarooBSc, MBA
Rohit Garoo is a writer-turned-editor with over 9 years of experience in content writing, editing, and content marketing. He did his bachelors in Science at St. Xavier's College, Hyderabad, and masters in Business Administration at Osmania University.

Read full bio of Rohit Garoo
Anindita Ghatak
Anindita GhatakB.Tech
Anindita Ghatak holds a B.Tech degree in Biotechnology from Amity University, Kolkata. During the course of her studies, she has worked on different research projects in the fields of Microbiology and Bioinformatics. Anindita has over three years of experience writing medical articles for journals.

Read full bio of Anindita Ghatak