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Every woman should be allowed to enjoy the experience of breastfeeding if that is what they want. This may be more information than I ever would have shared pre-pregnancy, but now it seems very important: my current bra size is 50I. That is right. I have breast that many women
would kill for except they are not perky or sexy looking- a least not without a bra. My breast are REAL. They hang and my nippples and areolas are large. But, they work. They were designed for breastfeeding, and by God, that is what I want to use them for. But let's face it, breastfeeding is a lot harder than it appears. It requires so much more effort than simply popping a breast out of a bra cup and letting your baby suck. And for the women who are well-endowed like me, we face several different challenges. Here are some of the issues I faced when I attempted to breastfeed.
1) Support. When I tell people who know me that I want to breastfeed the first they they say to me is “with those breast?” I usually reply, “no, with your breast” because that just seems like the perfect answer to such an assinine question. Suffice it to say that mental and emotional support is usually not found amongst my friends and family. Many people are anti-breastfeeding to begin with and when you are well-endowed, people automatically assume that there is no way that a little baby can feed from your large breast.
2) Positioning. This is very important because when you have large breast you have to make sure that you don’t smother the baby AND that he/she is able to latch on properly. Of course, there is no way to practice this before the baby is born. There are no trial runs. When Mya is born I will have to practice with her and that can cause her to as a lactation specialist told me, “reject the boob.”
3) Clothing. I obviously don’t want the entire world to see my breast while I am breastfeeding. While I am not ashamed of it, I don’t think that showing my breast to the world makes me a better woman. Unfortunately, finding clothing that will cover me and my well-endowed breast is almost impossible. Everything seems to made for the skinny and small-breasted. I want to scream "WAKE UP! STOP IGNORING MY WELL-ENDOWED SISTERS AND CREATE PRODUCTS FOR US TOO".
So what is a well-endowed woman to do? When faced with the task of breastfeeding our children, it may seem like a unacheivable feat. But, it is possible. You can provide your child with breastmilk. Due to latching problems (my daughter is a preemie and unwilling to work for food) I am exclusively pumping breastmilk for her (look for my article on that). However, there are many websites that can provide you with the help you need to get your newborn to breastfeed. Try the following sites. They helped me get on the track to feed my baby breastmilk.
KellyMom
Ivillage Breastfeeding/Lactation Consultant Board
Le Leche League (read their book, "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding)
Birth and Baby Nursing Bras
Big Girl BrasBra ExperienceGrowing Life Maternity and Nursing Products
The Nursing Nest Pillow
(May 2006) (
