I have written before about how it is extremely rare that a woman has a medical condition that prevents her from producing enough milk. PCOS, however, is one such condition that is consistently associated with low supply. Just because you may have PCOS, doesn’t mean you won’t have enough milk for your baby though. Low supply may be unavoidable when a mother has PCOS, but here are some things you can do to try to prevent the problem or work with it.
How Does PCOS Affect Breastfeeding?
It is known that PCOS patients are deficient in progesterone. Progesterone plays a large part in alveolar development and so some women with progesterone deficiencies simply lack enough ductal tissue to produce enough milk. It has been shown in a few case studies that when the mother is treated with progesterone therapy for fertility issues (pre- and post-pregnancy) the mothers have been able to produce enough milk for their babies. This is one theory among a few and of course the specifics are different for each individual.
You CAN Breastfeed with Low Milk Supply
The important thing to remember is that any breast milk is better than no breast milk. Even if you’re only able to breastfeed for awhile OR if you have to supplement your breast milk the entire length of the breastfeeding relationship. . .that’s better than nothing.
The first thing that you need to do is seek out a qualified lactation consultant who has experience in dealing with PCOS patients. An expert in this area will be able to tell you if your supply issues are related to PCOS or are a result of mismanaging the breastfeeding relationship.
It also important not to pump to up your supply. In general I do not recommend pumping to increase supply anyways, but in this situation it will most definitely result in an exhausted mother and no improvement in supply.
The better route to go, with PCOS-caused low supply issues, is to invest in a Supplemental Nutritional System. Your baby can nurse, at the breast and will also receive formula via a tube that is taped to the areola. The tube runs from a bag that is filled with formula (or donated breast milk), so when the baby sucks she is stimulating you to produce as much milk as you possibly can without starving herself.
There are natural galactagogues as well as prescription medications that may help increase your supply as well. You should ask your doctor for more information however, generally when a woman is using galactagogues, they are not to be used long term. The goal, in this case in using a galactagogue would be to make a six week or even six month bench mark.