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Hi! 

I'm a mother of 3 boys, have breastfed them all, but not all successfully.  First time was horrible, had bad pump and no idea what I was doing, along with gallstones 1 week after i delivered and eventually surgery to remove my gallbladder 3 months after i delivered.  Also I was a full time student and no support.  Second son was much better, went back to work at 6 wks postpartum and pumped at work successfully, I thought.  However noticed that one breast only produced about 1oz maybe 2 if it had been over 4 hours (at night) and the other breast would make between 2.5 to 4 oz every 2.5-3.5 hours.  I was unable to store any because my son ate everything I pumped and nursed every 2-2.5 hours when i was home.  My sons were all over 9 lbs when they were born and were VERY hungry all the time.  So about everyother day I would send a formula bottle to daycare just to make sure he had enough.  (I told them to use it last, only if they had to.  They were very good caregivers and his specific caregiver nursed all 3 of her children for atleast a year each).  Now my 3rd son is 6.5 month old and I have still noticed the left breast, no matter how often I pump or nurse, it is never as full or makes as much as the other one.  I only get about 1 oz per pumping no matter what!  I had an emergency appendectomy when he was 1 month old and successfully pumped my way through that, (yes I am proud).  I take fennugreek, drink lactation teas, nurse on demand (i have the priveledge of being a stay at home mom now!)  and try not to stress out! 

Are there any other mothers experiencing the same problem and is there anything I can do about it?  I've come to the conclusion that maybe I don't have as many milk glands in that breast or something like that?  Before I breastfed, I never noticed much of a difference in my breast size.  They were even pretty simmilar during all pregnancies.  Any comments would be appreciated, just to ease my mind.

Thanks!

I have the same problem.  I thought it was because of surgery I had on my right breast, but on other discussion boards, have read that it is a common problem.  You can try nursing/pumping more on the left side, but from what I've heard, its normal!!

glad to know I'm not the only one! Its just still frustrating! Because if my left side would make as much as my right side I would actually be able to save milk!

It is very common and there is nothing wrong with you. My left breast does not produce as much milk as my right. I try to even it out by nursing on that side more (because I noticed I was putting my daughter on my right side more often) and it's starting to get a little better, but still I get at least an ounce more out of my right when I pump. when I asked others about this, every single woman on my birth board said they are uneven too. So I stopped worrying about it.

I know this is an older post but I just had to reply to your story. First, my left has always produced less. I prefer to sleep on my right side so I end up nursing more on my right at night. I try to nurse more on the left during the day but I always pump more out of the right. What I really wanted to reply about was the appy and gallbladder removal you had. I just had my third child...also third boy...and one week after delivery I had my appendix removed. It had ruptured so I had to stay in the hospital for 4 days with the incision open to drain the infection and then a few weeks later I had a horrible gall bladder attack and had to have it removed. I breastfed through both surgeries and took no pain meds before surgery so I could pump enough to get through until after the anesthesia wore off to breastfeed. My son is now 3 months old and he has not had a drop of formula. Yeah me! Not bragging just proud to have gone through all of that and made it without supplementing. So...I know how you feel with those surgeries. My OB said they are finding that happen more and more with pregnancy. appendix becuase of the constipation of pregnancy and the gallstones are caused from the hormones. My family jokes about it saying I had a bouncy baby boy, a ruptured appendix and gallbladder full of stones everytime anyone had asked if I had the baby yet.

Chelle, you should be very proud of yourself!! I had a surprise surgery when my baby was 5 weeks old with no time to pump. So she took formula for 2 or so feedings. She ate it up! Later that night, she puked it all up. All over everything. Did I mention it was Christmas Eve. What an experience. I'll start pumping earlier -just in case- after the next baby.

Congrats on making it this far!! Have you tried a different pump? I was having kinda the same issue and was able to get a different pump from my hospital and that helped a bit- I still dont have equal amounts but I did notice an increase after a week or so... Also your son is 6 plus months old- the amount he is taking in at a time could also have something to do with it...