Wondering Why One Breast Always Produces More Milk

That's perfectly normal. One breast always produces more milk. With my first, I tried really hard to increase the flow of my left breast but nothing really helped. Now though, I think it's good. One breast flows fast and is always full which helps when the child is very hungry and the second flows more slowly and satisfies their need to suckle. I would still alternate breasts each time you feed, but I wouldn't be concerned about it at all.

My daughter was born 5 weeks premature and had to stay in the NICU, so I was unable to breastfeed. I used the pumps as often as she ate but one of mine also produced more than the other. I don't think it has to do with using one side more than the other because I used a double pump and my daughter never latched on to either! I think that's just the way it happens to a lot of people. Good luck!

I wanted to add my 2 cents. I always produced more milk on my right side. I am not sure why it was that way. I tried letting my daughter nurse on the left way more than the right but it never helped the left side to produce as much as the right. For the first few month I kept her mainly on the left ( like 3 out 0f every 4 feedings) because she would start coughing and had a hard time keeping up with the flow on the right. It was funny because she would try to root around on my left side and push away from the right. After she turned 6 months old she started pushing away from the left and wanting the right side. For us it never mattered how much extra I let her nurse on one side to even things out.

Hi,

I nursed my daughter for 12 months, and I had this problem too. I found that if I let her suck more on the lacking breast then it would begin to produce more. However, then the other breast will leak too. I hope this is helpful, and don't worry, it will even out before too long! Good Luck!

I"m actually having the same problem right now. When that happened with my other two kids, I just made sure that I started every feeding on the side that wasn't producing enough. Also I got a breast pump that worked great. It mimics the way a baby eats so it stimulates more milk production. I didn't think that it worked but when I had to order more bags, I had to use a manual breast pump for a few days. I was struggling to get 4 oz. When I finally got my bags and used my "good" breast pump, I got 4 oz with no problems. You may want to try that as well. By the way the breast pump is called whisper wear. Hope that helps!

I would say exactly what Kathleen C said. I breastfed 2 babies, and that is just the way our bodies work. Best of luck, and enjoy the baby! :-)

Well first of all I'm not to sure what you mean by 41/2 month old, but I'm glad your breast feeding, it's the best. With my daughter I breast fed for a year and one of my breast was always a lttle bigger than the other. It wasn't to noticeable but I knew it. What you can do to even them out is feed more on the samller one and less on the bigger one for a few days and then they kinda start to even them selves out. What causes it is that usually the baby(or we) have a more comfortable side that gets more attention thus it tells your boby to make more. Aren't our bodies so awesome! Any way I used to joke that I had a chocolate milk side and a regular milk side because my daughter liked the one more! Hope this helps.:)

ok you are goinbg through exactly what i did.. myleft breast hardly produced enough milk... but the right, well thats a different story.. ok start drinking teas with fenugreek you can buy it in the bulk section of central market where the herbs are... fenugreek seed... boils some of you favorite tea and add the fenugreek in a tea bag, and go for it... also try and get your son to nurse a little more on the left side... it will never produce the same amount as the right side, but it will be little more... and just remeber yo can get some "more milk tea " by natural medicinals at central and put some extra fenugreek in and you will get more milk.. by the way i breast feed my son until he was almost 2 years old... so anyway hope that helps.. oh yeah also don' teat anything with i thinbk it is oregano but check just in case look it up on the internet.. because that makes your milk dry up... it might be sage but i am pretty sure that it is oregano that does that... i will go ahead and look it up for you and message later... tutaloo , S.

Breastfeeding is about supply and demand. If you want one side to produce more, feed more on that side. You won't see a difference at first, but the next day or two you probably will.

Also, our bodies just aren't symetrical. Most of us have one hand bigger than the other. Same holds true for breast size, foot size, etc. So, it's likely that one side just has more milk glands too.

Hello L. how are you. I am a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor for a local angency and have had 20 hours of training. This can be very common. It all has to do when how often and how long your baby is feeding on each breast. I have also Breast Fed three babies.

I took this qoute from the 'La Leche League International; The Breastfeeding Answer Book, p20 paragraph 2".
"The regulation of milk production is known as "auctocrine" or local control of milk production (as opposed ot "endocrine" or hormonal control fo milk production). Some degree of auctrone control is obvisouly at work, because milk production on a mother's left and right breasts can differ greatly depending upon frequency ans degree of milk removal, which indicates that hormonal levels alone (which affect both breasts equally) are not wholly responsible for the rate of milk supply.

If you wish to change this then you need to have her feed longer on the one that has less. It might take a day or two for it to catch up.

You have to remember that Breast Feeding is SUpply and Demand. You brain only makes what it knows your baby needs and it knows that by you breast feeding!

Hope this helps.

D.; ____@____.com

Do you feed Massimo more on your right side? Breasts work on supply-and-demand, so the more your baby attempts to nurse, the more the breast will produce.
Unless it is just bothering you, I really wouldn't worry about it, though. It is very common for a mommy's breasts to be slightly different from one another.

I had the same problem when I breastfed my two children. Everyone I have talked to said it is normal. One of your breast always is better at producing milk than the other one. If you want to try feeding more on the breast that is the problem so it will produce more milk you can. But I wouldn't worry to much about it as long as your baby is getting enough to eat.

Hi L.! I am a breastfeeding mom to my little 10 month old daughter McKenna. I have the same problem. The best thing is to alternate your breast (like you did the first few weeks) and if you still having problems try pumping the left breast after you feed from the right one. And the most important thing to do is relax and don't worry. Your body will produce enough milk for your baby's needs!

Jeni

Hi L.,
I breastfed my 2 youngest girls and experienced the same issue that you are. My right side was my strongest. It didn't matter how much I would nurse on the left, it didn't produce as much milk as my right. Even with Fenugreek, my left breast never caught up to the right. I think it is normal for some women to have a more productive breast.
Take care!

You need to be sure to switch out breasts every time he feeds. If he ends on the right breast at one feeding then start with the right breast on the next feeding and have him end with the left and so on. This will keep the supply up in both breast about the same.