Disclaimer: PCOS impacts everyone differently, and not everyone will have trouble breastfeeding. This article documents my specific experience as someone who did, severely, struggle with milk supply.
If you’ve landed here from Google, you already know there’s a million different opinions on what you should and shouldn’t buy as a first time mom. When I was pregnant I consumed an endless amount of content on what I would and wouldn’t need.
I tried to combat my anxieties about the unknown by doing as much research as I could.
However, through all of my relentless Googling I wasn’t able to find honest advice about breastfeeding with PCOS. I knew it could be difficult, I knew it might not even be possible, but I didn’t know how to prepare for it.
Armed with little to no information about the topic, I fell back to the generic advice and bought everything I thought might be helpful. It was overkill.
I should have trusted my gut and started with only the basics. But, you live and you learn. Here are the things I bought that I absolutely did not need.
- Nursing bras (and lots of them) Why I bought them: Every non-PCOS’er who breastfed their babies warned me “get lots of nursing bras”. Ones that could be worn out of the house, ones comfortable enough to sleep in, ones that would work for all of the hospital shenanigans, and so on and so forth.
What actually happened: First of all, in the hospital I didn’t wear much beyond the gown and supplies given to me. People were constantly in and out of our room and my body felt more like a group project than anything else. I tried to wear the nursing bras when I got home but I found them all fairly uncomfortable. Since my milk production was so low I was able to wear my normal bras and shift things around when needed.
- A bulk supply of breast milk bags Why I bought them: I fell victim to ‘The Stash’ that everyone brags about. I had visions of my freezer overflowing with enough breastmilk to feed my child until preschool. ha.
What actually happened: I used the bags to combine all the milk I produces from multiple pumping sessions throughout the day. I didn’t produce enough milk to breastfeed, so I would pump teeny tiny amounts every few hours and collect it all into a bag I’d use for one feeding the next day. 2. Breast pads Why I bought them: Everyone on the internet jokes about how awkward it is when you start leaking What actually happened: For me, there was no leaking. Maybe a drop or two at the end of a pumping session but by no means did I need an entire pad to protect myself.
- A large array of nipple butters Why I bought them: I have Raynauds. Which isn’t PCOS related medically, but I’m still including this item as a regret because I couldn’t breastfeed due to PCOS. I purchased a lot of various creams and butters to ease my fear of how painful breastfeeding would be.
What actually happened: I didn’t even get through the supplies the hospital sent me home with before I had to switch to pumping, bottle feeding and formula.
- Hakka manual breast pump/letdown collection Why I bought it: Everyone on the internet told me to. It was one of the most consistent ‘must haves’ I came across.
What actually happened: I had such a small supply that I had literally no use for this product. I also switched to exclusive pumping very quickly.
If I could do it over again knowing I was going to struggle with supply, I’d buy:
- Good breast pump I bought the Medela Freestyle Flex, and for a time I rented a hospital grade pump at the suggestion of a lactation consultant. Personally, my supply was the same on both pumps. I think if you are really interested in pumping or producing milk in any capacity a good breast pump will help maximize your efforts.
- Small amount of breast milk bags I only made it to 3 months of pumping before I called it. My supply was so low (pumping 8 times a day to collect a total of 20% of what baby needed). It was what was best for my mental and physical health. If I were to try again I would start small and restock as needed. (ie don’t buy 500 bags at once)
- More baby bottles I quickly had to incorporate bottle feedings. It wasn’t a choice. I did not make enough milk to feed my babe. Washing the 2 bottles I had on hand every 2 hours was exhausting. We quickly purchased more and now run off of 6 bottles.
- A decent supply of formula I purchased the smallest amount of formula because I was more preoccupied with buying everything I could to breastfeed. It backfired. We got home from the hospital and immediately had to go get more formula. Given the random intermittent shortages of baby formula that occur (at least in Canada) I would 100% make sure I next had enough to feed baby for at least a week. Formula is good for a long time, it will more than likely come in handy eventually.