Q: Doc, good evening ma’am. Please, I have some questions for you. I am a 1st time mom and my baby is 2months old. She sucks from one breast and this has made 1 breast to be bigger than the other and my mom said it will make me have breast cancer when I stop breastfeeding. Please, ma’am, how true is this? Secondly, I gave birth through CS. Is it possible to tie my tummy because I heard that if I don’t tie it after breastfeeding, my tummy will become bigger than it is now. Thanks and God bless you ma’am

A: Congratulations on your new baby 😀

Given our discussion on breast feeding a few days back, I decided to answer this question to add to our breast feeding discussion…at least for now.

Is there any particular reason why you are breastfeeding from one breast only? Or is it that you breastfeed more from one side? This could actually lay you open to developing blocked milk ducts. You should be breast feeding with both breasts. When baby has fed on breast A, during the next feed, switch to breast B to ensure that both are being ‘emptied’ and ‘filled’ up equally. Some people switch from one breast to the other during one feed, but the problem with that is that the baby may fill up on the watery fore milk and this means he will get hungry pretty soon as he didn’t get any hind milk.

Will one have breast cancer if one is not breast feeding with one breast? Studies suggest that breastfeeding may help protect against breast cancer. This means that not breastfeeding is a risk factor for breast cancer. Now, you have to remember that having a risk factor does not necessarily mean that one will come down with the disease. It just means that, all things being equal, the person with a high risk factor, has a higher chance of getting the disease in question. I would not focus on this…really. Instead, let’s get you to start breastfeeding with the other breast so that your baby eats sufficient amounts of food. Remember that your baby should spend about 20-45 minutes on the breast during each feed.

There are people who swear by tying the tummy after having a baby. Well, if it works for you, why not?! However, remember that if you have had a Caesarian Section, tying your tummy or wearing girdles, especially early after having your baby may interfere with the healing of the wound. Generally though, the solution for losing the tummy bulge after having a baby is diet, exercise and yes, breastfeeding 😀

For more on this subject, please click on:
https://chatwithdrketch.com/2014/09/10/daily-health-tips-how-do-i-lose-my-tummy-bulge-after-having-a-c-section-girdle-vs-healthy-lifestyle/

https://chatwithdrketch.com/2014/09/12/daily-health-tips-im-a-breastfeeding-mother-who-just-developed-a-painful-lump-in-my-breast-could-it-be-cancer/

Have a fabulous weekend, y’all 😀