You Can Breastfeed With PCOS. Here's How To Prepare For The Challenges

Not all people with PCOS have difficulty producing milk for their children, but many do. For starters, the overabundance of androgens in your body can obstruct the receptors of prolactin, the milk-producing hormone, which then adversely affects the amount of milk you generate.

What's more, if you live with PCOS, you don't undergo what's considered the typical hormonal and physiological changes, so your body may not be primed to perform lactation. You also likely don't have adequate progesterone, the hormone responsible not only for getting people pregnant, but also for the development of breast tissue and conditioning the breasts to make milk. Insulin is found to play a part, too. Since the hormone heavily contributes to lactation and people with PCOS have insulin resistance, you may not produce as much milk as expected.

With all these being said, if you have PCOS and face difficulty in breastfeeding, there are still some workarounds you can do to provide ample milk for your baby.