Quantity of milk: left side vs right side

[@llli*bt2005]

This is my first post. I am on baby #3 and have had this same issue while breastfeeding each of my children.

My left breast produces less milk than the right side. I am seeing that this is a common issue and wish I would have researched this when I had my first child as it was very discouraging.

I am wondering if anyone knows why this is a common problem. I sleep on my left side. Could it be the pressure during sleeping that is causing my production to be less on the left side?

I get between 1-2 oz on the left while pumping and 3-4 oz on the right side. My baby is 11 weeks old.

Also...I have noticed that my left breast is a bit smaller than my right. It has always been this way. My nipples are the same size. Would it benefit to try a different size shield on the left side? Does anyone have experience with this issue?

Thanks for any replies.

[@llli*krystine]

I have a side that produces less milk, too. But I don't think it's due to sleep. My IBCLC told me to start with the side that produced less milk to encourage it to make as much as possible.

[@llli*phi]

I am wondering if anyone knows why this is a common problem.

Biologists call this fluctuating asymmetry. These asymmetries result from developmental and epigenetic "quirks" and do not appear to have a clear, identifiable cause.

I would start my son out on the lower producing (and less preferred breast) 2x to every 1x I started him on the higher producing breast. That helped even things out some. However, there is still some asymmetry, which is common and is not a problem at all.

[@llli*mommal]

What Phi said. Human beings are not perfectly symmetrical! Some differences in production between sides are totally normal. If they result in annoying lopsidedness, just increase stimulation to and milk removal from the underperforming breast, and it should catch up to some extent.

[@llli*still.here]

You could try a different sized shield on the smaller side just to see if it makes a difference. If the size difference is big enough it could affect the pump's effectiveness on that side. But probably not by much.

I also produced more on my right (and larger) breast. It's very common and not something to be concerned about.