我的神奇乳房：以前是没有乳房的

小天使_ag 2017-06-23

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天灵儿专业母乳喂养中心2017-06-215评

My Magical Breast: Where No Breast Had Gone Before

我的神奇乳房：以前是没有乳房的

January 26, 2016/ Nancy Mohrbacher

Nancy Mohrbacher,2016年1月26日

翻译：岑璐君

审阅：接力

My body is not like most. The internet tells me my odd deformity will not shorten my lifespan, but it makes me different. It affected my breastfeeding experience, but what was truly unexpected was the way breastfeeding affected my most peculiar body.

我的身体与大多数人都不一样。虽然我在网络上得知这特殊的畸形不会缩短我的寿命，但还是让我与众不同。我的母乳喂养经历因这特殊的乳房受到影响. 然而,母乳喂养的結果给我这对特殊的乳房带来的影响确实出乎我的意料之外。

Why should you care? And why should I reveal now my unusual quirks in such a public way? While this account may be too much information for some, my story may give hope to women struggling with milk production. So here goes.

为什么你应该看一下我的经历呢？（和你有什么关系？）为什么我要公开我不寻常的经历？虽然这些资讯可能对于某些人来说太多，但我的故事或会让那些担心奶量的妈妈看到希望。所以我决定写出来分享。

My Peculiar Body

我特殊的身体

I appeared normal at birth. My mother told me she first noticed my defect when I was about 3 years old. My breastbone, or sternum, began to indent, creating a cavity in the middle of my chest. My mother said she couldn’t find anyone on either side of our family who had this or knew of anyone else who did. Our doctor told her not to worry.

我出生时看起来是正常的。我妈妈告诉我,她在我3岁时第一次察觉我的缺陷。我的胸骨，亦或者是胸壁开始往后缩，在我的胸部中间形成一个凹陷。我妈妈说她能想起的家族成员里沒有任何一個人是这样的。我们的医生告诉她不要担心。

When puberty hit, I noticed breast buds growing in my left breast but not in my right. As my teen years passed, my left breast developed normally but my right side stayed completely flat.

当青春期来临，我察觉到左边的乳房发育了,然而右边没有。随着我少年时期过去，我的左边乳房正常发育，但右边的乳房停留在完全平坦的状态。

At age 21, my parents offered to pay for cosmetic surgery, and I decided to do it. By this time, my sternum was deeply indented and my heart was pushed to one side. (Let’s hope I never need CPR!) The plastic surgeon inserted a silicone breast implant through an incision below where my right breast should have been, and he positioned the implant sideways, so that I now had a right breast and my chest indentation was filled in. I didn’t look 100% normal—my chest was still a little sunken below my collarbone—but it was better, and I didn’t feel nearly as self-conscious.

在我21岁时，我的父母愿意付钱给我做乳房整型手术，我也决定了做这个手术。这时候我的胸骨已经深深地内陷，我的心脏被推倒一边。（但愿我永远也不需要心肺复苏！）整形外科的医生在我右边乳房原本的位置下面切一个口放置了一个乳房硅胶植入物，他还把植入物斜向一边，那样我不但有了右边乳房并且胸部的内陷也被填充了。我看起来还不是100%正常，我的胸部在锁骨下面还是有一点内陷，但比之前好多了，我也不会觉得不自在。

From age 29 to 35, I gave birth to my 3 boys, and I spent a total of 12 years breastfeeding them, nursing on both sides. When I was 5 months pregnant with my first, I learned at my first La Leche League meeting that women could exclusively breastfeed twins and triplets, so I deduced correctly that one working breast was all I needed.

从29岁到35岁之间，我生了3个男孩，我花了总共12年用母乳喂哺他们，用双边乳房喂奶。在我怀上第一个宝宝的第5个月时，我参加我的第一次国际母乳会的聚会，聚会上我了解到妈妈可以纯母乳喂养双胞胎或者三胞胎，因此我推论我只要一侧乳房有功能就足够了。

I loved breastfeeding and became a La Leche League leader so that I could help others meet their goals. I also served as a resource for La Leche League International for those with questions about nursing with breast implants. When controversy erupted, I even appeared on CNN to weigh in on whether breastfeeding with implants could cause later health problems in children. (Time and science found that it didn’t.)

我爱上了母乳喂养，并且成为国际母乳会的哺乳辅导，以致我可以帮助其他妈妈达成她们的目标。我也成为国际母乳会的智囊，在那些有乳房植入物的妈妈有喂奶问题時提供建议。在公开争议爆发时，我还出现在CNN电视台，发表了对有乳房植入物的媽媽母乳喂养是否引起儿童时期的健康问题的看法。（时间和科学发现了是不会有影响的。）

A Stunning Discovery

一个令人震惊的发现

In my 50s, during a routine mammogram, I received shocking news. As the technician took picture after picture, I finally said, “You do know that I have a breast implant, don’t you?” She said yes and added, “But I can’t find it.”

在五十多岁的时候我做了一个常规的乳腺钼靶检查（译者注：一种对乳房的X光照相），收到了一个震惊的消息。随着技术人员拍完一张又一张的片子，最后我跟她说:“你是知道我有一个乳房的植入物的，对吧？”她说她知道然后补充：“但是我没有找到它。”

Eventually she found my implant on images taken in my cleavage area. She told me my implant’s location had shifted. By this time, my sternum had become so deeply indented that it nearly reached my spine. (Yes, that grosses me out, too.) Over the years, as the indentation deepened, my breast implant fully migrated into the middle of my chest. Yet even without any implant remaining in my right breast, it now appeared to be fully developed.

最终她在我乳沟区域的照片子中发现了植入物。她告诉我植入物的位置已经改变了。在此时，我的胸骨已经深深地内陷，几近我的脊柱的位置。（对的，我也受不了。）这些年来，随着内陷往深处发展，我的乳房植入物完全迁移至我胸部的中间。然而，即使右侧乳房已经没有任何的植入物，取而代之似乎是我完全发育了的乳房。

I was stunned to realize that my formerly “bionic” right breast was now a real breast.

使我内心震惊的是,我之前“仿真”的右侧乳房现在已经是一个真正的乳房了。

How did this happen? Science tells us that a woman’s milk-making glands grow and develop during pregnancy, and after birth this milk-making tissue continues to grow (study HERE). We also know that with breast stimulation, women who have never been pregnant can grow functioning breast tissue and produce milk for adopted babies (article HERE). I was aware of all of this when my mammogram tech gave me the news, and I knew immediately that my 12 years of nursing had gradually grown a real right breast where none had grown before.

这一切是怎么发生的呢？科学告诉我们女性制造乳汁的腺体在怀孕期间会生长和发育，以及在宝宝出生后这些制造乳汁的组织会继续生长。我们也知道那些从未怀过孕的女性的乳房在被刺激的情况下也会生长成为有功能的乳房组织，为领养的婴儿产生乳汁。当乳腺钼靶的技术人员告诉我这个消息时，我已经知道上述的这些信息，我也立刻意识到十二年的母乳喂养让我的右侧乳房逐渐生长成为一个真正的乳房，即使之前右侧从未发育过。

Using My Story to Help Others

通过我的故事去帮助别人

How can my strange story help others? Some women plan to breastfeed only to learn that their breasts didn’t develop normally. Called “breast hypoplasia” or” insufficient glandular tissue,” in this situation, there are not enough milk-making glands to produce 100% of the milk a baby needs. (See a wonderful book about this HERE.) This might also happen in a woman with a history of breast reduction surgery (see a another wonderful book HERE) or a transgender man who has had top surgery to remove breast tissue and later delivers a baby.

怎么让我的特殊的故事帮助别人？有些打算母乳喂养的妈妈却得知他们的乳房没有正常发育。这种情况称为“乳腺发育不良”或者“有功能的腺体组织不足”，乳房里没有足够的产生乳汁的腺体，产生的乳汁不能100%满足宝宝的需要。这种情况也可能发生在有过乳房缩小术病史的妈妈，或者一个变性人之前做胸部的手术切除乳腺组织后来又生了宝宝。

It can be devastating when someone highly motivated to exclusively breastfeed cannot. Breastfeeding is a part of our sexuality, and when a woman discovers she can’t do what others seem to do so naturally, it is a genuine loss—like infertility—that deserves to be acknowledged and mourned. In my private lactation practice, I sometimes sat and grieved with a mother who had to face this heartbreak.

当一位妈妈有强烈的纯母乳喂养的动机,然而现实情况使她不能纯母乳喂养,对于妈妈的打击是很大的。母乳喂养是我们女性性征的一部分，当一位女性发现她不能完成别人似乎很自然就完成的事情时，那是丧失一种本能--像不育不孕，出现这种情况時,我们应该接受和感受到妈妈的悲痛。在我个人的泌乳顾问实践中，我有时必须跟经历着这心碎的情况的妈妈坐在一起，倾听她心里的悲痛。

Part of my job in that situation was also to discuss her remaining options. Most assume that giving up on breastfeeding is the only choice, but that is not actually true. Today, when I meet women who are struggling with low milk production, I always share my story. My long-term perspective gives them a glimpse not only of their options today, but how their choices now may affect their breastfeeding future.

讨论现阶段可行的选择也是我对这些妈妈工作的一部分。大多数人以为放弃母乳喂养是唯一的选择，但这的确不是。现在，当我遇到需要增加奶量的妈妈时，我会跟她分享我的故事。我从长远影响的角度让她们大致了解她们的选择不仅仅影响当下，她们现在作出的选择也可能影响她们将来的母乳喂养过程。

Breastfeeding Options

母乳喂养的选择

Mothers who produce less than 100% of the milk their babies need can continue to breastfeed while giving supplements of donor human milk or formula. And they can give these supplements in a number of different ways, including something called an at-breast supplementer, pictured here. These devices allow baby to receive any needed milk through its thin tube while baby nurses at the breast.

当妈妈产生的乳汁不能100%满足宝宝的需求时，妈妈可以继续母乳喂养的同时添加安全捐赠的母乳或配方奶。她们可以用很多不同的方式去给宝宝补充奶量，包括上面图片中称为乳旁加奶的方式。这些设备可以让宝宝在妈妈的乳房吃奶时从装置上细细的导管中获得所需的奶量。

These at-breast supplementers can be tricky and irritating to use (study HERE). But for a woman with little functioning breast tissue, while using these devices, baby continues to stimulate breast growth. If she nurses for months or years, over time this will grow more breast tissue and increase her milk production for this baby and future babies. These devices also give women who value the closeness of breastfeeding a way to nurse 100% of the time whether they make milk or not. Many adoptive mothers and mothers of babies born via surrogate use these devices so that they can fully experience the intimacy of breastfeeding.

这种乳旁加奶的装置使用起来有点复杂和烦人。但是乳房缺少有功能的腺体的妈妈在用这些装置时，宝宝仍然可以刺激乳房的发育。如果妈妈用这种方式喂奶几个月或几年，随着时间过去越来越多乳房的组织发育，妈妈也能产生更多的乳汁给这一个宝宝或者将来的宝宝。这些装置也给重视母乳喂养亲密性的妈妈提供一个100%在乳房上喂奶的方式，无论她们的乳房有没有奶。很多收养婴儿和通过代孕者生宝宝的妈妈都使用这些装置，让她们自己可以充分感受母乳喂养的亲密。

An at-breast supplementer is usually used no longer than one year and sometimes for a much shorter time. After a baby starts eating solid foods at around 6 months, baby’s need for milk steadily decreases. At some point--8 months, 10 months, 12 months--the mother’s breasts alone meet baby’s need for milk. At that point, mother and child can nurse for as long as they like without the need for supplements.

一个乳旁加奶的装置通常使用不超过一年甚至有时候使用时间更短。在宝宝大约6个月开始吃固体食物时宝宝需要的奶量会持续地减少。在某一时刻------8个月，10个月，12个月---妈妈的乳房已经可以独立满足宝宝所需的奶量。在那时，只要妈妈和宝宝愿意，他们可以不需任何补充装置来喂奶。

Of course, using an at-breast supplementer is not necessary. Some supplement their babies in other ways—feeding bottles, cups, spoons--and breastfeed to give comfort and whatever milk they produce. For both mother and baby, from a health standpoint, some breastfeeding is always better than none. But many mothers value the bonding of breastfeeding most.

当然，乳旁加奶的使用不是必需的。一些妈妈使用其他的方式给宝宝补充喂养---奶瓶、被子、勺子---母乳喂养是给宝宝安抚的，无论妈妈产多少奶都可以。对于妈妈和宝宝来说，从健康的立场出发，部分母乳喂养总比一点都不喂母乳好。然而，很多妈妈最重视的是母乳喂养过程中与宝宝的连接。

As my story shows, women dealt a low-supply can have choices. And some of these choices have the potential to change their breasts and increase their milk production in the months and years ahead. They deserve to know that they can stack the deck in their favor both for their current baby and for babies to come. If my story gives these women hope and a new perspective, I don t mind sharing my peculiarities with the world.

正如我的故事显示，奶量不够的妈妈可以有很多选择。其中有一些选择是有潜力在未来的几个月或几年改变妈妈的乳房以及增加妈妈的奶量。她们应该知道为了现在的宝宝和将来的宝宝她们可以按照自己的喜好作出选择。如果我的故事给予这些妈妈希望和一个全新的角度，我不介意把我特殊的故事与全世界分享。