Breastfeeding After Breast Cancer: How a Supplemental Nursing System Can Preserve Connection and Healing
- jaimiezaki
- Jan 13
- 5 min read
Using a Supplemental Nursing System to support milk supply and preserve your breastfeeding experience even if you don't make breastmilk
Breastfeeding after breast cancer can feel like a conversation no one knows how to have. Many survivors are told—directly or indirectly—that breastfeeding simply isn’t possible, especially after surgery like a double mastectomy. But for some mothers, the desire to bring their baby to the breast doesn’t disappear just because milk production may be limited or absent.
If that’s you, it’s important to know this truth: Breastfeeding is about more than milk.
For some breast cancer survivors, a Supplemental Nursing System (SNS) becomes the bridge between grief and connection—between what was lost and what is still possible.
Breastfeeding After Breast Cancer Is About More Than Milk
Breastfeeding is often discussed in terms of ounces, supply, and output. But biologically and emotionally, breastfeeding is also about:
Oxytocin release
Nervous system regulation
Bonding and attachment
Comfort and soothing
Postpartum healing
Even when a mother cannot produce milk, the hormonal and relational benefits of nursing at the breast still exist. For breast cancer survivors, this distinction can be life-changing.
What Is a Supplemental Nursing System (SNS) and How Does It Work?
A Supplemental Nursing System (SNS) is a feeding device that allows a baby to receive milk—either donor milk, expressed milk, or formula—through a thin tube while latched at the breast.
How an SNS Supports Breastfeeding
Baby receives full nutrition while nursing
Baby stays latched at the breast instead of switching to a bottle
The breastfeeding relationship is preserved
Mothers can participate fully in feeding, even without milk supply
Originally designed for low milk supply, SNS use has expanded to support mothers with medical or surgical barriers to lactation—including breast cancer survivors.
Can You Breastfeed After a Double Mastectomy?
This is one of the most searched—and misunderstood—questions.
Breastfeeding After Mastectomy: What’s Possible
Some women retain small amounts of functional breast tissue
Some may produce drops of milk; others may not produce any
Even without milk production, nursing behaviors can continue
Breastfeeding does not require milk production to be meaningful. For many survivors, the ability to nurse—even with supplementation—restores a sense of bodily trust and motherhood identity that cancer disrupted.
Using a Supplemental Nursing System After Breast Cancer Surgery
For some survivors, SNS use begins after learning that milk production may be minimal or absent.
Why Some Survivors Choose an SNS
To experience nursing at the breast
To support bonding and attachment
To soothe and regulate their baby without bottles or pacifiers
To reclaim part of motherhood that felt taken by cancer
Many mothers report that using an SNS to preserve nursing “felt right”—even when it wasn’t something they expected to want before baby arrived.
Emotional Healing and Bonding Through Breastfeeding After Cancer
Breast cancer often leaves emotional scars alongside physical ones.
Using an SNS can help mothers:
Release shame around “not producing enough”
Find closure after medical trauma
Replace grief with meaningful memories
Reconnect with their intuition and instincts
Breastfeeding after cancer doesn’t erase the loss—but it can soften it.
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How Long Can You Use a Supplemental Nursing System for Breastfeeding?
There is no universal timeline.
Short-Term vs Long-Term SNS Use
Some families use an SNS for weeks to support supply
Others use it for months as a primary feeding method
Many babies naturally transition away around 8–9 months due to mobility
Some mothers continue comfort nursing after discontinuing the SNS, preserving connection even as feeding methods change.
Practical Tips for Using a Supplemental Nursing System Successfully
SNS use has a learning curve—but it is learnable.
Expect the First Few Days to Feel Awkward
Most mothers feel confident after 3–5 days of consistent use.
Tape the Tube in the Beginning
Use sensitive-skin medical tape to secure the tube near the areola so you don’t need extra hands.
Tube Placement Doesn’t Need to Be Perfect
Positioning the tube near the upper lip (around the 1–2 o’clock area) works well for most babies.
Distraction Comes Later—and That’s Normal
As babies become more mobile, SNS use may become less practical. This is not failure—it’s a natural transition.
Breastfeeding After Breast Cancer Still Counts as Breastfeeding
Every breastfeeding journey looks different.
Some include exclusive nursing. Some include pumping. Some include donor milk. Some include an SNS. Some include comfort nursing only.
All of these count.
If breastfeeding matters to you after breast cancer, you deserve informed, compassionate support—not dismissal.
Getting Lactation Support for Breastfeeding After Breast Cancer
Breastfeeding after cancer requires individualized care. Working with an experienced IBCLC can help you explore tools like the SNS safely, realistically, and without pressure.
You are not broken. Your body is not failing. And your story is not over.
Frequently Asked Questions About Breastfeeding After Breast Cancer
Can you breastfeed after breast cancer?
Yes. Breastfeeding may look different after cancer, but many women breastfeed using tools like a Supplemental Nursing System, donor milk, or comfort nursing.
Can you breastfeed without producing milk?
Yes. Babies can nurse at the breast and receive nutrition through an SNS, allowing for bonding and hormonal benefits even without milk production.
Is a Supplemental Nursing System hard to use?
It can feel tricky at first, but most mothers adjust within a few days with proper support and guidance.
How long can a baby use an SNS?
Some babies use an SNS for weeks, others for many months. There is no required stopping point as long as it works for both mother and baby.
This episode of the Breastfeeding with Confidence Podcast & Blog is brought to you by Restorative Roots.
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Transcript:
Jaimie Zaki is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and mom of 5! Jaimie has volunteered as a La Leche League Leader, worked as a nurse, doula, and birth photographer, and is the host of the Breastfeeding With Confidence Podcast and founder of the Confident MamaBear Society. Jaimie provides holistic breastfeeding advice for pregnant & new moms, helping them overcome unexpected latching trouble and milk supply issues. She empowers mothers to make informed decisions from a place of confidence and intuition.
