Occasionally this operation is done through the areola. These women do have problems with milk supply, as does any woman who has an incision around the areolar line. A woman who has had breast reduction surgery cannot breastfeed. Breast reduction surgery does decrease the mother's capacity to produce milk, but since many mothers produce more than enough milk, mothers who have had breast reduction surgery sometimes manage very well to breastfeed exclusively. Premature babies need to learn to take bottles before they can start breastfeeding.
Premature babies are less stressed by breastfeeding than by bottle feeding.
A baby as small as 1200 grams and even smaller can start at the breast as soon as he is stable, though he may not latch on for several weeks. Still, he is learning and he is being held which is important for his wellbeing and his mother's. Actually, weight or gestational age do not matter as much as the baby's readiness to suck, as determined by his making sucking movements. There is no more reason to give bottles to premature babies than to full term babies. When supplementation is truly required there are ways to supplement without using artificial nipples.