Breast changes during pregnancy

From the very beginning of pregnancy, changes in the breast should be expected. These changes are normal as your breasts develop and prepare for the birth of your baby.

What breast changes can be expected during pregnancy?

There are a number of breast changes during pregnancy that you should expect.

These pregnancy-related breast changes include the following:

Growth and increase
Tenderness and hypersensitivity
Darkening of the nipples and areolas (the skin around the nipples) due to hormones that affect skin pigmentation
Darkened veins on the chest (due to increased blood supply to the chest)
A thick, yellowish substance called colostrum may begin to come out of the breast.
The nipples protrude more and the areolas and nipples become larger
Small glands on the surface of the areolas, called Montgomery's tubercles, can become tubercles.
Your hormones cause these changes and you may experience some effects more than others.

How can I manage pregnancy and breast changes?

Here are some helpful tips you can follow to make some of these changes more convenient and easier to manage.

Growth and Enlargement: Buying a good supportive bra will help you feel more comfortable as your breasts grow. If your breast size increases significantly, you may want to sleep in a cotton sports bra at night.

What to look for in a bra:

Good support
Deep band beneath the cups
Wide shoulder straps
Adjustable closure (back-fastening bras give you more flexibility to adjust than front-fastening bras)
Avoid underwire bras

Sensitive and tender breasts: Your body's hormones prepare your breasts for lactation. The milk ducts grow and stretch as they fill with milk during early pregnancy. All this makes your breasts more sensitive, especially the nipples. This may cause you discomfort.

Colostrum: Colostrum or pre-milk is a sweet, watery liquid that is easy to digest. In the second trimester, the mammary glands will begin to produce colostrum. Colostrum appears thick and yellow at first, but as labor approaches, it becomes pale and almost colorless. Colostrum will provide your baby with their first meal before you have milk.

Discharge can appear at any time when your breasts are massaged or during sexual stimulation. No need to worry when this happens, and no need to worry if it doesn't.

Women who do not experience discharge during pregnancy still produce milk for their baby.

How about breast cancer?

It is important to continue breast self-examination during pregnancy. Unfortunately, this is more difficult to do during pregnancy due to all the changes your breasts go through. Your breasts become larger, tender and sometimes even bumpy. It is still important to examine your breasts every 4 to 5 weeks during pregnancy.

Very common lumps in women during pregnancy are blocked milk ducts. These are red, tender hard lumps in the chest. Warm compresses (splashing hot water on the chest in the shower or applying a warm washcloth) and massage will likely clear the duct in a few days. If you're not sure if a new tumor exists, talk to your doctor at your next visit.

Keep in mind that breast cancer is rare in women younger than 35. If you are planning to have a baby and you are over 35, you may want to consider asking your doctor for a mammogram before you become pregnant.