Five Ways Your Breasts Change After Pregnancy (here’s 2 of 5)

Part of learning to love your new body post pregnancy is to educate yourself on what changes will be happening. Nancy Phillips from ‘Today’s Parent’ has some really helpful info on how our breasts change before and after pregnancy. Here’s the beginning of a two part blog featuring Ms. Phillip’s article.

I expected to watch my stomach expand and contract through two pregnancies, but nobody told me I'd end up with a drawer filled with bras in five different sizes! Pregnancy, breastfeeding and weaning each resulted in another trip to the bra boutique. I brought this up at my 10-month-old daughter's play group recently, and all of the mothers had stories to tell about dramatic changes in their breasts. Patricia D'Angelo, mother of 18-month-old Chloe, told us that her breasts had increased five cup sizes during pregnancy and the early days of breastfeeding. Within a year after Chloe's birth however, "my breasts went back down several sizes," she says thankfully.

1. Breast changes during pregnancy

Maureen Fjeld, a lactation consultant in private practice and director of the Calgary Breastfeeding Centre in Alberta, explains that the hormones of early pregnancy cause changes in the breast tissue. In fact, an increase in breast size is a common symptom of pregnancy. The nipples and breasts may also feel tender, and, says Fjeld, "You might notice that the areolae and nipples are getting darker." (For many women this darkening fades after pregnancy.)

When I was six months pregnant with my son, I was surprised to notice a yellow sticky substance on my nipples when I got out of the shower. Fjeld explains that this is colostrum, the nutrient-rich milk babies drink in the first 24 to 36 hours after birth. She says that women may notice colostrum at any point during a pregnancy. "Leaking colostrum and not leaking colostrum are both normal," explains Fjeld. "This has no bearing on milk production after the baby is born."

2. Breast changes immediately after pregnancy

Colostrum is the perfect first food for a newborn baby, low in volume so as not to stress the baby's kidneys, yet rich in protein, calories, vitamins and minerals. It provides everything the baby needs until the mother's milk comes in. But there are other benefits as well. "Colostrum provides high doses of antibodies which protect the baby, who is coming from the sterile environment of the uterus into the world," explains Fjeld, adding that colostrum's normal bacteria "help the baby digest the milk as it increases."

Fjeld explains that "as soon as the placenta is released from the uterus, hormone levels surge so that the body begins to increase the volume of milk." By the third or fourth day after birth, the colostrum will have changed to more mature milk, which can look bluish white and will be more watery than colostrum.