Breasts
Pregnancy and breast changes: During your pregnancy, your breasts are temporarily a little bigger. The following breast changes are normal:
- The breasts feel fuller and are more sensitive because pregnancy hormones prepare the breasts for breastfeeding. Milk ducts and milk canals develop and expand. The fat in the breasts also increases. That fat tissue protects the milk glands and ducts.
- The areola (dark circle around the nipple) becomes darker in color and becomes larger so the baby can find it easier. Newborn babies prefer dark circles!
- The montgomery gland grow larger and become visible as hollows on the areola. These glands create fluid that cleans and keeps the nipples clean. This lubricant smells like amniotic flud (the fluid surrounding the embryo in the womb) so that the baby is attracted to this smell. Newborn babies can smell very well.
- The blood vessels in the breasts are more easily visible through the skin. The skin extends when the breast grows. The blood supply to the breasts also increases.
- During pregnancy the breasts may leak. But even if the breasts do not leak, colostrum is created after birth. Colostrum is the first milk and it is thick and yellow.
- When the mother is four months pregnant, the breasts are already able to feed the baby, in case the baby is born prematurely.
When should you seek help during pregnancy?
Go to the doctor if you notice the following
- No breast changes during pregnancy
- Your nipples are flat or inward, even if they are stimulated. Women with flat or inverted nipples can breastfeed, but need help getting started.
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