You can expect your nipples to return to their original size and color (likely lighter and smaller than when you were breastfeeding) and extra veins should disappear, says Kasper. All those stretch marks, however, are yours to keep, she adds. Free souvenir!
One lasting effect of breastfeeding is that your nipples might look droopy, or settle lower than they were before, after you stop breastfeeding. While you may not be entirely pleased with your new look, remember: You birthed and fed a baby!
The good news is that once breastfeeding has ended, the Montgomery glands usually shrink back down, and the texture of the areola returns to its pre-pregnancy state.
Fortunately, within a few months postpartum, most nipples return to their original appearance.
Once your little one has weaned, your nipples and breasts may return to their previous size, and your body will absorb the remaining milk. Body weight is another factor that influences whether your breasts will return to their pre-breastfeeding size.
According to Nguyen, it takes about three months after fully weaning for your breasts to settle into their new normal. Once the three months are up, hightail it to a good lingerie store, get a professional bra fitting and restock.
Areola reduction surgery is a relatively simple day surgery procedure that can reduce the diameter of one or both of your areolas. The excess pigmented skin is simply cut away so that a smaller and more appropriately-shaped areola is left behind. The height of your nipples can also be reduced, if desired.
Once breastfeeding stops, the milk-making cells in your breasts will gradually shrink, making them smaller in size. Some women say their breasts look or feel empty at this stage. As time passes, fat cells will be laid down again in place of milk-making cells, and you might find your breasts regain some fullness.
You might notice that your nipples change as well. It's common for nipples to become smaller, and the area around them, called the areola, almost vanishes.
1 Once breastfeeding has ended, the Montgomery glands usually shrink back down and the texture of the areola returns to its pre-pregnancy state.
The skin on and around your nipple (areola) was intended to be stretched by breastfeeding. The nipple stretching is actually a good thing! Moms with truly inverted nipples or skin that is less elastic, are at an increased likelihood to experience issues with low milk supply, soreness, and nipple discomfort.
Making milk creates denser tissue in your breasts. After breastfeeding, both the fatty tissue and connective tissue in your breasts may shift. Your breasts may or may not return to their pre-breastfeeding size or shape. Some women's breasts stay large, and others shrink.
To find out if your baby is sucking only on your nipple, check what your nipple looks like when it comes out of your baby's mouth. Your nipple should not look flat or compressed. It should look round and long or the same shape as it was before the feeding. Get answers to common questions about breastfeeding and pain.
Hormonal Changes
It can be really common to feel down or weepy – or even depressed – after weaning. And for some, the feelings are strong and may mean there is a sense of anxiety, insomnia, anger, swings between high and low moods.
Galactorrhea is a condition where your breasts leak milk. The main sign of galactorrhea is when it happens in people who aren't pregnant or breastfeeding. It's caused by stimulation, medication or a pituitary gland disorder.
The truth is that breastfeeding doesn't affect breast shape or volume. Instead, the ligaments that support a woman's breasts stretch as breasts get heavier during pregnancy. After pregnancy, even if a woman doesn't breastfeed, this stretching of the ligaments might contribute to sagging breasts.
"If you don't wear a bra, your breasts will sag," says Dr. Ross. "If there's a lack of proper, long-term support, breast tissue will stretch and become saggy, regardless of breast size." Still, both experts agree that multiple factors play into if and when sagging (technical term: "ptosis") occurs, bra-wearing aside.
These ligaments give your breast its shape, but the extra weight that breast milk adds to your breasts can pull and stretch your Cooper's ligaments. However, while wearing a bra may help, it cannot completely prevent sagging.
Can Sagging Breasts Be Firm Again? Sagging breast tissue cannot regain its youthful firmness without plastic surgery. Unfortunately, measures such as exercising your chest muscles, eating healthy, and applying topical creams are not enough to correct pronounced sagging and drooping.
"The production of breast milk and increased breast size can cause the breast skin and tissue to stretch," Kasper explains. "So after you finish breast feeding, the breasts become less dense and you notice that your breasts have an empty, sagging, or flattened look and feel." Fan-freaking-tastic.
Your nipples are very sensitive little organs! When they are stimulated either by touch, cold temperatures or sexual arousal, they harden (actually become erect) and part of that response is for the brown part (the areola) to shrink and wrinkle. It is kind of like a muscle contraction.
Remember nipple size will increase slightly after a pumping session. You may have a different sized flange per breast. This means the one nipple is larger/smaller than the other and will require the use of two different sizes for each nipple.