First-trimester changes In the first trimester (weeks 1 to 13): Your breasts may start to feel swollen and tender. Your nipples may stick out more than usual. Some women find that their breasts start to get bigger during this time.
Your pregnancy hormones cause normal breast tissue to change into milk-producing tissue. This change happens as early as the first trimester (week 1 to week 12).
Typically, they will get progressively larger and darker and women often notice little bumps on the surface of their nipple area. You should expect your nipples to get progressively darker throughout your pregnancy and be the darkest when your baby is born.
Your nipples may darken in colour and the skin area surrounding your nipples may spread a little, due to the extra melanin (a group of natural pigments), which is produced when you're pregnant.
Similarly, the nipple width was 13.6 ± 1.8 mm in the first trimester and widened to 15.9 ± 2.3 mm at term (P < . 001). No differences of nipple length or width change were observed between both sides. The areola width of both sides considerably increased by 12.3 ± 6.1 mm during pregnancy (P < .
About 10-15 days after birth, you start making mature milk. Like each phase of breast milk, it has all the nutrients your baby needs. The amount of fat in mature milk changes as you feed your baby. Let your baby empty your first breast before switching to the other breast during a feeding.
If you've noticed enlarged or dark areolas (the area around your nipples), you may be witnessing one of the first signs of pregnancy. But why does this happen? And should you be concerned? The good news is that this is usually completely normal and can occur as early as a week or two after conception.
Another tell-tale sign is that your areolas (the area around your nipples) will appear darker and larger. “Breast changes increase rapidly in the first eight weeks of pregnancy,” Giles said. “The nipples become larger, and the areola also appears larger and darker. Your nipples may be more sensitive and tingly.”
Your Nipples Change During Pregnancy
Your nipples start to take center stage, growing and becoming more defined, often sticking out more than they did before pregnancy. In addition, the areola will get larger and darker, which is a result of high levels of progesterone, says Dr. Minkin says.
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.
Your body begins producing colostrum between 12 and 18 weeks in pregnancy. Most people will produce anywhere from a tablespoon to an ounce of colostrum within the first 24 hours of delivery. This slowly increases until transitional milk comes in around the third or fourth day.
Fortunately, within a few months postpartum, most nipples return to their original appearance.
It's a good idea to go shopping for nursing bras to wear postpartum around 36 weeks. If you do buy nursing bras to wear during pregnancy, make sure they give you room to grow. Your rib cage can expand until then, and your breasts may go up another cup size or two after your baby arrives and your milk comes in.
The nipples and the area around the nipples (areola) become darker and larger. Small bumps may appear on the areola. These bumps will go away after you have your baby. You may notice a yellowish discharge, called colostrum, from your nipples as early as the 16th to 19th week.
It's safe for your partner to touch, play with, or caress your breasts during pregnancy, as long as it feels good to you. Your breasts change throughout pregnancy, and may feel tingly, tender, and unusually sensitive to touch, particularly in the first trimester.
The feeling of vaginal fullness and pressure during pregnancy can make a woman feel as if her vagina is tighter than normal. However, the increase in vaginal lubrication caused by pregnancy may also make a woman's vagina feel more elastic than usual.
Your growing uterus is pulling and straining the muscles that support it. You may feel sharp pains or just a mild pulling sensation. It often occurs when you cough, sneeze, stand up, sit down, roll over, or during sex.
Montgomery tubercles look like small, raised bumps on your areolas. The number of bumps varies from person to person. Some women don't have any, while others have more than 20. Sometimes they fill up with a waxy substance, so they can occasionally look like a pimple with a white or yellowish head.
Visual Changes in the Breasts
As a pregnancy progresses, the nipples and skin that surrounds them (areola) become darker in color as a result of hormones that affect skin pigmentation. Veins in the breast may also become more prominent as the blood supply to the breast is increased.
Montgomery glands
The darker area of skin around the nipple is called the areola. On the areola there are some little raised bumps. These are quite normal and are called Montgomery glands. They produce fluid to moisturise the nipple.
Once the hormone changes for puberty begin, breasts get bigger, and the mammary glands get ready to produce milk in the event of pregnancy. Pregnancy and breastfeeding bring more changes to your breasts. Breasts grow larger, and your nipples increase in size and may get darker in color.
Estrogen and progesterone levels drop around the start of the second trimester, so it's common for the level of breast pain to drop too. Although you might experience relief from breast pain at this stage of pregnancy, it certainly doesn't mean your breasts have stopped preparing for the birth of your baby.