Transcript: Body Changes During Pregnancy: Your Breasts
Preggie Pals
Body Changes During Pregnancy: Your Breasts
Please be advised, this transcription was performed from a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.
[00:00:00]
[Music]
Robin Kaplan: It’s no secret that pregnancy takes a toll on the mother’s body. Most parts of your body are probably getting bigger including your breasts. But, there are many other changes that your breasts are experiencing as they prepare to nurture the little one. I’m Robin Kaplan, an international Board certified Lactation Consultant, owner of the Sand Diego Breastfeeding Center and host of the Boob Group, Preggie Pal’s sister show on breastfeeding. And, today we’ll explore the 5 main changes your breast undergo while pregnant. This is Preggie Pals, episode 7.
[Theme Song/Music]
Sunny Gault: Welcome to Preggie Pals, broadcasting from the Birth Education Center of San Diego. I’m your host, Sunny Gault. Preggie Pals is all about educating moms to be about their choices during pregnancy and child birth so they can make decisions that are best for the family. And this show is all about our listeners. You can visit our website at https://www.preggiepals.com for more information on how you can become part of our show. You can send us comments or suggestions to the contact link on our website or you can call the Preggie Pals Hotline at 619-866-4775. Preggie Pals is also looking for pregnant women to join our blogging team. So, if that’s something you’re interested in, please send us an email through the website. Okay, let’s start with our introductions. Go ahead, Rachele.
Rachele DeMeo: Hi, my name is Rachele. I teach college part time. My due date is June 23rd. I’m expecting a boy. It’s our second child and we’re hoping for a natural birth.
Kelli Auld: Hi, my name is Kelli. Sorry for my voice. I’m actually a kindergarten teacher. I have the same due date, June 23rd. We’re being surprised. This is our first and we’re having a natural home birth.
Sunny Gault: So, you’re used to kids, right? Because you’re around kids all the time.
Kelli Auld: Lots of kids, yeah. I’ve got 13 babies.
Sunny Gault: Oh my goodness. Alright Cherri, go ahead.
Cherri Christiansen: I’m Cherri. I work in Market Research and I’m also due on June 23rd. So there’s something I want to hear in this studio. June 23rd and like Kelli, I’m also being surprised. We don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl. This is our first and we’re also planning an un-medicated home birth.
Sunny Gault: So, in my announcement, I should have said, we’re also looking for panelists for Preggie Pals because you guys are all gonna be gone at the same time. Okay, we’ll be right back.
[Music]
[Featured Segment: News Headlines]
Sunny Gault: So, let’s get off today’s episode with an unbelievable pregnancy story making headlines on the internet. Now, all of these stories that we talk about on our show are posted on Preggie Pals Pin Trust Board if you want to check them out. Okay, these are the co-comes from the New York Times. This was published I believe in April. They’re talking about gender reveal parties and how they’re becoming more and more popular. Apparently, people are going all out in various ways but, having parties where they, you know, previously had their ultrasound to determine the baby’s gender and they choose to, kind of, reveal in front of friends and family. Sometimes they even have team boy and team girl and people dressed up in blue and pink and there’s a cake and all those kind of stuff. So, I wanted to kind of, throw this out to you guys. You know, what do you guys think about these gender reveal parties? Is it something that you would consider participating in? whether it’s your own, you know, or would you go to your friend’s party if your friend was having one? You know, what’s your take on it? Go ahead Cherri.
Cherri Christiansen: As you know, I’m not finding out whether it’s a boy or a girl. So, for me this wouldn’t be something I would do right now. But, I love the idea but, it’s really cool. I think if I was going to find out and I was going to tell people, it’s kind of a fun way versus, you know, sharing on Facebook or however else people usually tell. So, I think it’s kind of unique fun idea and I can imagine what the anticipation, the surprise must be like when you’re cutting the cake and you know, only the person who baked the cake or the person who did the ultrasound know and, you know, cutting in, you get to see if it’s pink or it’s blue.
Sunny Gault: Yeah, so that’s basically what people are doing. They’re getting these cakes and I guess the inside, the filling or something like that, you know.
Cherri Christiansen: The color is dyed in the inside of the cake so, from the outside it may just look like a chocolate cake but inside you see the pink or blue.
Sunny Gault: Now, I wonder if people are cheating, I mean come on….[Laughs]. Just kind of nibble on a little bit to see.
Rachele DeMeo: I think it’s a great idea. I mean, we didn’t do that. We just called people once we found out, you know, because, that’s just kind of how we wanted to do it.
Sunny Gault: Yeah, would you do something like that, make for big no. 3?
Rachele DeMeo: No, no, we’re adopting after this. We’re done.
Sunny Gault: Well, you can even still do that for an adoption.
[Multiple Speakers]
Cherri Christiansen: I think you have to be very comfortable with the answer either way. If you are really dead set on the girl, you think you’re gonna pack up crying, if you have a Blue cake, you might not want to do that. You have to be very comfortable with whatever color that cake is inside.
[00:05:10]
Sunny Gault: I think that’s a really good point.
Kelli Auld: I considered doing this for this baby way before I even got pregnant and he always wanted to not know and I felt I was gonna want to know and I took it a little bit more inappropriate. I felt that it would be fun to call a sex party and jst kind of like throw people off but then, because, you know, you’re revealing the sex of the baby. But, I thought it would be important if we alone, like may be in a room found out so that we could experience that together because I think there is that important moment of you and your husband together and then we could come out and reveal, you know, I adore these grandiose inappropriate things that, we hold up a boob balloon or penis balloon, you know, like, ridiculous things like mustache and a tiara.
Sunny Gault: Kelly, I want to go to your party. [Laughs]
Kelli Auld: I was just going more inappropriate with it because I feel like, you know, let’s just make it a big to do and but, it just seems like we finally got to the point of it and after trying for a couple years and going through some fertility failures it just do not matter anymore. I could care less pink or blue, boy or girl, we just want ten fingers, ten toes. So, I swam to his side, you know, we’re thrilled that we’re going to be surprised for that moment and if you know it’s a, but I think it’s nice because kind of, like you said, you just may be email people or you know, you announce it on Facebook. You want to tell your friends and family. You want that kind of an emotion altogether. So, why not have it be at a party with the penis balloons?
[Laughs]
Cherri Christiansen: I like that idea. [Laughs]
Sunny Gault: Alright, thanks guys.
[Music]
Sunny Gault: So your aching breasts may have been your first indication of pregnancy. But, that’s only one change experienced during the next nine months. What other changes should you expect? Here to answer that question is our expert, Robin Kaplan, an international board certified lactation consultant. She’s also the owner of San Diego Breastfeeding Center and something near and dear to our hearts, she’s the host of The Boob Group which is Preggie Pal’s sister show on breastfeeding. So, Robin welcome to the show.
Robin Kaplan: Thanks for having me.
Sunny Gault: Can I just call you the Boob lady? [Laughs] everything is boob related so…
Robin Kaplan: Some of our friends call me the sore boob doctor and I’m like, I’m not an MD so I can’t really go by that but I think it’s pretty funny.
Sunny Gault: Yeah right? Okay, so lets talk about the five stages of pregnancy breasts. This is something that, when you’re pregnant, I don’t think you will be able to talk about your breasts and the changes that your breasts are going through that much and I feel my breasts, quite frankly, have been a little bit neglected. So, we’re going to give our breasts a platform today in today’s show. So, let’s start ours in general questions. Do all pregnant woman experience the same changes to their breasts during pregnancy?
Robin Kaplan: Yes and no. There are many factors that play into this role of how women’s breasts respond to their new pregnancy. Obviously we all have the same hormones in our body and estrogen and progesterone are really the ones that are the key factors in working to get our breasts ready in growing the glandular tissue and all these things we’d like to call the little broccoli, the little alveoli that where the milk kind of, comes in and then squeezed out. So, yes, that type of such as very similar. However, the differences are that some women, and it’s very rare but some women have insufficient glandular tissue which means that during the time that they were fetus as well increasingly into when they were in their puberty stage, their breasts did not grow necessarily the way that, I guess, they should have. And so, we’re not talking about the small breasts in women, the small chest in women. We’re actually talking about women whom, their breasts don’t droop, they don’t have that kind of cuppyness to them where they’re not as full round and so they might have wide spread breasts so, they have more than a good quarter to a couple quarters worth, couple inches I should say in between their breasts and they kind of slant to the sides and so, things like that, yes, they are going to go through these kind of hormonal changes but, their breasts may not react the way that they should.
So, and then there’s also the difference between women who’ve had breast surgeries as well, you know, augmentation, reduction, even biopsies can sometimes affect the way a woman’s breasts responds to the pregnancy hormones and whether their body is able to go through those changes that they naturally should have if they hadn’t had those things done to their breasts you know, before they became pregnant. So, you know, the goal is that during puberty, the ductal system really begins to sprout and branch. So, if you think of wine of very small grapes, that’s kind of what the inside of our breasts are like, while we’re going into puberty. And then, every ovulation, the ductal system grows and these little buds of grapes really begin to develop and then, during the first five months of pregnancy, they really start sprouting and growing, they actually look more like broccoli. So, if you can think about those crowns of broccoli, really growing, they’re all kind of intricately and intertwined with one another and, that’s kind of, where we’re getting to which we’ll be talking about, kind of that heaviness of our breasts and some will feel more heaviness than others but, those ductal systems and those crowns of broccoli really do, they grow and they become the specific to, kind of the milk making process that we’ll be going through after your baby is born.
[00:10:22]
Sunny Gault: Okay, so we all have different types of breasts based on our own development but, when we enter pregnancy we will go pretty much through the same stages, you know, as far as the milk coming in and all that.
Robin Kaplan: We will, although there are some women who based on their, you know, kind of their make up of their body or if they have had surgeries they may not react as much to the pregnancy hormones as women who’ve not, you know, do not have those instances, you know, in their medical history. And so, women who have not, then they’ll see these breast growth changes and then once you have, you do happen to have insufficient glandular tissue or have breast surgeries may not see that growth, have may or have not have these I guess, these challenges.
Sunny Gault: Okay, so what triggers these, you know, different stages that we’re about to talk about? What is it within the body?
Robin Kaplan: So, it’s really the hormones, estrogen stimulates the ductal system to grow and become their specific for milk making, progesterone determines the growth and the size of those broccoli crowns, the alveoli. The human placental lactogen is a hormone that is released by the placenta that is instrumental in the breast and nipple, in aerial growth. So the aerial is that little, kind of bulls eye around your nipple that tends to get darker while you’re pregnant based on these hormones and prolactin contributes to the acceleratory growth of alveoli, the broccoli while you’re pregnant.
Sunny Gault: Okay, so question for the panelists. Have you guys noticed a lot of changes in your breasts? I know some of you, Kelli and Cherri, you guys, this is your first baby and then Rachele, this is your second. What have you noticed as far as changes in your breasts?
Cherri Christiansen: At first, I was noticing nothing. You hear so many things about women going through that two week wait and that’s their first sign before they even take a test that they’re sore, they’re tender, I didn’t have any of that. Even when I found out I was pregnant I really noticed nothing. And so, first I was like “oh! That is kind of weird.” But, I didn’t think it was something to complain about. I was like, okay I’ll take it. But, later on, I did start to notice changes. But, it was probably may be two months in that I started to feel tenderness and started to feel like that they were growing and getting heavier. So, it took a little while.
Kelli Auld: I was the polar opposite. Mine was from the get go, got to like the size of my head. [laughs] oh my gosh! I think some of it was hormone induce because we did do an IVF treatment to get pregnant so there was obviously extra progesterone, a lot of shots and things but before I’d even taken my tests 10 days, you know, post transfer, I could just tell there is a difference. They were sore. They were big and I knew some of that just could have been the side effect from the progesterone but, that was my little hope that it happened. But, I think I was may be, nine-ten weeks pregnant and my husband basically begged me to go get new bras because he told me they looked like they were punishing my boobs because they were just getting so tight and but I knew they were gonna continue to grow and they’re gonna continue to grow and bras are expensive. So, I was just trying to put it on the last latch, loosen the straps and make it work. But, they have continued to just….[Multiple Speakers] I know post birth too, they’re gonna get even larger ….
Cherri Christiansen: That’s what scared me too when they suddenly stop growing, I love what you said about the bra punishing them… but I suddenly started experiencing that and did the same thing. I was like, I don’t want to go buy new bras, I’m gonna have to go buy more but I couldn’t imagine that they were going to get bigger and heavier and hurt more. That was hard to….
Sunny Gault: Yeah, we’re gonna actually talk more about bras in the second half with Robin and what she recommends as far as, you know, bra support, how to support these babies. What about you Rachele?
Rachele DeMeo: First pregnancy yeah, definitely more, I noticed more but with the second as much may because I was breastfeeding for, first like, for four or five months during pregnancy. So, I didn’t really notice as much or just because I hadn’t been long since I had come through it, the hormones are still…
Sunny Gault: That’s actually a really good point. So, Robin how does that impact things when you’re already breastfeeding, you know, your child? Will you still notice all these changes or how does it work?
Robin Kaplan: Yeah, absolutely. Actually from what Rachele is saying, what I find more so is that women in that first trimester, when they’re pregnant and they’re breastfeeding another child, they actually feel more nipple tenderness than may be, they would have witnessed during their first pregnancy. So, that’s actually a good thing that you didn’t, you know, that you weren’t uncomfortable because that’s one of the reasons that many women will wean breastfeeding when they become pregnant again. It’s because it’s just unbearable uncomfortable, yeah.
Rachele DeMeo: Compared to like the first several weeks of breastfeeding, you loose like, enough of [Laughs] [Multiple Speakers]
[00:15:02]
Robin Kaplan: But, and then after that first trimester, women find that, as they ease into their second trimester that there is that tenderness kind of subsides and so, whether you are already breastfeeding another child or this is your first child, you’re not breastfeeding at that time right when you get into that second trimester. The goals kind of, work the way out. You feel more comfortable that you know, it’s interesting too because you, know, I love that there are different sides of when you felt this kind of breast growth and stuff because I actually did not, I don’t remember and I’d asked my husband too because I always ask the dads or the partners and I say, so has there been growth been, breast growth and they’re like, “Oh! Yeah.” They notice it or they actually notice that there hasn’t been.
When I had asked my husband this morning, I said, “ Do you remember when did my breast grow while I was pregnant?” And he remembers that they did. I actually never changed bra sizes but what I did remember was, I remember I was like may be, 6th or 7 months pregnant with my first and I was standing in the bath and then looking at myself in the mirror and I was like, “oh” and I normally don’t have very dark nipples or areolas I should say and literally, I looked like a Gauguin painting. Like, my nipples were so dark and so that was kind of my sign that like, okay, the hormones are working because I didn’t remember see that much growth in my breast size and things like that. So, there are a bunch, a couple different changes that go that can let you know the hormones of pregnancy are really working to get the girls ready to start providing nourishment.
Sunny Gault: When I heard that the aerials get darker, the baby usually find the nipple because they can’t see that far.
Robin Kaplan: It can help, yeah, it’s kind of like the bulls eye but, I don’t know if that’s necessarily why it happens. I think it’s just the hormones are causing it. But, yeah, we like to, as lactation consultants say, aim for the bullseye.
Sunny Gault: Alright, let’s get to these stages. We’re starting to talk about it a little bit already but, we’ll get to them in many ways. Alright, it’s the stage one, the growing pains phase which we’ve talked about a little bit. It’s the soreness and the tenderness. So, Robin, what’s happening with the breasts at that stage?
Robin Kaplan: So, pretty much this is just when your estrogen or progesterone are in a really high, they’re preparing the breasts. Milk ducts for milk production is early as that first month of pregnancy and so, this can definitely cause the breasts to feel tender, tingly, heavy and full and it’s really just your body getting ready, you know, starting the process off. It’s really getting that glandular tissue growing. It’s getting those ductal systems all ready to go.
Kelly Auld: Oh, it hurt to go over like a speed bump. [Laughs]
Everything, like, I was amazed how much it hurts. But again, at that point you, it was nice to see signs of pregnancy. I think, you know, you just want to kind of know like, you’re not really feeling anything else so, it was kind of like, you knew something was going on in your body but…
Sunny Gault: You knew the baby was okay because your body was still reacting…
Kelly Auld: It was responding to something but, oh yeah, I remember just even putting a bra and kind of like lifting your boobs into it like, very carefully and having that sort of real with a water head even in the shower, kind of like a “ahhh.” [Laughs] but, again that might have been from some of the extra hormones.
Sunny Gault: Okay, the stage two is the, I love the title for this, it’s the “OMG, my husband can’t stop touching them” phase or “my partner can’t stop touching them” phase. So, did you guys experience this?
Cherri Christiansen: So, I think this is when I had my growing pains phase. I think these two, for me happened at the exact same time. So, I was like, “stop touching me. Stay away.” Because that was when I was really sensitive so, for the most part, once they were in a bra and I was dressed, it was okay. But, anytime, you know, stay away, stay away. So, I think I may have these things at the same time which obviously doesn’t [Laughs] [Multiple speakers].
Sunny Gault: Yeah, they kind of work against each other, right. So, Robin what’s going on in the body with this phase?
Robin Kaplan: Essentially, I mean, it’s really the same thing that your breasts, the inside of your breasts are really growing and I think the funny part about this too is so many of us will have that pregnancy glow that’s going on. You’ve got these fuller breasts that are little bit bigger than they were a couple weeks ago and we’re not really showing anywhere else. Like, you had just described like, this was the way of knowing that you are pregnant and but, you know, your belly is not really good treating you. You haven’t really lost your waist line yet and so, partners are just kind of looking at you like, “wow, you’re looking good.” But, at the same time, I think this is t introduction that the breasts are no longer there and so…
[Multiple Speakers]
Robin Kaplan: Exactly, there’s a rude awakening that this no longer belongs to them. It doesn’t belong to us much each because we really don’t want to touch them either and that they really will just be able to look but not touch for quite a long time right now. [Laughs]
Kelli Auld: I remember, my husband, we’ve been together for 10 years and he was like, “where have these been for 10 years?” and I’m like, “I don’t know,” you know, that’s what I said. Just enjoy them now because they’re gonna totally go through another change. That’s what I said, you know. You’re not gonna be able to come anywhere near them for a while. But, I remember when I got fitted for a new bra, he was outside the waiting room and he heard because I was a B before and she said like, 38 double D. And I said, “did you hear that?” and he said, “Yup”, oh my god, like proud.
Sunny Gault: Proud.
Kelli Auld: Yeah, exactly, but it’s something that, you know, I think it’s a little bit of just appreciating the pregnancy, you know. Some men just love those changes of, some of them really love the belly and they love the breasts and it’s just seeing your wife or your partner kind of change in front of your eyes. I think it’s a little like cro-magnon man, I mean… [Laughs] [Multiple Speakers].
[00:20:40]
Sunny Gault: Does any one have a pretty good cup size prior to this? Am I the only one who had to see the higher size?
Cherri Christiansen: No, I was also about a B. Sometimes I was a C but then, I just questioned the bra size. I was about a B before so…
Sunny Gault: See, this phase doesn’t face me no point of time because it’s like, I’ve always had pretty substantial boobs and anything bigger I’m kind of like, “oh! Really? They’re gonna get bigger?”
Rachele DeMeo: Exactly, I started when I was a C and then when I started breastfeeding I went to D and my husband was like, “no offense but, I think it’s just, you know, you look disproportionate.”
Sunny Gault: No offense, but you look weird. [laughter]
Rachele DeMeo: You know, and last summer especially, because it’s like, you go to the beach, I don’t like that fake plastic look at all. Like, and mine are natural, but, I was just breastfeeding, I still know people think that are fake and I just, you know, my husband was, actually I went down back down to what I was, when my son was like 9 or 10 months and I was like oh, this is perfect. If it stays the way it is, I’m happy.
Kelly Auld: I think you get to experience the grasses are always greener so if you were like, for anyone who has ever wanted bigger boobs kind of, when you go to this, I’m like, I can’t wait for this to go down. Okay, I remember always wanting bigger breasts and it’s like, yup, okay, then they’ve done that. It’s just how close that difference in your bras. Take some pictures and then move on.
Sunny Gault: It’s the same thing the people talk about, oh, now have hips, you know, because I’m pregnant and I have hips, and I’m like [Laughs] girl, I’ve had hips my entire life. I can’t fit in pants because I’ve got hips. I’ve got so much hips, I don’t know what to with it.
Sunny Gault: That wraps up the first half of our show on pregnancy breasts. We’ll explore the rest of the stages when we come back.
[Music]
Sunny Gault: Okay, let’s move on to stage 3, the bulls eye phase. We’ve talked about this. This is the dark aerial and what’s going on here Robin?
Robin Kaplan: So, again, it’s all based on the hormones. Your aerial is becoming darker and one thing that women most likely notice very quickly is that you have these little bumps on them that you may not have had before you became pregnant. Those are called montgomery glands and they really help the aerial to kind of, stand out. They also, they kind of look pimply a little bit and the reason we have them, for couple reasons, one is that it secretes this oily substance to help protect the nipple and aerial. So, you really don’t have to actually wash your breasts. They clean themselves. But, the other super fun fact that kind of gets into after your baby is born is they actually secrete the scent of your amniotic fluid and so when babies are going to breast, they, because they have such poor eye sight, will show mention, you know, when they kind of, need the bulls eye, the very cool thing about your areola and these montgomery glands is that they get to use their other senses to find their way to get to the breasts. So, if you think about, you know a mother dog that has like a litter puppies, she’s not sitting there doing the breast sandwich with all her 10 nipples and so because babies, those puppies sniff their way to their breasts. Our babies actually do the exact same thing. They can smell the scents of that amniotic fluid coming out of these montgomery glands and they recognize that as the sense that they have been essentially ingesting while in utero and so it helps them root and get on to the breasts because they automatically kind of assume, they associate that sense with eating. So, they have really important, you know, needs and so, and kind of just, something that’s overlooked. So….
Sunny Gault: I love that. I love it, your baby knows what you, you know, kind of taste like. I know that sounds a little weird but, you know, I love that because that’s a bond no one else is gonna have and it’s based on you know, you’re carrying your baby for the last 9 months. I love that. Okay, stage 4, and I didn’t experience this. The leaky faucets, so obviously, this is when your milk will, you know, starts to coming out. Robin, why don’t you explain this?
[00:24:32]
Robin Kaplan: Sure, so that leaky faucet stage, not every woman will experience this during pregnancy. But essentially, a pregnant mother starts to create colostrum about 12 weeks of her pregnancy and this is because, one, we want to have this colostrum for when the baby is born but, also so that when the baby is born gestationally early so, the babies that are born in 25 weeks, 30 weeks, 35 weeks, whenever they are born, that colostrum is specific to their gestational age. So it’s used as medicine and if the baby does not reach term and so some women will find that they actually begin to leak this. So, it’s usually third trimester they start seeing this and it really isn’t an indication of anything. It doesn’t mean that you’re gonna have a greater supply than the women who did not leak. It just means that it happens a leak out but essentially, that’s what it is. It’s just that first milk that incredibly potent colostrum that your baby is going to get those first couple days after he or she’s born.
Sunny Gault: Anyone have the leaky faucets here?
Rachele DeMeo: I don’t know.
Sunny Gault: With either of pregnancies? You didn’t have that Rachele? I know, I had one boob that was a leaky faucet, not faucets. I don’t know if it was good or bad. [Laughs]
Rachele DeMeo: I remember when you were pregnant with Sayer and you, like said it, you know, in the show, just how you are leaking and I remember thinking like, is it normal? I’m not leaking at all. I didn’t leak at all in my last pregnancy, not this one.
Cherri Christiansen: Is it very noticeable? Like, would we know?
Sunny Gault: No, it wasn’t. It was something that I would walk around the house without, you know, bra and I’m what is it? Why are my breasts wet? And it happened for during both pregnancies and it happened around 30 weeks when it started. And like I said, it was not a lot, didn’t have a lot of time to predict when it was going to happen. It was one of those annoying things, you know, when you want to go braless and you can’t. [Laughs] I guess it’s preparing you for once your once your milk fully comes in and you cant do the same thing obviously, when you just walk around in wet T-shirts all the time. But, yeah, this definitely happened to me and it’s kind of fun at first. I was like, “oh! So this is what it’s going to be like to breastfeed.” You know, you’re not used to this stuff coming out of your breasts, right. And then, kind of the fun tapers off, you go really, “come on, come on, wait till the baby comes.” [Laughs] Give me a break. Okay, stage 5, I love this, the Dolly Parton phase.
Robin Kaplan: Yeah, exactly, again so that third trimester, your breast and your ductal system is growing tremendously and you might find you’re getting stretch marks because they’re stretching to maximum capacity. Yes, you feel that? [Laughs] Nice, your breasts can begin to feel really heavy and this isn’t always the case for everyone. But, for those who are going through that Dolly Parton’s stage, they’re heavy. Most women will see veining so they’ll see that, especially right before their babies are born, they’ll start seeing those kind of blue veins kind of pop out.
Cherri Christiansen: Yeah, that I’ve noticed. All of a sudden I’m looking in the mirror and I was like, “Wow! What is that?” I called my husband, “Was that there yesterday?”
Sunny Gault: My husband pointed it out. He said, “what’s up with your veins?”
Robin Kaplan: It’s like when they’re working out in their biceps and you know, they get really big and also the vein starts popping out. It’s the same type of thing, like, you are stretched to your maximum capacity and your body is just showing you that they’re feeling quite big and so, again, all perfectly normal and whether you feel that heaviness, whether you feel see the vein, you know, again, we’re kind of looking for, to kind of, determine whether you’re going to have this full milk supply, you know, if your baby is really accessing your milk and everything like that, obviously, there’s a lot of different components to a breast milk supply after your baby is born but, to know that your body is going through these hormonal changes, to kind of set you up for the optimum success for breastfeeding, you can have several of these or just a few of them. It’s okay. It’s not that you have to have enormous breasts, you know, at the end of your pregnancy it’s not that you have to have veining. You know, but we’re looking for, was there breast growth change? You know, did your breast get a little bit bigger or little bit heavier, may be or a little bit fuller? Or did you see the aerial get darker? And or combination of the two, but, that is which is really telling us that your body is doing what it needs to do. Sure, it’s figuring it out.
Sunny Gault: Good advice, alright, thanks a lot, Robin for joining us today.
Robin Kaplan: You’re welcome, it’s my pleasure.
Sunny Gault: Great information, if you want to learn more about Robin and her services, you can visit the episode’s page on our website and look for today’s topic which is the five stages of pregnancy breasts and of course you can also visit her website at https://www.sandiegobreastfeedingcenter.com. You can also listen to episodes at the boob group and that’s at https://www.theboobgroup.com.
[Music]
[Featured Segment: Prenatal Fitness Tips]
Sunny Gault: Before we wrap up today’s show, here are some great prenatal fitness tips.
Lisa Druxman: Hi, Preggie Pals, I’m Lisa Druxman, fitness expert and chief founding mom of Stroller Strides, a fitness program for moms and babies. Today, I’m here to answer some of your most common questions when it comes to exercise in pregnancy. Today, I’m going to answer when it’s time to discontinue exercise, when you’re getting warning signs that may be exercise isn’t right and you should seek medical advice. Overall, pregnancy is not a state of sickness and as long as you don’t have any contra indications, you should be able to exercise throughout your pregnancy. But, it is very important to talk to your doctor. With a good program and a well-designed program, you should be able to exercise really all throughout each trimester. But, it is very important that you do know some of the warning signs when you need to stop exercise during pregnancy. So, I’m going to list some of those. If you experience any of these at any stage of your pregnancy during exercise, please do discontinue and check in with your doctor. These signs include bleeding, labored breathing which is prior to the exertion of the exercise, pre mature labor, dizziness, any severe abdominal pain, feeling unusually tired.
I know we’re all tired during pregnancy but if it seems like anything more extreme. Headache, chest pain, muscle weakness, calf pain or swelling, decreased fetal movement or the amniotic fluid leakage. Now none of these are things that you absolutely have to panic. Take it a step at a time. Stop exercising. See how you feel and just give your doctor a call and decide if it’s something that you need to come in for. Now, there are certain absolute contra indications which say, you absolutely should not be exercising during pregnancy. They include things like, heart disease and lung disease, some other things like placenta previa talk to your doctor, they will certainly let you know if you have any of these contra indications. We want you to exercise safe, exercise smart and having a wonderful, wonderful pregnancy. I do hope you visit https://www.strollerstrides.com for more great information on how to stay fit throughout pregnancy and parenthood. And be sure to listen to Preggie Pals for more great prenatal fitness tips.
Sunny Gault: That wraps up our show for today. If you have a pregnancy topic you’d like to suggest, we would love to hear it. You can visit our website which is https://www.preggiepals.com and send us email from the contact link. If you have any questions about today’s show or the topics we discussed, call our Preggie Pals hotline at the number, 619-866-4775 and we’ll answer your questions out in the upcoming episode. Coming up next week, we’ll have some great pointers for family that’s planning a Baby Shower. Thanks for listening to Preggie Pals, your pregnancy your way.
[Disclaimer]
This has been a New Mommy Media production, information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Suggestions and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. For such information in which areas are related to be accurate it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, Medical or advisor care and should not be used for diagnosing or treating house care problem or disease or prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby please receive assistance from a qualified health care provider.
[00:32:49] End of Audio
Episode Transcript
Preggie Pals
Body Changes During Pregnancy: Your Breasts
Please be advised, this transcription was performed from a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.
[00:00:00]
[Music]
Robin Kaplan: It’s no secret that pregnancy takes a toll on the mother’s body. Most parts of your body are probably getting bigger including your breasts. But, there are many other changes that your breasts are experiencing as they prepare to nurture the little one. I’m Robin Kaplan, an international Board certified Lactation Consultant, owner of the Sand Diego Breastfeeding Center and host of the Boob Group, Preggie Pal’s sister show on breastfeeding. And, today we’ll explore the 5 main changes your breast undergo while pregnant. This is Preggie Pals, episode 7.
[Theme Song/Music]
Sunny Gault: Welcome to Preggie Pals, broadcasting from the Birth Education Center of San Diego. I’m your host, Sunny Gault. Preggie Pals is all about educating moms to be about their choices during pregnancy and child birth so they can make decisions that are best for the family. And this show is all about our listeners. You can visit our website at https://www.preggiepals.com for more information on how you can become part of our show. You can send us comments or suggestions to the contact link on our website or you can call the Preggie Pals Hotline at 619-866-4775. Preggie Pals is also looking for pregnant women to join our blogging team. So, if that’s something you’re interested in, please send us an email through the website. Okay, let’s start with our introductions. Go ahead, Rachele.
Rachele DeMeo: Hi, my name is Rachele. I teach college part time. My due date is June 23rd. I’m expecting a boy. It’s our second child and we’re hoping for a natural birth.
Kelli Auld: Hi, my name is Kelli. Sorry for my voice. I’m actually a kindergarten teacher. I have the same due date, June 23rd. We’re being surprised. This is our first and we’re having a natural home birth.
Sunny Gault: So, you’re used to kids, right? Because you’re around kids all the time.
Kelli Auld: Lots of kids, yeah. I’ve got 13 babies.
Sunny Gault: Oh my goodness. Alright Cherri, go ahead.
Cherri Christiansen: I’m Cherri. I work in Market Research and I’m also due on June 23rd. So there’s something I want to hear in this studio. June 23rd and like Kelli, I’m also being surprised. We don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl. This is our first and we’re also planning an un-medicated home birth.
Sunny Gault: So, in my announcement, I should have said, we’re also looking for panelists for Preggie Pals because you guys are all gonna be gone at the same time. Okay, we’ll be right back.
[Music]
[Featured Segment: News Headlines]
Sunny Gault: So, let’s get off today’s episode with an unbelievable pregnancy story making headlines on the internet. Now, all of these stories that we talk about on our show are posted on Preggie Pals Pin Trust Board if you want to check them out. Okay, these are the co-comes from the New York Times. This was published I believe in April. They’re talking about gender reveal parties and how they’re becoming more and more popular. Apparently, people are going all out in various ways but, having parties where they, you know, previously had their ultrasound to determine the baby’s gender and they choose to, kind of, reveal in front of friends and family. Sometimes they even have team boy and team girl and people dressed up in blue and pink and there’s a cake and all those kind of stuff. So, I wanted to kind of, throw this out to you guys. You know, what do you guys think about these gender reveal parties? Is it something that you would consider participating in? whether it’s your own, you know, or would you go to your friend’s party if your friend was having one? You know, what’s your take on it? Go ahead Cherri.
Cherri Christiansen: As you know, I’m not finding out whether it’s a boy or a girl. So, for me this wouldn’t be something I would do right now. But, I love the idea but, it’s really cool. I think if I was going to find out and I was going to tell people, it’s kind of a fun way versus, you know, sharing on Facebook or however else people usually tell. So, I think it’s kind of unique fun idea and I can imagine what the anticipation, the surprise must be like when you’re cutting the cake and you know, only the person who baked the cake or the person who did the ultrasound know and, you know, cutting in, you get to see if it’s pink or it’s blue.
Sunny Gault: Yeah, so that’s basically what people are doing. They’re getting these cakes and I guess the inside, the filling or something like that, you know.
Cherri Christiansen: The color is dyed in the inside of the cake so, from the outside it may just look like a chocolate cake but inside you see the pink or blue.
Sunny Gault: Now, I wonder if people are cheating, I mean come on….[Laughs]. Just kind of nibble on a little bit to see.
Rachele DeMeo: I think it’s a great idea. I mean, we didn’t do that. We just called people once we found out, you know, because, that’s just kind of how we wanted to do it.
Sunny Gault: Yeah, would you do something like that, make for big no. 3?
Rachele DeMeo: No, no, we’re adopting after this. We’re done.
Sunny Gault: Well, you can even still do that for an adoption.
[Multiple Speakers]
Cherri Christiansen: I think you have to be very comfortable with the answer either way. If you are really dead set on the girl, you think you’re gonna pack up crying, if you have a Blue cake, you might not want to do that. You have to be very comfortable with whatever color that cake is inside.
[00:05:10]
Sunny Gault: I think that’s a really good point.
Kelli Auld: I considered doing this for this baby way before I even got pregnant and he always wanted to not know and I felt I was gonna want to know and I took it a little bit more inappropriate. I felt that it would be fun to call a sex party and jst kind of like throw people off but then, because, you know, you’re revealing the sex of the baby. But, I thought it would be important if we alone, like may be in a room found out so that we could experience that together because I think there is that important moment of you and your husband together and then we could come out and reveal, you know, I adore these grandiose inappropriate things that, we hold up a boob balloon or penis balloon, you know, like, ridiculous things like mustache and a tiara.
Sunny Gault: Kelly, I want to go to your party. [Laughs]
Kelli Auld: I was just going more inappropriate with it because I feel like, you know, let’s just make it a big to do and but, it just seems like we finally got to the point of it and after trying for a couple years and going through some fertility failures it just do not matter anymore. I could care less pink or blue, boy or girl, we just want ten fingers, ten toes. So, I swam to his side, you know, we’re thrilled that we’re going to be surprised for that moment and if you know it’s a, but I think it’s nice because kind of, like you said, you just may be email people or you know, you announce it on Facebook. You want to tell your friends and family. You want that kind of an emotion altogether. So, why not have it be at a party with the penis balloons?
[Laughs]
Cherri Christiansen: I like that idea. [Laughs]
Sunny Gault: Alright, thanks guys.
[Music]
Sunny Gault: So your aching breasts may have been your first indication of pregnancy. But, that’s only one change experienced during the next nine months. What other changes should you expect? Here to answer that question is our expert, Robin Kaplan, an international board certified lactation consultant. She’s also the owner of San Diego Breastfeeding Center and something near and dear to our hearts, she’s the host of The Boob Group which is Preggie Pal’s sister show on breastfeeding. So, Robin welcome to the show.
Robin Kaplan: Thanks for having me.
Sunny Gault: Can I just call you the Boob lady? [Laughs] everything is boob related so…
Robin Kaplan: Some of our friends call me the sore boob doctor and I’m like, I’m not an MD so I can’t really go by that but I think it’s pretty funny.
Sunny Gault: Yeah right? Okay, so lets talk about the five stages of pregnancy breasts. This is something that, when you’re pregnant, I don’t think you will be able to talk about your breasts and the changes that your breasts are going through that much and I feel my breasts, quite frankly, have been a little bit neglected. So, we’re going to give our breasts a platform today in today’s show. So, let’s start ours in general questions. Do all pregnant woman experience the same changes to their breasts during pregnancy?
Robin Kaplan: Yes and no. There are many factors that play into this role of how women’s breasts respond to their new pregnancy. Obviously we all have the same hormones in our body and estrogen and progesterone are really the ones that are the key factors in working to get our breasts ready in growing the glandular tissue and all these things we’d like to call the little broccoli, the little alveoli that where the milk kind of, comes in and then squeezed out. So, yes, that type of such as very similar. However, the differences are that some women, and it’s very rare but some women have insufficient glandular tissue which means that during the time that they were fetus as well increasingly into when they were in their puberty stage, their breasts did not grow necessarily the way that, I guess, they should have. And so, we’re not talking about the small breasts in women, the small chest in women. We’re actually talking about women whom, their breasts don’t droop, they don’t have that kind of cuppyness to them where they’re not as full round and so they might have wide spread breasts so, they have more than a good quarter to a couple quarters worth, couple inches I should say in between their breasts and they kind of slant to the sides and so, things like that, yes, they are going to go through these kind of hormonal changes but, their breasts may not react the way that they should.
So, and then there’s also the difference between women who’ve had breast surgeries as well, you know, augmentation, reduction, even biopsies can sometimes affect the way a woman’s breasts responds to the pregnancy hormones and whether their body is able to go through those changes that they naturally should have if they hadn’t had those things done to their breasts you know, before they became pregnant. So, you know, the goal is that during puberty, the ductal system really begins to sprout and branch. So, if you think of wine of very small grapes, that’s kind of what the inside of our breasts are like, while we’re going into puberty. And then, every ovulation, the ductal system grows and these little buds of grapes really begin to develop and then, during the first five months of pregnancy, they really start sprouting and growing, they actually look more like broccoli. So, if you can think about those crowns of broccoli, really growing, they’re all kind of intricately and intertwined with one another and, that’s kind of, where we’re getting to which we’ll be talking about, kind of that heaviness of our breasts and some will feel more heaviness than others but, those ductal systems and those crowns of broccoli really do, they grow and they become the specific to, kind of the milk making process that we’ll be going through after your baby is born.
[00:10:22]
Sunny Gault: Okay, so we all have different types of breasts based on our own development but, when we enter pregnancy we will go pretty much through the same stages, you know, as far as the milk coming in and all that.
Robin Kaplan: We will, although there are some women who based on their, you know, kind of their make up of their body or if they have had surgeries they may not react as much to the pregnancy hormones as women who’ve not, you know, do not have those instances, you know, in their medical history. And so, women who have not, then they’ll see these breast growth changes and then once you have, you do happen to have insufficient glandular tissue or have breast surgeries may not see that growth, have may or have not have these I guess, these challenges.
Sunny Gault: Okay, so what triggers these, you know, different stages that we’re about to talk about? What is it within the body?
Robin Kaplan: So, it’s really the hormones, estrogen stimulates the ductal system to grow and become their specific for milk making, progesterone determines the growth and the size of those broccoli crowns, the alveoli. The human placental lactogen is a hormone that is released by the placenta that is instrumental in the breast and nipple, in aerial growth. So the aerial is that little, kind of bulls eye around your nipple that tends to get darker while you’re pregnant based on these hormones and prolactin contributes to the acceleratory growth of alveoli, the broccoli while you’re pregnant.
Sunny Gault: Okay, so question for the panelists. Have you guys noticed a lot of changes in your breasts? I know some of you, Kelli and Cherri, you guys, this is your first baby and then Rachele, this is your second. What have you noticed as far as changes in your breasts?
Cherri Christiansen: At first, I was noticing nothing. You hear so many things about women going through that two week wait and that’s their first sign before they even take a test that they’re sore, they’re tender, I didn’t have any of that. Even when I found out I was pregnant I really noticed nothing. And so, first I was like “oh! That is kind of weird.” But, I didn’t think it was something to complain about. I was like, okay I’ll take it. But, later on, I did start to notice changes. But, it was probably may be two months in that I started to feel tenderness and started to feel like that they were growing and getting heavier. So, it took a little while.
Kelli Auld: I was the polar opposite. Mine was from the get go, got to like the size of my head. [laughs] oh my gosh! I think some of it was hormone induce because we did do an IVF treatment to get pregnant so there was obviously extra progesterone, a lot of shots and things but before I’d even taken my tests 10 days, you know, post transfer, I could just tell there is a difference. They were sore. They were big and I knew some of that just could have been the side effect from the progesterone but, that was my little hope that it happened. But, I think I was may be, nine-ten weeks pregnant and my husband basically begged me to go get new bras because he told me they looked like they were punishing my boobs because they were just getting so tight and but I knew they were gonna continue to grow and they’re gonna continue to grow and bras are expensive. So, I was just trying to put it on the last latch, loosen the straps and make it work. But, they have continued to just….[Multiple Speakers] I know post birth too, they’re gonna get even larger ….
Cherri Christiansen: That’s what scared me too when they suddenly stop growing, I love what you said about the bra punishing them… but I suddenly started experiencing that and did the same thing. I was like, I don’t want to go buy new bras, I’m gonna have to go buy more but I couldn’t imagine that they were going to get bigger and heavier and hurt more. That was hard to….
Sunny Gault: Yeah, we’re gonna actually talk more about bras in the second half with Robin and what she recommends as far as, you know, bra support, how to support these babies. What about you Rachele?
Rachele DeMeo: First pregnancy yeah, definitely more, I noticed more but with the second as much may because I was breastfeeding for, first like, for four or five months during pregnancy. So, I didn’t really notice as much or just because I hadn’t been long since I had come through it, the hormones are still…
Sunny Gault: That’s actually a really good point. So, Robin how does that impact things when you’re already breastfeeding, you know, your child? Will you still notice all these changes or how does it work?
Robin Kaplan: Yeah, absolutely. Actually from what Rachele is saying, what I find more so is that women in that first trimester, when they’re pregnant and they’re breastfeeding another child, they actually feel more nipple tenderness than may be, they would have witnessed during their first pregnancy. So, that’s actually a good thing that you didn’t, you know, that you weren’t uncomfortable because that’s one of the reasons that many women will wean breastfeeding when they become pregnant again. It’s because it’s just unbearable uncomfortable, yeah.
Rachele DeMeo: Compared to like the first several weeks of breastfeeding, you loose like, enough of [Laughs] [Multiple Speakers]
[00:15:02]
Robin Kaplan: But, and then after that first trimester, women find that, as they ease into their second trimester that there is that tenderness kind of subsides and so, whether you are already breastfeeding another child or this is your first child, you’re not breastfeeding at that time right when you get into that second trimester. The goals kind of, work the way out. You feel more comfortable that you know, it’s interesting too because you, know, I love that there are different sides of when you felt this kind of breast growth and stuff because I actually did not, I don’t remember and I’d asked my husband too because I always ask the dads or the partners and I say, so has there been growth been, breast growth and they’re like, “Oh! Yeah.” They notice it or they actually notice that there hasn’t been.
When I had asked my husband this morning, I said, “ Do you remember when did my breast grow while I was pregnant?” And he remembers that they did. I actually never changed bra sizes but what I did remember was, I remember I was like may be, 6th or 7 months pregnant with my first and I was standing in the bath and then looking at myself in the mirror and I was like, “oh” and I normally don’t have very dark nipples or areolas I should say and literally, I looked like a Gauguin painting. Like, my nipples were so dark and so that was kind of my sign that like, okay, the hormones are working because I didn’t remember see that much growth in my breast size and things like that. So, there are a bunch, a couple different changes that go that can let you know the hormones of pregnancy are really working to get the girls ready to start providing nourishment.
Sunny Gault: When I heard that the aerials get darker, the baby usually find the nipple because they can’t see that far.
Robin Kaplan: It can help, yeah, it’s kind of like the bulls eye but, I don’t know if that’s necessarily why it happens. I think it’s just the hormones are causing it. But, yeah, we like to, as lactation consultants say, aim for the bullseye.
Sunny Gault: Alright, let’s get to these stages. We’re starting to talk about it a little bit already but, we’ll get to them in many ways. Alright, it’s the stage one, the growing pains phase which we’ve talked about a little bit. It’s the soreness and the tenderness. So, Robin, what’s happening with the breasts at that stage?
Robin Kaplan: So, pretty much this is just when your estrogen or progesterone are in a really high, they’re preparing the breasts. Milk ducts for milk production is early as that first month of pregnancy and so, this can definitely cause the breasts to feel tender, tingly, heavy and full and it’s really just your body getting ready, you know, starting the process off. It’s really getting that glandular tissue growing. It’s getting those ductal systems all ready to go.
Kelly Auld: Oh, it hurt to go over like a speed bump. [Laughs]
Everything, like, I was amazed how much it hurts. But again, at that point you, it was nice to see signs of pregnancy. I think, you know, you just want to kind of know like, you’re not really feeling anything else so, it was kind of like, you knew something was going on in your body but…
Sunny Gault: You knew the baby was okay because your body was still reacting…
Kelly Auld: It was responding to something but, oh yeah, I remember just even putting a bra and kind of like lifting your boobs into it like, very carefully and having that sort of real with a water head even in the shower, kind of like a “ahhh.” [Laughs] but, again that might have been from some of the extra hormones.
Sunny Gault: Okay, the stage two is the, I love the title for this, it’s the “OMG, my husband can’t stop touching them” phase or “my partner can’t stop touching them” phase. So, did you guys experience this?
Cherri Christiansen: So, I think this is when I had my growing pains phase. I think these two, for me happened at the exact same time. So, I was like, “stop touching me. Stay away.” Because that was when I was really sensitive so, for the most part, once they were in a bra and I was dressed, it was okay. But, anytime, you know, stay away, stay away. So, I think I may have these things at the same time which obviously doesn’t [Laughs] [Multiple speakers].
Sunny Gault: Yeah, they kind of work against each other, right. So, Robin what’s going on in the body with this phase?
Robin Kaplan: Essentially, I mean, it’s really the same thing that your breasts, the inside of your breasts are really growing and I think the funny part about this too is so many of us will have that pregnancy glow that’s going on. You’ve got these fuller breasts that are little bit bigger than they were a couple weeks ago and we’re not really showing anywhere else. Like, you had just described like, this was the way of knowing that you are pregnant and but, you know, your belly is not really good treating you. You haven’t really lost your waist line yet and so, partners are just kind of looking at you like, “wow, you’re looking good.” But, at the same time, I think this is t introduction that the breasts are no longer there and so…
[Multiple Speakers]
Robin Kaplan: Exactly, there’s a rude awakening that this no longer belongs to them. It doesn’t belong to us much each because we really don’t want to touch them either and that they really will just be able to look but not touch for quite a long time right now. [Laughs]
Kelli Auld: I remember, my husband, we’ve been together for 10 years and he was like, “where have these been for 10 years?” and I’m like, “I don’t know,” you know, that’s what I said. Just enjoy them now because they’re gonna totally go through another change. That’s what I said, you know. You’re not gonna be able to come anywhere near them for a while. But, I remember when I got fitted for a new bra, he was outside the waiting room and he heard because I was a B before and she said like, 38 double D. And I said, “did you hear that?” and he said, “Yup”, oh my god, like proud.
Sunny Gault: Proud.
Kelli Auld: Yeah, exactly, but it’s something that, you know, I think it’s a little bit of just appreciating the pregnancy, you know. Some men just love those changes of, some of them really love the belly and they love the breasts and it’s just seeing your wife or your partner kind of change in front of your eyes. I think it’s a little like cro-magnon man, I mean… [Laughs] [Multiple Speakers].
[00:20:40]
Sunny Gault: Does any one have a pretty good cup size prior to this? Am I the only one who had to see the higher size?
Cherri Christiansen: No, I was also about a B. Sometimes I was a C but then, I just questioned the bra size. I was about a B before so…
Sunny Gault: See, this phase doesn’t face me no point of time because it’s like, I’ve always had pretty substantial boobs and anything bigger I’m kind of like, “oh! Really? They’re gonna get bigger?”
Rachele DeMeo: Exactly, I started when I was a C and then when I started breastfeeding I went to D and my husband was like, “no offense but, I think it’s just, you know, you look disproportionate.”
Sunny Gault: No offense, but you look weird. [laughter]
Rachele DeMeo: You know, and last summer especially, because it’s like, you go to the beach, I don’t like that fake plastic look at all. Like, and mine are natural, but, I was just breastfeeding, I still know people think that are fake and I just, you know, my husband was, actually I went down back down to what I was, when my son was like 9 or 10 months and I was like oh, this is perfect. If it stays the way it is, I’m happy.
Kelly Auld: I think you get to experience the grasses are always greener so if you were like, for anyone who has ever wanted bigger boobs kind of, when you go to this, I’m like, I can’t wait for this to go down. Okay, I remember always wanting bigger breasts and it’s like, yup, okay, then they’ve done that. It’s just how close that difference in your bras. Take some pictures and then move on.
Sunny Gault: It’s the same thing the people talk about, oh, now have hips, you know, because I’m pregnant and I have hips, and I’m like [Laughs] girl, I’ve had hips my entire life. I can’t fit in pants because I’ve got hips. I’ve got so much hips, I don’t know what to with it.
Sunny Gault: That wraps up the first half of our show on pregnancy breasts. We’ll explore the rest of the stages when we come back.
[Music]
Sunny Gault: Okay, let’s move on to stage 3, the bulls eye phase. We’ve talked about this. This is the dark aerial and what’s going on here Robin?
Robin Kaplan: So, again, it’s all based on the hormones. Your aerial is becoming darker and one thing that women most likely notice very quickly is that you have these little bumps on them that you may not have had before you became pregnant. Those are called montgomery glands and they really help the aerial to kind of, stand out. They also, they kind of look pimply a little bit and the reason we have them, for couple reasons, one is that it secretes this oily substance to help protect the nipple and aerial. So, you really don’t have to actually wash your breasts. They clean themselves. But, the other super fun fact that kind of gets into after your baby is born is they actually secrete the scent of your amniotic fluid and so when babies are going to breast, they, because they have such poor eye sight, will show mention, you know, when they kind of, need the bulls eye, the very cool thing about your areola and these montgomery glands is that they get to use their other senses to find their way to get to the breasts. So, if you think about, you know a mother dog that has like a litter puppies, she’s not sitting there doing the breast sandwich with all her 10 nipples and so because babies, those puppies sniff their way to their breasts. Our babies actually do the exact same thing. They can smell the scents of that amniotic fluid coming out of these montgomery glands and they recognize that as the sense that they have been essentially ingesting while in utero and so it helps them root and get on to the breasts because they automatically kind of assume, they associate that sense with eating. So, they have really important, you know, needs and so, and kind of just, something that’s overlooked. So….
Sunny Gault: I love that. I love it, your baby knows what you, you know, kind of taste like. I know that sounds a little weird but, you know, I love that because that’s a bond no one else is gonna have and it’s based on you know, you’re carrying your baby for the last 9 months. I love that. Okay, stage 4, and I didn’t experience this. The leaky faucets, so obviously, this is when your milk will, you know, starts to coming out. Robin, why don’t you explain this?
[00:24:32]
Robin Kaplan: Sure, so that leaky faucet stage, not every woman will experience this during pregnancy. But essentially, a pregnant mother starts to create colostrum about 12 weeks of her pregnancy and this is because, one, we want to have this colostrum for when the baby is born but, also so that when the baby is born gestationally early so, the babies that are born in 25 weeks, 30 weeks, 35 weeks, whenever they are born, that colostrum is specific to their gestational age. So it’s used as medicine and if the baby does not reach term and so some women will find that they actually begin to leak this. So, it’s usually third trimester they start seeing this and it really isn’t an indication of anything. It doesn’t mean that you’re gonna have a greater supply than the women who did not leak. It just means that it happens a leak out but essentially, that’s what it is. It’s just that first milk that incredibly potent colostrum that your baby is going to get those first couple days after he or she’s born.
Sunny Gault: Anyone have the leaky faucets here?
Rachele DeMeo: I don’t know.
Sunny Gault: With either of pregnancies? You didn’t have that Rachele? I know, I had one boob that was a leaky faucet, not faucets. I don’t know if it was good or bad. [Laughs]
Rachele DeMeo: I remember when you were pregnant with Sayer and you, like said it, you know, in the show, just how you are leaking and I remember thinking like, is it normal? I’m not leaking at all. I didn’t leak at all in my last pregnancy, not this one.
Cherri Christiansen: Is it very noticeable? Like, would we know?
Sunny Gault: No, it wasn’t. It was something that I would walk around the house without, you know, bra and I’m what is it? Why are my breasts wet? And it happened for during both pregnancies and it happened around 30 weeks when it started. And like I said, it was not a lot, didn’t have a lot of time to predict when it was going to happen. It was one of those annoying things, you know, when you want to go braless and you can’t. [Laughs] I guess it’s preparing you for once your once your milk fully comes in and you cant do the same thing obviously, when you just walk around in wet T-shirts all the time. But, yeah, this definitely happened to me and it’s kind of fun at first. I was like, “oh! So this is what it’s going to be like to breastfeed.” You know, you’re not used to this stuff coming out of your breasts, right. And then, kind of the fun tapers off, you go really, “come on, come on, wait till the baby comes.” [Laughs] Give me a break. Okay, stage 5, I love this, the Dolly Parton phase.
Robin Kaplan: Yeah, exactly, again so that third trimester, your breast and your ductal system is growing tremendously and you might find you’re getting stretch marks because they’re stretching to maximum capacity. Yes, you feel that? [Laughs] Nice, your breasts can begin to feel really heavy and this isn’t always the case for everyone. But, for those who are going through that Dolly Parton’s stage, they’re heavy. Most women will see veining so they’ll see that, especially right before their babies are born, they’ll start seeing those kind of blue veins kind of pop out.
Cherri Christiansen: Yeah, that I’ve noticed. All of a sudden I’m looking in the mirror and I was like, “Wow! What is that?” I called my husband, “Was that there yesterday?”
Sunny Gault: My husband pointed it out. He said, “what’s up with your veins?”
Robin Kaplan: It’s like when they’re working out in their biceps and you know, they get really big and also the vein starts popping out. It’s the same type of thing, like, you are stretched to your maximum capacity and your body is just showing you that they’re feeling quite big and so, again, all perfectly normal and whether you feel that heaviness, whether you feel see the vein, you know, again, we’re kind of looking for, to kind of, determine whether you’re going to have this full milk supply, you know, if your baby is really accessing your milk and everything like that, obviously, there’s a lot of different components to a breast milk supply after your baby is born but, to know that your body is going through these hormonal changes, to kind of set you up for the optimum success for breastfeeding, you can have several of these or just a few of them. It’s okay. It’s not that you have to have enormous breasts, you know, at the end of your pregnancy it’s not that you have to have veining. You know, but we’re looking for, was there breast growth change? You know, did your breast get a little bit bigger or little bit heavier, may be or a little bit fuller? Or did you see the aerial get darker? And or combination of the two, but, that is which is really telling us that your body is doing what it needs to do. Sure, it’s figuring it out.
Sunny Gault: Good advice, alright, thanks a lot, Robin for joining us today.
Robin Kaplan: You’re welcome, it’s my pleasure.
Sunny Gault: Great information, if you want to learn more about Robin and her services, you can visit the episode’s page on our website and look for today’s topic which is the five stages of pregnancy breasts and of course you can also visit her website at https://www.sandiegobreastfeedingcenter.com. You can also listen to episodes at the boob group and that’s at https://www.theboobgroup.com.
[Music]
[Featured Segment: Prenatal Fitness Tips]
Sunny Gault: Before we wrap up today’s show, here are some great prenatal fitness tips.
Lisa Druxman: Hi, Preggie Pals, I’m Lisa Druxman, fitness expert and chief founding mom of Stroller Strides, a fitness program for moms and babies. Today, I’m here to answer some of your most common questions when it comes to exercise in pregnancy. Today, I’m going to answer when it’s time to discontinue exercise, when you’re getting warning signs that may be exercise isn’t right and you should seek medical advice. Overall, pregnancy is not a state of sickness and as long as you don’t have any contra indications, you should be able to exercise throughout your pregnancy. But, it is very important to talk to your doctor. With a good program and a well-designed program, you should be able to exercise really all throughout each trimester. But, it is very important that you do know some of the warning signs when you need to stop exercise during pregnancy. So, I’m going to list some of those. If you experience any of these at any stage of your pregnancy during exercise, please do discontinue and check in with your doctor. These signs include bleeding, labored breathing which is prior to the exertion of the exercise, pre mature labor, dizziness, any severe abdominal pain, feeling unusually tired.
I know we’re all tired during pregnancy but if it seems like anything more extreme. Headache, chest pain, muscle weakness, calf pain or swelling, decreased fetal movement or the amniotic fluid leakage. Now none of these are things that you absolutely have to panic. Take it a step at a time. Stop exercising. See how you feel and just give your doctor a call and decide if it’s something that you need to come in for. Now, there are certain absolute contra indications which say, you absolutely should not be exercising during pregnancy. They include things like, heart disease and lung disease, some other things like placenta previa talk to your doctor, they will certainly let you know if you have any of these contra indications. We want you to exercise safe, exercise smart and having a wonderful, wonderful pregnancy. I do hope you visit https://www.strollerstrides.com for more great information on how to stay fit throughout pregnancy and parenthood. And be sure to listen to Preggie Pals for more great prenatal fitness tips.
Sunny Gault: That wraps up our show for today. If you have a pregnancy topic you’d like to suggest, we would love to hear it. You can visit our website which is https://www.preggiepals.com and send us email from the contact link. If you have any questions about today’s show or the topics we discussed, call our Preggie Pals hotline at the number, 619-866-4775 and we’ll answer your questions out in the upcoming episode. Coming up next week, we’ll have some great pointers for family that’s planning a Baby Shower. Thanks for listening to Preggie Pals, your pregnancy your way.
[Disclaimer]
This has been a New Mommy Media production, information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Suggestions and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. For such information in which areas are related to be accurate it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, Medical or advisor care and should not be used for diagnosing or treating house care problem or disease or prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby please receive assistance from a qualified health care provider.
[00:32:49] End of Audio
