For the experienced mother, this is no great secret:  During your pregnancy, you can expect some changes with your breasts.  During this time, your breasts will evolve, grow–change–all in preparation for the arrival of your new baby boy or girl.  So if you’re a first-time mom-to-be, what are the changes you can expect?  In brief, the changes will include:

• Enlargement and growth
• Hypersensitivity and tenderness
• The areolas (skin surrounding the nipples) and the nipples themselves will darken because of hormones which affect the skin pigmentation
• Veins along the woman’s breasts becoming darkened because of an increased amount of blood flowing to the breasts
• Her breasts often start leaking colostrum, which is a thick, yellow substance.
• The woman’s nipples will protrude more, all while the nipples and areolas grow bigger.
• The woman will experience some raised bumps on the surface of areolas (These are known as Montgomery’s tubercles).

Wow, that’s a lot of changes!  So how does the new mom handle them?  There are several things you can do to make it easier.

First, try to be positive.  Many women actually look forward to the enlargement / growth of their breasts, as they feel this enhances their appearance.  Some women though, who already have large breasts, don’t look at it this way.  For them, buying a top-quality support bra might be a good idea.  Also, if there is a big increase in breast size, she might consider sleeping in a cotton sports bra at bed time.

What exactly should she look for in a bra?

• She should look first and foremost for good support.
• It’s best if, between the cups, you have a deep band.
• Look for one with broad shoulder straps.
• Stay away from underwire bras.
• An finally, you want an adjustable closure (a bra that fastens in the back gives the woman a lot more flexibility for adjusting than front-fastening ones).

During pregnancy, a woman should continue with her self breast exams as before.  This is admittedly — and unfortunately–not exactly easy to get during pregnancy, due to the changes her breasts are undergoing. They are tender, growing in their size, and sometimes they even have some lumps on them. This is all part of the process of your body creating milk for the new baby.  Still, difficult or not, it’s important that you continue examining your breasts about every month during your pregnancy.

As a woman examines her breasts, she should remember that it’s common to find lumps–which are actually nothing more than clogged milk ducts.  These lumps are tender to the touch, red, and often hard in her breasts.  These can be cleared if the woman runs warm water over her breasts while in the shower–or absent that, if she just applies a warm cloth.

If during your breast examination you find a lump that cannot easily be explained as a normal symptom of pregnancy, or if you’re just not sure, be sure to mention it to your doctor at your next visit.  However, don’t panic, since breast cancer is unusual in women before age 35.