When your breasts get
the message that your body is pregnant, or your
body is being directed by breast stimulation
to prepare for full lactation, certain changes occur
to your breasts that are visible to the eye. These
visual changes can be an increase in the size of
your breasts (as much as one or two cup-sizes),
changes in the pigmentation of your nipples and your
areolae, changes in the size of your nipples and
your areolae, and a more noticeable presence of blood
vessels just under the surface of your breasts.
The images
in this Gallery are examples which you can compare to your own
breasts, giving you an approximate reference
number that can be communicated to someone who does not have the opportunity to observe
your breast changes personally, such as a lactation
consultant.
Nipple/Areola
Pigmentation
Compare your
breasts to these images to determine a reference
number to which you can refer, to convey your current
lactational status. The images in the following
gallery generally progress from the
lightest pigmentation to the darkest. You may judge
that some images may be darker pigmented than a
following image, but that is not important... it is
just being able to refer to an example that is
similar to your breasts that is important, and an
expert that is not local can refer to this chart to
judge your progress. Expect
your breast pigmentation to change as your breasts
progress toward complete lactation.
NOTE: If you notice
that your pigment is changing over time in size,
color, or shape, and you are
definitely not pregnant or inducing lactation,
please bring it to the attention of your OB/Gyn or a
qualified Breast Surgeon.
Record on the chart
(where you keep your menstrual history) your current
reference number and today's date. If your
pigmentation changes, your doctor can see your
current coloring and then refer to this gallery on
his/her office computer so that he/she might
be able to see how much it has changed, and then
they can
better understand your concern.
If you
are stimulating your breasts to induce
lactation, and you observe that your nipple and
areolar pigmentation is darkening, that is an
indication to you that your breasts are getting
closer to lactating.
Nipple/Areola Diameter
As your breasts develop, new
acini tissues deep inside your breasts will develop, making your breasts
increase in size. As they increase, your areolae
naturally will increase in diameter, and your
nipples will become larger in diameter. If you
are anxious to see if your breasts are
progressing toward lactation, you can better judge
whether your nipples are changing in diameter by
using a simple Nipple Gauge that you can
easily make. You can find it in our
Tools &
Gadgets section.
Breast Veining
When
your breasts are preparing for lactation,
the concentrated cellular construction
inside your breasts that is developing your
acini tissues requires extra nutrients that
are transported to your breasts in
your blood. That requires your blood vessels
to dilate, often making them "appear" for
the first time under the surface of your
breast skin. If you notice the vessels
increasing in number or size, that
would generally indicate that your breasts
are moving closer toward full lactation.
They will continue to enlarge and maintain
their presence during the time that you are
lactating because the extra nutrients are needed
to continue the production of milk.
You can see examples of
this Veining in a Gallery found in the
Anatomy Gallery section.
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