Breasts after Pregnancy: Getting Back to Normal

Ligaments and connective tissues support breasts, lending them their natural shape and level of perkiness. During pregnancy, a woman’s body goes through many changes. Her breasts naturally become larger during pregnancy and reach their peak after birth, resulting in full and gorged breasts during lactation. Shortly after – longer if she decides to breastfeed – her breasts shrink back to their smaller form. All this stretching and shrinking breaks down the connective tissues and ligaments that are responsible for breast support. Liken it to a rubber band that has been stretched out too many times.

 Things You Can Do During Pregnancy

If you’re pregnant or plan to become pregnant, you are no doubt worried about what will happen to your breasts. You’ve seen what’s happened to other women during pregnancy and in the months after, causing you concern for your own body. If you’re pregnant, you need to start taking care of your breasts now to prevent breaking down supportive tissue.

• Give your breasts plenty of support by wearing the right bra. During pregnancy, your breasts will grow, resulting in the need for new bras. Never try to squeeze into an old bra. Even if you can only afford a couple of new bras, make the investment. Never leave your heavier breasts without support. You may even have to wear a sports bra or something at night to keep your breasts from hanging free.
• Watch your weight during pregnancy. While it’s not healthy – for you or the baby – to restrict calorie intake during pregnancy, it’s also not a good idea to eat more than recommended or to give into fatty cravings. The faster you put on weight, the more strain you put on your breasts. Ideally, you should only gain 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy. 
• Moisturize your breasts frequently. You’re probably already using cocoa butter on your tummy to avoid stretch marks. Expand on your moisturizing routing and include your breasts. You can use the same cocoa butter, your facial moisturizer, ordinary lotion or a breast-firming product like Brestrogen. Massage your breasts with moisturizer daily.

Things to Do after Pregnancy

After you’ve given birth, your breasts go through immediate and drastic changes. Approximately a week after birth, breasts stretch under the weight of milk-swollen glands. Even if you don’t breast feed, you can expect major breast changes during the first few months after birth. Following are some things you should do to get back to your old perky self.

• Examine your bra inventory once again. You may find that you have to go up another size immediately after pregnancy only to watch your breasts shrink down to a smaller size after a couple of months. Always wear a good supportive bra that fits you. Don’t cut corners. If it’s too small or too large, don’t wear it. Don’t go without a bra either.
• Take off pregnancy weight slowly. It’s normal to want to wear your pre-pregnancy jeans shortly after giving birth. If you can, great! If you can’t, don’t push it. Let the weight come off slowly by following a healthy eating plan along with moderate exercise.
• Tone up your pectoral muscles. Located in your chest, directly under your breasts, are your pectoral muscles. Strengthen these through weight lifting to create a solid platform for your breasts to rest on.

 It takes time to get your body and your breasts back into pre-pregnancy shape. Be patient. The connective tissues of your breasts will retract, resulting in perkier breasts, but it won’t happen overnight. In the meantime, give your breasts plenty of support by wearing a good bra.