Questions You May Have About Getting Ready to Breastfeed

The Breastfeeding Book: Everything You Need to Know About Nursing Your Child
by Martha Sears, R. N., William Sears, M. D.

(Page 9 of 9)

Worried about Breasts Sagging

I'm expecting my first baby and I'm concerned that nursing may make my breasts sag. Will it?

Pregnancy, not breastfeeding, is what causes breasts to change. The hormones of pregnancy enlarge your breasts and stretch your skin as your body prepares to make milk whether or not you choose to give that milk to your baby.

Throughout a woman's life, her breasts change. The breasts of a young woman who has never been pregnant have a contour that is closer to the “ideal” in our culture. (Barbie was never pregnant.) But most women's breasts don't ever look like the ideal. Maternal breasts take on a more generous, rounder shape. Breasts change again as your baby weans. Some women feel that their breasts are fuller after pregnancy and breastfeeding and some feel that they are smaller or lower. So while it's almost certain that your breasts will change because of childbearing, it's difficult to predict how they will change. Heredity and aging also affect the shape of your breasts and the ways in which they change. And, as one experienced breastfeeding mother put it, “In the end gravity gets us all.”

Friends Couldn't Breastfeed

Some of my friends had so much difficulty breastfeeding that they eventually gave up. I'm eight months pregnant and I'm worried. How can I prevent the same thing from happening to me?

Believing that you won't be successful breastfeeding can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Most likely your friends weren't successful because they got a poor start and didn't know where to go to get the help and information they needed. To avoid following the same path, first surround yourself with women who have breastfed successfully, so you have some role models. Join your local La Leche League group and attend a series of meetings in your later months of pregnancy. Take a breastfeeding class, which will prepare you for the first days of nursing and teach you what to do if you have problems. Even before Delivery Day, contact a professional lactation consultant and arrange for her to visit you in the hospital for a hands-on demonstration of techniques for getting started. (Some hospitals provide this, some don't.) Veteran mothers have dubbed breastfeeding a confidence game. Convince yourself that you will be successful and you will be.

Preparing Nipples Prenatally

Is there anything I can do to prepare my breasts before my baby comes?

Most lactation specialists believe that women do not need to do anything to prepare their nipples for breastfeeding. Sore nipples are avoided by using careful positioning and latch-on techniques when you begin to breastfeed rather than by following specific rituals before birth.

Once upon a time pregnant women were advised to toughen their nipples by going without a bra for part of the day or by wearing a nursing bra with the flaps down and exposing the nipples to the air and the light friction of clothing. This isn't necessary, and, in fact, most mothers find this irriirritating, especially during the final months of pregnancy. Avoid using soap on your nipples and areola while you are pregnant or nursing, as this can dry the skin and predispose your nipples to cracking. Daily breast massage will help you become more appreciative of your breasts. If you have not grown up in a breastfeeding family or been around many breastfeeding mothers, you may need some practice being comfortable with handling your breasts.

Breast Size

I have small breasts. Will this prevent me from nursing successfully?

Not at all. Size has nothing to do with how much milk you will produce. The size of the breast is determined primarily by the amount of fat in the breast and not by the amount of milk-producing tissue. Even though your prepregnant breasts may have been small, they will enlarge considerably during pregnancy and may even grow by another cup size or two within the week after birth. In our experience, women with small-to-medium-size breasts usually have an easier time with positioning and latch-on. While the size of a mother's breasts bears no relation to the amount of milk she can produce, some mothers store more milk than others. But when mother's storage capacity is less, babies adjust by nursing more frequently. Mothers with large, pendulous breasts may need some special techniques for positioning and latch-on, since baby seems buried in the breast (see chapter 3). Chances are great that your breasts and your baby will make a good match.

© 2000 by Martha Sears, R.N., and William Sears, M.D.

About the Author

Martha Sears is a registered nurse, childbirth educator, and breastfeeding consultant.

William Sears, M.D., received his pediatric training at Harvard Medical School's Children's Hospital and Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. He has practiced as a pediatrician for more than thirty years.