About Health: The Crazy Stuff That Happens to Your Boobs When You Have a Baby

The Crazy Stuff That Happens to Your Boobs When You Have a Baby

From small to big to hella droopy, an in-depth look at breasts' post-pregnancy identity crisis

Let's get real: Your boobs basically go through a war when you have a baby. They can grow up to several cup sizes, change shape, and start spouting milk like crazy—sometimes at completely inappropriate times. That's a lot for your girls to handle in a short span of time.

So it's not a completely crazy notion that they might be a little...different post-baby. I would know—mine went through Extreme Makeover: Boob Edition.

Before I got pregnant, I was a solid A-cup (on a good day). I'd always dreamed of having larger boobs, and pregnancy was my big chance. When I popped out to a full C-cup while carrying my son, I was beyond psyched. I showed those babies off as often as I could: low-cut tank tops, shirts with major cleave, you name it. They were all in heavy rotation in my maternity wardrobe. After my son was born and I started nursing, I surpassed the D-cup mark. My dreams had come true. I had a healthy baby, happy marriage, and big boobs—life was perfect.

And a year later...I stopped breastfeeding. I glanced in the mirror one day after stepping out of the shower and saw that my big, gorgeous melons had morphed into lemons. Okay, limes. Teeny limes. They were even smaller than they'd been pre-baby. If negative boobs are a thing, that’s what I had. What. The. Hell.

My friends had similar issues. "I can't even talk about it," one told me. "I have droopy nipples. I look like I should be on a National Geographic special." Most ended up with smaller-than-before boobs, but a token few actually had bigger boobs after having a baby.

What's up with that? Mother freaking Nature. According to women's health specialist Jennifer Wider, M.D., it's completely normal for both breastfeeding and the body's process of preparing to nurse to temporarily and/or permanently affect the shape and size of a woman's breasts.

The blame lies squarely with hormones. These hormones—progesterone, estrogen, and oxytocin, to name a few—stimulate the breasts' milk glands and ducts to grow in order to allow you to eventually breastfeed after your baby is born. "Because the breast can grow, the skin surrounding the breast can get stretched," says Wider. "After a woman stops nursing—or chooses not to in the first place—the milk glands and ducts shrink to their pre-pregnancy size." Or at least they do for some women.

Wider said it's not uncommon for women to end up with smaller-than-before boobs after they have a baby—or larger-than-before ones. Why? For some women, breastfeeding can make the tissues in your boobs denser, she says, and then the fat and connective tissue inside your boobs can move from one place to another. As a result, the shape and size of your breasts can morph.

Your nipples aren't immune to change, either. Pregnancy hormones can make them stand out more when you're nursing, says Wider, and they can appear droopy when you stop breastfeeding altogether. Luckily, the droopiness is temporary: Your nipples should go back to their old shape and size with time.

Unfortunately, Wider says there's not a ton you can do to prevent your boobs from having an identity crisis post-baby, other than staying in shape. "Extra fat can add to the problem," she says.

Well...thank goodness for underwire.

About Health

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

The Crazy Stuff That Happens to Your Boobs When You Have a Baby

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