During pregnancy , your body goes through a lot of changes to prepare you for the baby . One of the changes include preparing to breastfeed your little one.

During early pregnancy, around  the 5 th and 6 th months, you will notice that your breast has become fuller and the nipples are more tender than before. Your nipples and areola ( the colored area around the nipple ) will become enlarged and darkened . Small bumps on the areola known as Montgomery’s glands become more prominent.

Around the 3rd month of pregnancy , the effects of a number of hormones such as prolactin, estrogen, progesterone and human growth hormone lead to the proliferation of milk ducts  and gland producing cells in the breast.  This happens as your body prepares for milk production.

As pregnancy progresses, the glandular tissues needed for milk production replaces much of the fatty  and supportive tissues  that make up most of the volume of the breast. This results in your breast becoming  larger during pregnancy and lactation.

By the end of the second trimester, your  body has become fully capable of producing milk. This means that even if your baby is born prematurely, you can still produce breast milk. If you notice any orange or yellow stain  in your bra, it is colostrum. This is the first milk produced by the  breast. It is thick , somewhat sticky and yellow or orange in color. However some mothers do not notice any colostrum leakage until after the baby is born.

After delivery , the areola and nipple will become very sensitive to touch. When your baby’s mouth touches the nipple, nerve cells send a signal to the brain. This causes the release of the hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin in turn causes tiny muscle cells within the breast to contract , squeezing milk from the milk producing cells down the milk duct towards small sacs or sinuses  near the nipples.

During suckling of the breast, the baby draws milk from the sinuses through nipple and into her mouth. This causes the level of oxytocin to increase , causing more milk to be moved through the ducts in the process known as let-down or milk-ejection reflex. This system ensures that whenever your baby is hungry, your body will provide her with the nourishment that she needs.