How long does it take for breasts to shrink during breastfeeding?

It is the nature of female friends to pursue beauty, and plump and tall breasts are also regarded as treasures by women. However, some women want to be mothers but are also worried that their breasts will shrink or become loose after weaning their babies. So, will your breasts shrink during breastfeeding? Below, let’s discuss this issue together.

Will my breasts shrink while breastfeeding?

Raising a baby is a reflection of a mother's love, and exclusive breastfeeding is the best way for the baby. All healthy pregnant women should feed their children exclusively with breast milk.

Women's breasts become fuller under the action of many hormones such as female hormones, estrogen, and embryonic lactogen. After giving birth, with the decrease of various female hormones in the body, the pituitary gland prolactin is no longer suppressed, and the pregnant woman begins to secrete milk. The secretion of pituitary prolactin will inhibit the function of the ovaries.

Generally, a woman's ovaries will recover quickly after the breastfeeding period. However, some women have breast shrinkage due to increased breastfeeding time, weak ovaries, or more sensitive uterus and ovaries to prolactin, which causes slower ovarian repair and lower female hormone secretion.

Many women consume a lot of physical energy during breastfeeding and are busy taking care of their children, which greatly reduces the body's stored fat, makes them thinner, and can also cause breast shrinkage. It is necessary to adjust the diet and eat more nutritious foods containing a certain amount of animal fat and protein to replenish the fat lost by the body. Regular breast massage is helpful to promote the restoration of breast fullness.

Mothers who have given birth to a baby know that since the beginning of pregnancy, the breasts have gradually grown to store imported milk. After a pregnant woman gives birth, she usually has breast milk within 12 hours. At this time, her breasts become much larger and fuller than before pregnancy. Generally, women's breasts will sag after breastfeeding, which is very normal. However, not every woman will experience sagging breasts after weaning. Some women have severe sagging, while some women have almost no sagging. It varies from person to person.

How to maintain breasts during lactation

1. When breastfeeding, there is no need to let the child stretch the nipple too much. After each weaning, gently prop up the chest and massage for 10 minutes.

2. Soak your breasts with warm water at least twice a day. This is not only beneficial to the daily cleaning of the breasts, but also can increase the elasticity of the suspensory ligament, thereby preventing breast sagging. Using a shower head to spray the breasts with alternating hot and cold water can help increase the support of the breast skin and promote breast blood circulation.

3. Choose a bra that is tight or loose enough to play the best lifting effect. From the beginning of breastfeeding, you need to insist on wearing a bra. Without a bra, the breasts will become noticeably saggy after the weight gain. When wearing a bra, choose a style that fits your size and has underwire. In the third month of pregnancy, the breasts have increased by about 2/3 of the cup size compared to before pregnancy. At this time, you can no longer wear the original bra. When choosing a new bra, pay attention to the cup size, which should be larger or more elastic than before pregnancy.

4. The breastfeeding period does not need to be too long. The child should be weaned when he is 10 months old.

5. Persist in doing chest expansion exercises such as sit-ups to make the chest strong and powerful and enhance the support function of the breasts.

6. Eating more foods containing vitamins E and B, such as lean meat, eggs, milk, beans, white sesame, etc., is also beneficial to maintaining breast health.