Being a mom comes with all kinds of changes and responsibilities, those changes include physical changes, where your body evolves to accommodate your little human being. As expected, your body is stretched to an inexplicable extent during pregnancy, and then after birth, you are left with the aftermath.
Of those many changes, your breasts are victims, during pregnancy and throughout the breastfeeding period your girlies get large and fill up your whole chest. Healthline explains that this is because of hormonal changes caused by prolactin.
The above source further explains that pregnancy causes physiological changes to the breast tissue, including increased milk ducts, blood flow, and visible changes in nipples. These changes are part of the body’s preparation for breastfeeding, making the nipples more visible and ready for feeding.
However, after the breastfeeding process, things kinda try to go back to normal but not so normal. Your breasts are reduced to almost the size they were before pregnancy, but now they look rather saggy and flat. Not my favourite part if you ask me, for me my boobs became an insecurity after that.
According to the Medela publication, “Once you stop breastfeeding you may find that your breasts look and feel very empty. The size of the breasts will likely return to your pre-pregnancy size but may look quite different.” The publication further mentions that after breastfeeding, nipples, areolas, and Montgomery glands return to pre-breastfeeding state, and stretch marks lighten over time.
When a mom decides to wean her baby, her body undergoes involution, where milk-secreting cells die off and are replaced by fat cells. A 2016 study suggests that these cells are absorbed by other cells during involution. A woman’s body transitions from normal to milk-making factories in a few months, then returns to a new normal, which is pretty amazing.
