You might have heard a lot of speculation and argument over several topics in connection with pregnancy and about bringing up the baby after the delivery. Lots of doubts regarding milk production and breastfeeding can pop up in your mind, especially, if you are a first-time mother. Among them, the question asked most often is the breast size linked to milk production.
When it comes to breast milk, bigger is not better! Most people think that breast milk production is directly proportional to breast size. However, the amount of milk the body produces actually depends on many elements and the breast size is certainly not one of them. Read on.
In This Article
- Does My Breast Size Influence The Milk Production?
- How Do My Breasts Change During Pregnancy?
- What Are Tubular Breasts?
- Is My Breast Growth During Pregnancy Significant?
- Does Breast Size Influence Breast Milk Storage Capacity?
- Is Breast Asymmetry Some Kind Of Cautionary Sign?
Does My Breast Size Influence The Milk Production?
No. The size of the breasts is determined by the fatty tissues in the breast. More the quantity of fatty tissue will be the size of the breast and vice versa. The milk-producing capacity of the breasts is determined by the number of glandular tissues – which secrete the milk – in the breast. Hormones that are released by the baby’s birth and then by her sucking trigger the mammary glands to produce and push breast milk into the milk ducts, to be available to the baby while nursing.
What hinders milk production (in respect of abnormalities of breast shape) is having a tubular breast or a breast that does not grow at all in size throughout the gestation period.
How Do My Breasts Change During Pregnancy?
Understanding the features of the normal breast is important as it will help you to notice the changes that demand your attention.
The normal breast consists of two types of tissues:
- Glandular tissue and
- Stromal tissue
The glandular tissues consist of lobules and ducts. In breastfeeding mothers, the lobules produce the milk which is moved through the tiny tubes (ducts) to the nipple. During pregnancy (due to the pregnancy hormones), the glandular tissue starts to increase in number.
In the meantime, the stromal tissues start to decrease in number. Towards the last trimester of pregnancy, the number of glandular tissues increases significantly and the number of stromal tissues also decreases noticeably. This increase in the glandular tissue is the reason behind the growth of breasts during pregnancy.
Usually, the breasts almost double in weight by the end of pregnancy (compared to the pre-pregnancy weight of the breast). The stromal tissues are supportive tissues that are made up of fat tissues and fibrous connective tissues which give the breasts their size and shape.
What Are Tubular Breasts?
The tubular breast is an inborn abnormality of breast shape that results from the variation in the development of breast tissues. It is characterized by narrowed and elongated shape and possesses wide space between the breasts. There will be only negligible breast tissues or no breast tissues at all in the lower half of the breast.
This insufficiency in the breast tissue obviously reduces the milk-producing cells (glandular tissues) inside the breast. This will either lead to a very low milk supply or no milk supply at all.
Is My Breast Growth During Pregnancy Significant?
Yes. Even though it doesn’t matter how much the breasts have grown during pregnancy, there should be some increase in their size during the pregnancy. No breast growth indicates insufficient glandular tissue and hence very low or no milk supply at all.
Does Breast Size Influence Breast Milk Storage Capacity?
The answer is yes. The breast size is linked with the storage capacity. The bigger the breast more milk can be stored. But a woman with small breasts can overcome this problem by frequently feeding or pumping the milk more often. Despite the fact that irrespective of the storage capacities the mothers produce enough milk for their babies, the mothers with greater storage capacity are capable of taking longer gaps between the feeding without affecting milk supply and infant’s development.
Is Breast Asymmetry Some Kind Of Cautionary Sign?
Nearly half of women possess a visible sign of breast asymmetry – one breast size varies from the other one. In spite of this fact, a well-marked difference in the breast size, especially when the smaller one does not grow much during pregnancy, can be a warning signal of low milk production or ‘nil’ milk production.
Generally, breast milk production depends on the supply and demand policy. The more it is consumed (suckling) the more it is produced(breast milk). Several small-breasted women experience exceptional milk supply. On the other hand big-breasted women with poor milk supply are also not rare. Also, there are several other factors that hinder milk production, most of which can be corrected.
There are also several tips to increase breast milk. And in the case of ‘over-production‘, there are numerous methods to slow down milk production also. So, no need to worry about the size of your breast.
