Before giving birth, your body naturally begins to prepare for breastfeeding. There may be breast enlargement and even leakage during this time, but it may seem too early for that. It doesn't get in the way of your ability to breastfeed after birth, and when you give birth, your milk should improve on its own, either after you start feeding your baby or after bottle feeding.

What is the reason of this?

The female body naturally produces milk after giving birth - this mechanism is a way of ensuring that nutrition is ready for the newborn baby! Even if you plan to bottle feed, you will still produce milk. Milk is released into the breasts and becomes available to the baby through breastfeeding. Nipple stimulation from a shirt or bra can cause the milk to drop and with it some leakage and/or trigger the breasts to produce more milk. A baby's crying can also cause milk to flow.

For enlargement or tenderness during pregnancy, even if your breasts start to leak, it's a good idea to avoid things like massage or pulling on your nipples for relief, as nipple stimulation can trigger preterm birth with the warning that your body or baby is ready. Still, cold compresses can help to lower the temperature and tenderness.

While your baby is feeding, you may want to use warm compresses before feeding to stimulate milk flow and relieve some of the pain associated with breast enlargement. Cold compresses used after feeding can also relieve discomfort. While cold compresses can be used at any time, it's probably best to stay away from warm compresses as they cause milk depletion and increased milk production.

Tips

Although breast pumps or hand milk expression can stimulate milk production, they should not be done during pregnancy. For women who are not breastfeeding, wearing a tight-fitting bra can act as a kind of pressure bandage and relieve pain. Avoiding nipple stimulation can also help convince the breasts that milk production is not needed.