Understanding Your Breasts

Breast development begins at week 3-4 in the utero and by 6 months gestation the foundation of breasts have been completed in both males and females. Once puberty hits, men stay the same and for women each menstrual cycles stimulates ductal growth up until approximately age 35. Breasts are made up of skin, fatty tissue, areola, nipple, milk ducts, lobules (which have alveoli inside that are meant to create milk, push it out to the milk ducts, and go out through the nipple), and lastly ligaments that are meant to old the breasts up but eventually crap out on us.

There are also four type of breasts (..not A, B, C D) type I- IV and many nipple variations which can indicate how your breast have developed overtime. Your type of breast is not critical unless you become pregnant and your breast have difficulty ramping up milk production.

Speaking of pregnancy, if one decides to become pregnant, this is when most changes begin to occur. Mammogenesis begins with growth of breast structures, cells, and increase hormones which begin the generation of milk production. FYI, breast not only produce milk but the small bumps around the nipple produces oils that lubricate the nipple in prep for feeds and gives off a smell for a newborn to locate their food source. The areola gets darker and larger to make it easier for infants to see where they need to latch. Milk production is on a circadian rhythm which helps baby’s begin to tell time and some say females produce more milk at night because that is when it was safer for our ancestors to feed their young. Milk changes carrying different needs to the infants depending in the time of day. for instance morning milk carry’s about 3x the about of cortisol to increase alertness and melatonin can be found in evening milk aiding with sleep and digestion.

If children aren’t in your deck of cards that’s okay too. Mammogenesis does not occur and your ductal growth peaks in your 30’s. Then when menopause hits that’s a whole different topic on body changes and perhaps another resource guide to consider down the road.

Citations:

(Wambach & Spencer, 2019; Javed & Lteif, 2013; & Saxbe & Hahn-Holbrook, 2019)