pregnancy Archives - Hygeia Health

Understanding Breast Changes During Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a wild ride, and your body is in for quite a transformation. One of the biggest changes you’ll notice is how your breasts grow and change. Pregnancy brings incredible changes to your body, including how your breast change during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Maybe you’re up for that; maybe you dread it. Either way, understanding what’s going on can help you feel more comfortable and ready for the journey ahead.

Physical Changes

As your body adapts to the demands of pregnancy, you’ll notice significant changes in your breasts. From increased sensitivity to the production of colostrum, these changes are all part of a natural process that prepares you for breastfeeding. Let’s first take a closer look at how these changes progress.

Hormonal Changes: Not the pregnancy hormones! Actually, these hormones are exactly what your body needs. During pregnancy, your body produces increased levels of estrogen and progesterone. These hormones play a role in uterine growth, placenta formation, and, you guessed it, breast growth.

Increased Blood Flow: Worried about your sensitive breasts? Don’t be! It’s completely normal. It’s often something that tips off a mom to her pregnancy before she’s even taken a test. As your breasts grow, they require more blood flow to support their development. This increased blood flow can sometimes cause your breasts to feel tender or sensitive.

Milk Ducts: The milk doesn’t just show up along with your baby. During pregnancy, your body begins to develop milk ducts. These ducts are tiny tubes that carry milk from the milk-producing glands to your nipples. While they will develop during your pregnancy, it will be the routine breastfeeding and/or pumping that will maintain them after delivery.

Colostrum: Get ready for liquid gold! In the later stages of pregnancy, you may begin to produce colostrum. Colostrum is a thick, yellow fluid that is rich in nutrients and antibodies. It is the first milk that your baby will receive after birth, so it’s good news if you notice it in the final days of pregnancy.

Preparing for Breastfeeding

It is important to take care of your breasts during pregnancy to prepare for breastfeeding. Here are a few tips:

Wear supportive bras: As your breasts grow, it is important to wear bras that provide adequate support. You not only want comfort for you, but the best support for your growing and changing breasts.

Massage your breasts: Gently massaging your breasts can help stimulate milk production and improve your milk flow. This can also help prevent clogged milk ducts.

Learn about breastfeeding: Taking a breastfeeding class or reading books about breastfeeding can help you feel more prepared. While your phone may be able to answer anything on the spot, it’s best to already have reliable resources in a pinch.

Embrace the Changes

Pregnancy is a time of incredible change. By understanding the changes that your breasts are going through, you can feel more prepared and confident for breastfeeding.

At Hygeia Health, we understand the importance of breastfeeding and the challenges that mothers may face. Our high-quality breast pumps are designed to make pumping easier and more efficient, allowing you to focus on bonding with your baby.

We also offer resources and support to help mothers on their breastfeeding journey. Our website provides information on breastfeeding and pumping, and our customer service team is available to answer your questions.

Get a Free Breast Pump

We believe that every mother should have access to the tools and support they need to breastfeed their baby. To apply for a free breast pump, simply visit our website and fill out the application form. We’ll review your application and contact you with the next steps.

Raw breastfeeding photos; How to test your baby name; Stroller reviews; Childhood reading study results

BREASTFEEDING

7 Raw Breastfeeding Photos Uncover A Rarely-Talked About Side

As a breast pump company, obviously breastfeeding and pumping go hand-in-hand in our thought-process. The same cannot be said for much of the population. People thinking “nursing mother” and they think special tucked away moments between mother and child in a cozy chair, rocking baby. It is likely they never think of a mom hidden in a corner hooked up to a machine while in work attire and expressing milk just so she can bag it up and get back to her job.

Photographer Leah DeVun has a wonderfully moving photo project she titled In The Age Of Mechanical Reproduciton that features images of women using breast pumps. [See more here.]

Images: Leah DeVun

PREGNANCY

What Makes Pregnancy Labor Progress?

They say every month has about 30 days, except the final month of pregnancy which has 3,053 days! Once you hit the point of full term, most moms are totally ready for labor to start and have their water break on the kitchen floor. (Spoiler: most moms do not experience a Hollywood style water break and instead the doctor breaks it for them while in the hospital!) If you are ready to get the show on the road, there are no natural guarantees, but some of these recommendations have helped others. [Read more here.]

Test Your Baby Name

Having trouble deciding on your baby name? Or maybe you have one, but you are still hesitant to commit? We understand. In some ways it feels like you are defining your child’s future. (Even though that is ridiculous!) But there are things to consider. This list has a lot of the top questions to ask yourself about a name before committing. Saying the name out loud for hypothetical situations is beneficials as well. (How will it sound being shouted in your ‘you are in big trouble’ voice?) [Read more here.]

MOTHERHOOD

A Book’s Content Matters More To Kids’ Learning Than Whether It’s Digital Or Print, Study Finds

Read. To. Your. Kids. I am sure you have been told that it is kind of important. It definitely is; so much so, that new studies are saying how the kids consume reading is not as important as the reading itself. Parents who give their children tablets or phones are sometimes scolded or looked down on because of “too much screen time,” but maybe the child is still benefitting.

“While many studies over the years have vacillated on whether digital books are good for youngsters (or any reader, really) a recent study found that when it comes to reading comprehension, the format might not be the most important thing. A book’s content matters more to kids’ learning than whether it’s digital or print — at least for preschoolers.” [Read more here.]

6 Common Parenting Habits That Are Hurting Your Health

As a parent, it is easy to be so focused on taking care of the kids that you forget to also take care of yourself. But keep in mind, you cannot take care of your kids if you get sick!

“[U]nlike biting your nails or chewing with your mouth open, there are actually quite a few common parenting habits you don’t realize are killing you. I’m not talking about turning into a meth manufacturer to save your family from debt, a la Walter White. I’m talking about everyday habits that are harmful mentally and physically.”

Take a read and see which of these habits are a part of your daily routine and figure out how you can remedy them sooner rather than later. Your kids need you healthy, mama! [Read more here.]

INFANTS

17 Questions You’ll Ask Yourself the First Time Your Baby Sleeps Through the Night

What’s that noise? Wait, nothing? Not your baby? The first night your baby sleeps through the night, in theory, is a dream come true. What more could you want after nights of up and down, intermittent sleep? More than likely, though, you won’t sleep through the night despite how at peace your babe may be. You will wonder and worry. We are doing our best to help you in advance. Read through these questions and know, every parent runs through question after question on the first occasion of baby’s sweet slumber-filled night. [Read more here.]

New moms: which stroller is right for you and your baby?

As a new mom, figuring out what baby products to list on your registry can be really overwhelming. It is especially hard to decide on some of the more costly products. Which pacifiers to buy? Who knows… Buy several kinds to see what works. The same cannot be said for a stroller. (Unless maybe you are a Kardashian and can afford one in every brand and color.) For the rest of us, we need some guidance for the one perfect fit. (Or at least best fit.) Use this post to learn more about these five strollers that were used by a mom like you. [See stroller reviews here.]

TODDLERS

6 Ways to Encourage Toddlers to Actually Sit Still and Eat Already

How do you find the balance of not having half-filled plates of food sitting out from meal to meal, but not being cruel and snatching away your kid’s food before they’ve eating a sufficient amount? Toddlers are the worst at not simply sitting and completing a meal. Even when they like the food you put in front of them, they easily become distracted and can have trouble sitting still and focusing on finishing their plate.

“Toddlers are busy little people,” says Natalia Stasenko MS, RD, CDN, of Tribeca Nutrition. “Plus, their growth slows after 12 months, so they do not need as many calories. So sitting down for meals is not their priority.”

The good news is, there are ways to reign in your child’s all-over-the-place eating habits and this article includes advice from professionals. [Read more here.]

Pics That Will Make You Feel Better About Your Current Situation

There is a season of life all parents endure through it’s ups and downs: toddlerhood. While dealing with meltdowns, weirdness at home can drive you close to the edge, you can always change up the vibe and escape the house. Experiencing the extreme situations of being the parent of a toddler in public is another story. You feel all of the heads turning and watching. You even feel the ones actively making a point not to stare. But the Instagram account Kids Are The Worst does a great job of bringing parents together in their moments of “glory” (or lack thereof). Misery loves company, right? Check out a compilation of classic moments shared from this Instagram account here.

IMAGE VIA INSTAGRAM/ KIDS ARE THE WORST