When Nausea, Constipation, Heartbeat, Milk Start in Pregnancy?
… Continued …
Typically, many pregnant women usually begin to notice some distinct changes of their breasts at 13th week of pregnancy orearly weeks of second trimester – according to the American Pregnancy Association. But some women also notice these changes earlier.
By this point, your breasts may feel nodular /lumpy and they might also have become bigger /larger in size. These changes occur due to the mammary ducts as they change and prepare for the starting point of milk production for breastfeeding after birth. Also, some women may also begin to notice veins appearing right under the skin of their breasts.
In early weeks of second trimester, your body also begins to prepare colostrum (the earliest stage of breast milk). Sometimes the first form of colostrum can be expressed from the breast nipples when massaged.
For breastfeeding after birth, women usually produce their first breast milk (colostrum) in the first few days after birth.
Typically, colostrum is scant, creamy /yellowish in color, and thick – and it has a lot of essential nutrients for newborn. It can help newborns develop their digestive tract after birth so thus they can properly digest the next milk of breastfeeding. The production of colostrum usually lasts for about several days after birth.
After colostrum, the following are the next distinct types of milk for breastfeeding:
- Transitional milk! As the name suggests, it is produced after colostrum and before mature milk (the last type of milk for breastfeeding). Generally it lasts for about 2 weeks. It contains higher calories than colostrums. Furthermore, it also contains a lot of water-soluble, vitamins and healthy fat.
- Mature milks (the final milk type for breastfeeding). In general, it is purposed to maintain hydration of baby, therefore it contains 90 percent of water. But it is also important for energy and growth of baby since it also contains fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.
In addition, mature milk is also divided into two major types; (a) foremilk and (b) hind-milk.
Foremilk contains proteins, vitamins and water – and it is usually produced during the beginning of the feeding. And for hind-milk (produced after the initial release of milk), it has higher levels of fat which is important for weight gain of baby in the first year of life.
