From the moment the fertilized egg is formed, the breasts are actively prepared for the production of milk later. Therefore, every pregnant woman should take care of her breasts from the time of pregnancy so that she can successfully breastfeed after delivery. (1) Promote breast development After pregnancy, breast follicles and ducts proliferate and connective tissue becomes engorged with blood. At 4 months, the nipples secrete a small amount of yellow mucus, and the sebaceous glands of the areola also increase their secretion. At this time, actively promote the development of the mammary glands and maintain the skin of the breast, which is the first step to be able to successfully breastfeed the fetus after delivery. Care points: ① Massage your breasts properly after bathing. Every time after washing the areola and nipple, use a hot towel to cover the breast and press it gently with your hand; wipe the breast clean and sprinkle some talcum powder on it, and use your fingers coated with talcum powder to massage it gently from inside out around the breast; use the belly of your fingers to massage it gently in a circular manner around the breast; gently press the breast and massage it gently from all around towards the nipple; press the edge of the areola with your thumb and forefinger, and then gently squeeze it with your two fingers. ② Sleep in the side or supine position. The prone position tends to squeeze the breasts, and the blood circulation is not smooth, thus affecting the development of the mammary glands. ③ Do not use breast enhancement cream or weight loss cream during pregnancy. These two supplies contain certain sex hormones, and their casual use will affect the normal development of the mammary glands. (2) Carefully take care of the nipple The skin of the nipple that has not been sucked is fragile and is often easily broken by the baby after delivery. Once the skin of the nipple is broken, breastfeeding has to be interrupted. If not properly treated in time, it can also easily lead to mastitis or breast abscess, resulting in breastfeeding failure. Therefore, nipple care during pregnancy is very important for smooth breastfeeding after delivery. Care points: ① From the 4th to 5th month of pregnancy, scrub your nipples with mild soap and water frequently to remove the attached milk scabs and apply oil on them. ②After each bath, apply oil on the nipple and then gently stroke the nipple and its surrounding skin with your thumb and forefinger; when not bathing, first wipe the nipple with a small, clean, soft towel and then massage it using the above method. ③If there are hard scab-like things on the nipples, don’t remove them rigidly. You can cover your nipples with a 10 cm long piece of greased gauze before going to bed and wipe off the crusty stuff the next morning after you wake up. (3) Correction of sunken or flat nipples If a pregnant woman has flat or sunken nipples, it will affect the smooth breastfeeding in the future. Therefore, early correction is necessary during pregnancy. Key points of care: ① For sunken or flat nipples, gently pinch the nipple outward with your hand during scrubbing. If the nipples are sunken, they tend to accumulate dirt, so apply oil to soften the dirt and then wash with soap and water. ② Correct nipple invagination by promoting firmness of the nipple skin. After washing your hands, gently pull the nipple outward with your fingers and twist the nipple at the same time; then, wipe the nipple with 70% alcohol and tug and wipe 2-3 times a day for 20-30 minutes each time; when the nipple skin is firm, the nipple will not be easily invaginated. ③Use a breast pump to suck out the nipple. Remove the glass cover of the rubber glass breast pump and squeeze the rubber ball to squeeze out the air inside the ball. After 10 minutes, remove the rubber ball, pull and twist the nipple, and the sunken nipple will gradually come out. ④ Use your fingers to pull the nipple outward from the deep end. One hand holds up the breast and makes it rise, while the index finger, middle finger and thumb of the other hand pull the areola, pulling the nipple from the deep outward and gently pulling it in the longitudinal and transverse directions for a few minutes each time. This method of correcting invaginated nipples is done daily before going to bed, after waking up and while taking a bath. ⑤ After pulling out the nipple with your fingers, fix the special rubber nipple on the skin of the areola so that the nipple protrusion can be maintained for a period of time. ⑥Fix the rubber nipple and breast skin contact, and leave it for 2-3 hours for the nipple to protrude. This method is consolidated for about a week, and then the nipple can be made to protrude. (4) Opening the breast ducts Once the thin yellow mucus secreted by the breast dries up and is not easily removed, it is easy to block the mouth of the breast ducts. As a result, the mother’s milk cannot be discharged smoothly after delivery, which affects the smooth implementation of breastfeeding. Care points: ① From the 33rd week of pregnancy, the pregnant woman should squeeze the areola with her fingers to make the colostrum flow out of the milk ducts. This will help to open the milk ducts and avoid milk stagnation after delivery, and also has a good preventive effect on poor discharge of milk accumulation, nipple laceration and insufficient milk secretion. ②To often put a small warm towel on the breast, and then on top of the towel to pinch the breast between the palm of the hand and the rib cage for massage, you can promote breast development. ③Each time you wash, pay attention to gently wash away the hard particles that block the nipple opening. After cleaning, apply a layer of oil on the nipple and areola skin and massage the breast at the same time. In this way, the skin of the breast will gradually become tougher, which will prevent the opening of the ducts from being blocked after childbirth, and also prevent the nipples from cracking. (5) Wear a comfortable corset As your breasts grow during pregnancy, you must wear a suitable corset. If your breasts are too large or sagging, it will easily cause the subcutaneous fibrous tissue to break, making it difficult for your breasts to regain their elasticity and cause sagging after childbirth. If the corset is too tight, it will also affect the blood circulation of the breast, resulting in poor development of breast tissue and even lead to occlusion of the breast ducts. Care points: ① As the breasts increase in size from month to month, increase the size in time. To the breasts do not feel pressure prevail, otherwise it will affect breast development is not conducive to postpartum breastfeeding, or compression of the mammary glands, nipples cause inflammation. ②Wear loose and comfortable corsets, especially in the middle and late stages of pregnancy, so that the breasts are both lifted and comfortable and relaxed, to avoid the fiber fabric inside the corset from the nipple opening into the breast ducts. ③ As pregnancy progresses the breasts gradually gain weight and increase in size mainly in the lower half. If there is no support on the corset, the growing breasts will gradually sag by gravity, causing the fibrous tissues in the breasts to break and lose their elasticity. Once they are destroyed, it is difficult to restore the original shape, resulting in future breast sagging and deformation. Therefore, pregnant women should wear corsets with soft steel support. ④ Wear a corset that does not damage the skin of the breast, such as the shoulder straps should preferably be wider to avoid strangulation into the skin causing breakage. ⑤ The nipple skin is sensitive and vulnerable during late pregnancy, so if the corset is padded with breast pads to help absorb milk and keep the breasts clean and dry, the nipples can also be protected.