Your body has been preparing itself for breastfeeding right from the start of your pregnancy. The blood supply to your breasts increases during pregnancy, and your milk ducts and milk-producing cells develop more with each pregnancy that you have.
The size of your breasts before pregnancy, and how much they grow during pregnancy, has no effect on how much milk you’ll be able to produce for your baby.
When your baby is born and you deliver the placenta, your body goes from ‘pregnant mode’ to ‘milk making mode’ as levels of the hormone progesterone drop. As your baby feeds, you should experience an increase in the amount of milk produced in the coming days and weeks.
To prepare for your new baby your nipples may also change during pregnancy. The darker area around your nipples, called the areola, will release oil to naturally lubricate your nipples. This oil also smells of amniotic fluid, the liquid that surrounds your unborn baby in the womb during pregnancy. Your baby will recognise this as a familiar smell and be comforted and reassured by it, especially in the first days after birth.