Your pregnancy causes obvious and visible changes to your belly and other areas of your body, but your breasts won't escape unscathed either. Darkening, spots and lines on your breasts run the gamut from being a temporary issue to a permanent change in the texture and color of your breasts. While marks on the breasts are likely unwelcome, they're completely normal and nothing to worry about. Still, talking to your OB about sudden changes gives you peace of mind concerning your pregnancy woes.
Stretch Marks
While your belly is the most noticeable place your skin stretches during pregnancy, your swelling breasts also cause the skin to stretch and become marked. Stretch marks manifest as reddish-purple streaks on the body, a result of a lack of elasticity in the skin. While stretch marks most often are associated with the belly, hips and thighs, it's possible that your swelling breasts have garnered a few stretch marks during your pregnancy as well. There's no way to prevent stretch marks, but they'll begin to fade after your pregnancy.
Darkened Areolas
One of the first changes you'll notice when you become pregnant are tender, sensitive breasts. Upon closer inspection, you might notice that your areolas are darker than usual. The influx of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone cause your nipples to become darkened and enlarged. The glands on the nipples often become bumpy and pronounced, resulting in a swollen appearance. These changes are temporary and last through pregnancy and nursing, returning to normal after your hormones become better regulated.
Chest Acne
The marks on your breast could be the result of pregnancy acne, a common skin condition that results from excessive female hormones in the body. Estrogen and progesterone stimulate sebaceous glands to produce more oil for your skin. The result is clogged pores that become pimples and blemishes. Pregnancy acne isn't limited to the face, and also appears on the chest and back. Using a gentle cleanser twice daily helps to keep acne under control, but talk to your OB before using any topical ointments.
Enlarged Veins
Particularly near the end of your pregnancy and when first beginning to breastfeed, your breasts swell and can even become engorged with milk. During this process, the veins running through breasts fill with blood and are pushed and stretched closer to the surface of the skin, resulting in blue marks across the breasts. This is a totally normal occurrence that will subside as you empty your breasts through nursing or the weaning process.
