Breast self-examination is almost one of the most essential and important steps to preventing and early detection of breast cancer. However, breast self-examination may be more difficult if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. During pregnancy or lactation, certain changes in weight, hormones can cause changes in the breast and you can easily confuse these changes with other breast conditions or problems, or vice versa. Therefore, when examining at this stage, you need to pay special attention to the shape and uniformity of the breast.
Your breasts feel very different during breastfeeding. If you are in doubt, or simply want to have your breast examined to see if something is wrong, it's best to get it checked right after feeding your baby. Since your breasts have less milk at this point, it will make it easier to see if there are any breast abnormalities.
Here's a note to keep in mind when doing a breast self-exam:
Check in on the first day of each month.
When your period is back, check your breasts about 4 - 6 days after you finish your period.
Check your breasts while you are taking a shower.
Use 3 fingers to check.
Move your fingers from top to bottom and from bottom to top to look for and detect breast abnormalities, especially lumps.
Move up and down on one side of the chest and do the same thing on the other side.
Ideally, you should check from the armpit to the collarbone, the breast area, and the nipple area.
Nipple fluid may contain some blood. This is normal, especially if you are in the last 3 months of pregnancy and the first few weeks after giving birth. This may go away after 2-3 weeks.
You can check your breasts while lying in bed. Take the test very gently as your breasts can be very sensitive at this stage. Always remember, not all tumors are cancers.
If you notice anything unusual, tell your doctor right away. If you have any other questions, consult your doctor who will help you check your breasts even during pregnancy and lactation to make sure you rule out any risks or problems with your breasts. .
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