Relationship between thickness of mammary glands in late pregnancy and amount of breast milk after giving birth

Abstract

　We examined the relationship between the thickness of the mammary glands in late pregnancy and the amount of breast milk produced 3-5 days after giving birth. Fourteen pregnant women in this study were at 34-35 weeks of gestation. We measured the thickness of their mammary glands during each checkup from the 34th or 35th week of their pregnancy to the final checkup before delivery, using portable ultrasonic diagnostic equipment（Vscan Dual Probe）. We divided the subjects into two groups on the basis of the thickness of the mammary glands before delivery using 29.0mm. We used the linear mixed model to analyze this study, by grouping the subjects and postpartum days, defining the interaction as fixed effect, and the subjects as random effect. We showed that the amount of breast milk produced by women was significantly related with groups and postpartum days（p=.030, .001）. The amount of breast milk produced by women with a mammary gland thickness of 29.0mm or more was significantly greater than that of women with a mammary gland thickness of less than 29.0mm. These findings suggest a relationship between the thickness of the mammary glands at the final checkup before delivery and the amount of breast milk produced after giving birth.