Breast imaging of the pregnant and lactating patient: physiologic changes and common benign entities.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to review key clinical, histologic, and imaging features of expected physiologic changes within the breast and common benign breast disease in the pregnant and lactating patient.

CONCLUSION: A thorough understanding of expected physiologic changes and common benign breast abnormalities of pregnancy and lactation is required to differentiate these entities from pregnancy-associated breast cancer and to appropriately guide patient management.