Top sexologist writes about breast dilemmas at adolescence

My adolescent daughter is extremely worried over the development of her breasts. She has been feeling so embarrassed and self-conscious ever since she has started wearing bras. It also bothers her that in comparison to some of her friends, her breasts are not growing in proportion and she also feels that they are uneven. Can she do some exercises to grow her breast size?”

This query would sound familiar to many mothers who have teenage daughters. I thought I would address it to reassure all such mothers and their daughters.

For some girls, breasts grow bit slowly, while for some other girls the growth happens rather rapidly. Usually, it takes about four years for the breasts to develop completely; however, in some girls, they could develop quite fully in less than one year; as against many others who may take as many as five or six years for the complete development. All these are ‘variations of normal’, and one need not be over-concerned about the pace of their development. It is necessary only to be little patient, if it is taking a little longer for them to develop.

As it is seen with all our body parts, breasts can also vary in their size and shape. The ultimate size and shape of a girl’s breasts are essentially governed by the ‘genetic traits’ inherited by her from her parents. In fact, there is virtually nothing one can do about the way breasts would appear. No physical exercise can basically increase or reduce breast size. Exercises can build only muscles, and there are no muscles in the breasts. They predominantly have fatty tissue.

In reality, no two breasts are of the same size and shape. They all grow unevenly. It is difficult to find a woman who has both her breasts of exactly the same size and shape; however, this dissimilarity is not even noticeable. It is also necessary to know that irrespective of their sizes, they are all good enough for feeding babies.

The shapes of the nipples may also differ widely. In some women, the nipples turn inwards instead of jutting out, and could even get sunken into the areola, known as ‘inverted nipples’.

Some girls do feel awkward and embarrassed about their growing breasts, as none of their same age friends have begun to develop breasts. Sometimes they lose their upright posture and start to sink in their chests. As they grow, most girls come to get comfortable with their breasts and see it as a sign of maturing.

It is so necessary to inculcate correct value in growing girls that one need not attach one’s self-esteem to breast size, as all of us are uniquely different in our physical attributes and even other aspects of our personality.

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