All about breasts

As girls go through puberty, their breasts and body will go through changes - find out all you need to know about your breasts in this section.

• What happens during puberty.
• How breasts change.
• Breast development: can anything help?
• Looking good and body confidence.

What happens during puberty

Between the ages of 9 and 17 girls go through puberty, when you start to change from a child to an adult. Although at this age you are too young to think of having a baby, your body starts getting ready for it.

During puberty, the body starts to develop and change. This is because it has started to produce certain hormones called oestrogen and progesterone. These hormones can also affect our moods and the way we feel.

For girls, puberty means that your breasts will start to develop and you'll grow armpit and pubic hair. Your hips may get wider, your stomach, bottom and legs may get bigger and your waist may begin to slim down. You will also start to have periods, usually every month. Once your period (menstrual cycle) has started it will be possible for you to get pregnant if you have sex.

The age puberty starts depends on lots of different things, such as ethnic origin, weight and the genes we inherit from our parents. Everyone goes through it, but different people's bodies change at different rates – some people start early and develop quickly, whereas others start late and develop slowly. This is nothing to worry about – whatever rate your body changes at is normal for you.

You will probably notice that you and your friends grow in different ways. Your breasts may start to develop first, but your friend may get her period earlier. Bodies don't develop in any set order and everyone is different.

What breasts are and what they're for

Breasts are mainly made up of fatty tissue and their main function is to produce milk for breastfeeding. They sit high on the front of the chest and extend down and around into the armpit. The breast tissue is supported behind by ligaments and the large chest muscle that extends over most of the ribs.

In each breast there are a number of glands, known as lobes, that produce breast milk during pregnancy. The breast milk is carried through tubes called ducts to the nipple ready for breastfeeding.

The darker area of skin around the nipple is called the areola. On the areola are some little raised bumps. These are quite normal and are called Montgomery glands. They produce fluid to moisturise the nipple.

When breasts start to develop

Most girls notice that their breasts develop around the age of 9 to 11, but it's quite normal for them to start earlier or later.

If your breasts start to develop at a younger age, this doesn't mean that you'll have bigger breasts than someone who starts to develop later – nor the other way round. The rate at which breasts grow is different for everyone.

Breasts can also start to develop before you start your period – this is quite normal.

By the age of 17 your breasts will usually be fully developed, although of course this may have happened already or take a bit longer.

How breasts develop

When the breasts start to develop a small bump, called a breast bud, grows under the areola and the nipple. As your breast buds grow, you may notice tingling, aching or itching in your chest and your nipples may swell or become tender. This is all quite normal.

The breasts get bigger and rounder as the fatty tissue and milk-producing glands inside the breasts continue to grow. The areola also gets bigger and darker and the nipples may stick out.

How breasts change

Before a period

During puberty your body produces the hormones oestrogen and progesterone, and these hormones are responsible for the changes you may experience in your breasts just before your period. You may notice that your breasts feel heavier and fuller, may experience tenderness and pain, and your breasts may feel lumpy. The lumpiness in the breasts is the glands enlarging to prepare for a possible pregnancy. When you don't become pregnant your breasts return to their normal size, and once your period starts the cycle begins all over again.

During pregnancy

An early sign of someone being pregnant is if the breasts change – this is because of the pregnancy hormone progesterone. Breasts will feel tender and the nipples more sensitive as the milk-producing glands grow. The breast and the areola begin to get bigger and the nipples and areola become darker and remain that way during pregnancy.

When breastfeeding

Once a baby is born large amounts of milk are produced so the baby can be breastfed, and the breasts change size many times a day. Nipples can sometimes become sore and cracked. When breastfeeding stops the breasts gradually go back to how they were before pregnancy, although they may be a different size and will be less firm than before.

In your 30s

During your mid-30s the breasts begin to age and the fibrous tissue is replaced by fat. Changes to the nipple and breast lumps are also common. As breasts mature, they may drop slightly and feel softer and less firm.

When your periods stop

When oestrogen levels fall after the menopause or change of life breasts lose their firmness and begin to shrink or sag. It's common for the breasts to change size and for the nipples to alter.

Boys' breasts

Up until the time of puberty the breast tissue in both girls and boys is the same. As boys go through puberty their bodies start to develop and change due to the hormones testosterone and oestrogen that they produce.

Boys then see changes to the breast tissue – the tissue under the nipples may become tender to the touch and may grow in size. This is due to changing hormone levels. When levels of testosterone are low the levels of oestrogen increase, resulting in the growth of breast tissue. This condition is called gynaecomastia. It is usually temporary and settles down within one or two years. Gynaecomastia doesn't generally need any treatment, but boys find it very embarrassing while it lasts.

As well as hormones influencing development, being very overweight, taking herbal supplements, steroids or marijuana can also cause breast development in boys.

Very occasionally a boy's breast tissue doesn't go back to normal. In this case, once he's stopped developing physically it's possible that the extra breast tissue can be removed during an operation.

Breast development: can anything help?

Everyone's breasts develop at different times and at different rates, and there's nothing that can speed up or slow down breast development.

Creams and pills

Adverts for all kinds of creams and pills often claim that they can make breasts bigger or smaller. Such creams and pills don't usually make any difference to breast size – even if there is a slight change in size this is generally not likely to last.

Massage

Massaging the breasts will not affect their size – any noticeable changes would have happened anyway. Massaging too hard might even hurt the breasts or irritate the skin and nipples.

Exercise

Because breasts are mainly made up of fatty tissue rather than muscle exercise won't affect breast development. However, exercise in general will help keep the pectoral muscles behind the breast in shape, as well as help toning the body.

Gaining or losing weight

Losing or putting on weight may affect breast size. But this doesn't always happen – it depends on the genes you've inherited.

As the body develops it will start to change shape, and this includes gaining weight. This is a natural part of growing up and you will naturally put on weight during puberty. It is normal and essential to have body fat, so this is nothing to worry about. Because breasts contain fatty tissue, gaining weight may increase the size of the breasts, and losing weight may make the breasts a bit smaller.

Eating fatty foods or drinking lots of milk won't affect breast development except possibly through putting on weight.

Sleeping on your front

Sleeping on your front won't affect how the breasts develop, or make them smaller. If your breasts are feeling sore you might find it more comfortable to sleep on your back or side.

Wearing a bra to sleep in

Whether you wear a bra to sleep in is a personal choice – most people don't, but it won't affect breast development. If you do sleep in a bra just make sure it's comfortable and not too tight.

Surgery

Cosmetic breast surgery is the only way to alter breast size – through either breast implants (known as breast enlargement or augmentation) or breast reduction.

Breast enlargement is where the size of the breast is increased and the shape changed by inserting an implant behind each breast. Breast reduction is an operation to remove any excess fat and skin. The breasts are then reshaped to form smaller breasts, and the nipples are moved. Breast reduction can also even up the size of the breasts where one is much larger than the other.

Breast enlargement or reduction surgery is available only to people over the age of 18. Because all surgery is potentially dangerous and may have side effects – for example scar tissue and infection, and losing the ability to breastfeed – several long and detailed meetings take place beforehand to make sure people have thought everything through and are aware of all the risks involved.

Looking good and body confidence

Skincare

The skin on the breasts is more delicate than the skin on other areas of the body and so needs to be treated gently. Black skin in particular needs to be kept well moisturised.

Sometimes the breasts can be over sensitive to the hormone oestrogen. This can make them grow quickly, resulting in stretch marks on the skin.

Moisturising the breasts two or more times a week will stop the skin, nipple and areola from becoming dry. Dryness around the nipple is very common and can lead to a skin condition known as eczema. Non-perfumed creams can help settle the itchiness caused by eczema, but if it doesn't go away visit your GP who can give you a special cream.

As with other areas of the body the breasts need to be protected from the sun. If you're out in the sun or sunbathing you should cover up – or apply a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15.

Eating a healthy diet

Despite the messages we get from magazines, TV and the internet, being thinner will not necessarily make us happier or more beautiful – nor is it always better.

You can choose to lose weight by eating more healthy foods and cutting back on snacks and sugary foods. But many people when trying to lose weight quickly do so by skipping meals altogether and so not giving the body enough nutrients it needs to function properly.

Eating a healthy diet is good for your health and wellbeing. A healthy diet is a balanced diet, which includes fruit, vegetables and starchy foods such as bread, pasta and rice. These should make up most of your meal, which should also include smaller amounts of food rich in protein (meat, chicken, fish and pulses) and dairy foods (milk, yoghurts, eggs and cheese).

Maintaining a healthy diet is sometimes easier said than done. It's often tempting to eat less healthy foods because they can be easier to prepare, are convenient and satisfy a craving. But don't worry about eating something not so healthy now and then – it won't make any difference in the long run.

'Perfect' breasts and bodies?

During puberty the body changes all the time, and many girls worry about having the ideal breast shape. We are influenced by celebrities, the media and peer pressure to believe that it's somehow better to have a certain size or shape of breast.

But there are actually no such things as 'perfect' breasts. What one person thinks is perfect may not be what someone else thinks is perfect.