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4/16/2016

BreastsandBras

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BreastsandBras
ANewStageinLife
Somegirlscan'twaitforthemtocomeandlookforwardtotheirarrivalastheywouldtheir
birthday,firstkiss,orasoccerchampionship.
OthergirlsdreadthemasmuchaseatingabigplateofBrusselssproutsorchangingthekittylitter.

Areyoureadyforabra?
Q.1

Doyoufeelawkwardinthegym
lockerroom(andotherplaceswhere
youhavetochangeclothes)because
youdon'thaveabra?

Yes
No

Continue

Butmostgirlshavemixedfeelingsandarenotquitecertainwhytheyhavethemandwhattodo
aboutthem.Boysdon'thavethem,butthey'relikelytobecuriousaboutthem.
What'sthemysterysubject?We'retalkingaboutbreasts.Ifyou'reagirl,lookdownandtherethey
areorwillbesoon.Theyarejusttwomoundsofflesh,buttheygetalotofattention.Asagirl
maturesandgoesthroughpuberty,breaststelltheworldthatthisgirlisleavinggirlhoodand
enteringanewstageinherlife.
Becauselargebreastsgetattention(justlookatmagazines,TV,ormovies),somegirlsmayworry
iftheirbreastsaresmalloriftheymaturemoreslowly.Girlswithlargebreastsmaybeunhappy,
too,becausetheirshapeattractsattentiontheydon'twant.Thetruthisthatbeautydoesn'tcome
injustonebrasize.Thereareallsortsoffemaleshapesandsizesintheworld,andallare
beautiful.
Butbreastsdomorethanjustlooknice.Girlshavethemsotheycandoanimportantjoblaterin
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4/16/2016

BreastsandBras

life.Someday,ifthegirlgrowsuptohaveababy,herbreastscanprovidethemilkthebabyneeds.
Breastmilkistheverybestfoodforbabiesandmomisthesource.Anditdoesn'tmatterifthose
breastsaresmall,medium,orlarge.Allsizescanproduceenoughmilktofeedababy.

WhenDoBreastsStartGrowing?
Breastscanstartgrowingasearlyasage8oraslateas13.Somegirls'breastsgrowslowlyand
othersgrowquickly.Somegirlsmayfeelliketheirbreastswillneverstartgrowing.Butit'sjust
thatgirlsstartdevelopingatdifferentagesanddifferentrates.Onegirlmighthavemore
developedbreastsat12,whereasherfriendcouldbestillflatasaboard.

Breastdevelopmenthappensinstages.Thefirststagestarts
duringtheearlypartofpuberty,whenagirl'sovariesenlargeandestrogen,animportantfemale
hormone,beginstocirculateinthebody.Doctorsoftenrefertotheearlystagesofbreast
developmentas"breastbudding."Getit?Buddinglikeaflowerhasbuds.
Abreastbudislikeasmallraisedbumpbehindthenipple.Afterbreastbuddinghappens,the
nippleandthecircleofskinaroundthenipple(calledtheareola)getbiggerandalittledarker.
Thentheareaaroundthenippleandareolastartstogrowintoabreast.
Asbreastskeepgrowing,theymaybepointyforawhilebeforebecomingrounderandfuller.For
somegirls,onebreastmightbealittlebiggerthantheotherone.Agirl'sbreastsmaycontinueto
growduringtheteenyearsandevenintoherearlytwenties.Fullydevelopedbreastscomeinall
shapesandsizes.
Breastsizegetsalotofattentionandmanygirlsmaywonderhowtheycanmaketheirbreasts
growfasterorbigger.Despitewhatsomemagazineadssay,thereisn'tanymagiccreamorpillthat
canspeeduptheprocessormakeagirl'sbreastslargerthantheyare.Infact,breastsizeismostly
determinedbyheredityandagirl'sweight.Soifagirl'smotherhasbigbreastsorsmallbreasts,
thegirlcanexpecttohavebreastsofsimilarsize.Andagirlwhohasmorebodyfatismorelikelyto
havelargerbreasts.

GettingaBra
Onceagirlhasbreasts,abraisagoodidea,especiallywhenthegirlisexercisingandplaying
sports.Brascanprotectbreasttissueandkeepthebreastssupported.Somegirlsmayalsolikethat
brassmoothouttheirsilhouettesandmakethemfeelmorecomfortable.Abracanmakeagirlfeel
lessexposedwhenshe'swearingalightshirt,suchasaTshirt.

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BreastsandBras

Somegirlslookforwardtogettingtheirfirstbras,butothersdreadthatevent.Likeanythingnew,
wearingabracanbetoughtoadjustto.Theycanbedifficulttofastenandadjust.Onceabraison,
itcanbagorgap,rideup,digin,orpopopen.Thestrapscanslideoffagirl'sshouldersordiginto
them.Andabracanpeekoutofagirl'sclothing.Notonlythat,butagirl'sbrothermightthinkit's
justhystericaltopullitsoitsnapsagainstherback.(Ifyouareaboy,donotdothis!)

TheABCsofBraSizes
Wearingtherightsizebracandecreasethenumberofotherproblemsagirlwillhavewithherbra.
Forinstance,abrathat'stherightsizewon'tpinch,gap,orslidearound.Soitmakessenseto
spendsometimelearningaboutbrasizes.
Therearetwopartstoabra'ssize:thechestsize(alsocalledthebandsize)andthecupsize.The
chestorbandsizeisrepresentedbyanumber(32,34,36,etc.)andisthepartofthebrathatruns
acrossagirl'schestandaroundherback.Thecupsarethepartsofthebrathatholdthebreasts
andcomeinlettersizes(AA,A,B,C,etc.).
Brascomeinmanysizes,whicharedifferentcombinationsofthechestsizesandcupsizes32AA,
forinstance.It'simportanttogetboththechestandcupsizesrighttoensureaproperfit.Some
bramanufacturersarenowstartingtooffercupoptionsinhalfsizesinadditiontoregularcupsto
helpgirlsgetabetterfit.

WhatSizeBratoBuy?
Agirlmightfeelshyabouthergrowingbreastsandnotwantotherpeopletalkingaboutthem,
lookingatthem,andmeasuringthem.Butit'swiseforagirltogetmeasuredsosheknowsher
correctbrasize.
Thewomenwhoworkinthebradepartmentsofstorescanhelpagirlwiththismeasurement.A
girlalsocandoitathomeifshehashermomorafriendhelpher.Here'showtodoit:
Runatapemeasurejustunderyourbreasts,allthewayaroundyourbackandribcage.The
tapemeasureshouldrestflatonyourskinandliestraightacrossyourbacknotsotight
thatitdigsin,butnotsoloosethatitsagsdownintheback.
Makeanoteofyourmeasurementandadd5inches.That'syourchestsize.
Tomeasurecupsize,takethetapemeasurearoundyourbodyacrossthefullestpartofyour
breasts.
Writedownthisnumberandsubtractyourchestmeasurementfromit.Thedifference
betweenthenumbersisawayoffiguringoutyourcupsize.Ifthedifferencebetweenthe
twonumbersislessthan1inch,yourcupsizeisAA.Ifit's1inch,yourcupsizeisA2inches,
you'reaB3inchesyou'reaC,andsoon.Forinstance,ifyourcupmeasurementwas33and
yourchestmeasurementwas32,that'sa1inchdifference.Yourbrasizeis32A.
Ifyourchestmeasurementcomesoutasanoddnumber(suchas31inchesor33inches),it's
usuallyagoodruletorounddowntothenextnumber.Mostbrashaveafewsetsof
adjustablehooksandeyes,soyoucanadjustthetightness.It'sagoodideatorounddown,
ratherthanroundup,sincebrastendtostretchovertime.
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BreastsandBras

WhatKindofBratoBuy?
Afirstbrausedtobecalleda"trainingbra"itwasforgirlswhodidn'tyetfitintothecupsof
standardsizebras,butneededbasicsupportandcomfort.
Thesedays,manygirls'firstbraisasportsbra,atypeofbrawornbyactivewomenofanyage.
Sportsbraspreventfullygrownbreastsfromjigglingaroundwhenawomanisplayingsportsor
exercising.Becausethey'reflatterinthecuparea,sportsbrasalsomakereallygoodfirstbrasfor
manygirls.Infact,becauseofsportsbras,anddressesandtopsthathavebuiltinbras,agirlmight
notneedatrainingbraoramoretraditionalbraearlyon.Notallsportsbrasarealike,soagirl
shouldtryonafewtofigureoutwhichonessheprefers.
Inadditiontosportsbras,therearealotofothertypesofbras.Themostnaturallookingbraisa
softcupbra,whichdoesn'tdomuchtochangetheshapeofagirl'sbreasts.Softcupbrascomein
differentfabricsandthicknessesandsomemayhaveanunderwire.UnderwireisaUshapedwire
insidethefabricthatgoesunderthebreaststohelpsupportthem.Ifagirl'sbreastsareCcupor
larger,anunderwirebraisagoodchoice.
Otherbrasmayhavemorestructuredcupsandsomecomewithpaddinginside.Minimizerbras
arealsoavailableforgirlswhowanttheirbreaststoappearsmaller.Thesebrasareusuallymade
ofrelativelythickfabricandoftenhavesubstantialbacksandstraps.

AGirl'sChangingShape
Breastsarejustonesignthatagirlisgettingolderandonherwaytobecomingawoman.Ifagirl
hasquestionsorconcernsaboutbreastsorbras,thegoodnewsisthatthereareplentyofwomen
andoldergirlstoask.
Andifagirlisworriedabouthowslowlyherbreastsaregrowing,herdoctorisalsoagoodsource
ofinformation.Moreoftenthannot,agirlisdevelopingnormallyandbeforesheknowsit,she'll
bebrashopping,too.
Reviewedby:MaryL.Gavin,MD
Datereviewed:January2013

Note:AllinformationonKidsHealthisforeducationalpurposesonly.For
specificmedicaladvice,diagnoses,andtreatment,consultyourdoctor.
19952016TheNemoursFoundation.Allrightsreserved.
ImagesprovidedbyTheNemoursFoundation,iStock,GettyImages,Corbis,
Veer,SciencePhotoLibrary,ScienceSourceImages,Shutterstock,andClipart.com

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