What is the ideal bra size? Should all women aspire to have big boobs?

Many a man’s head would turn and have a second look at a woman passing by if she has a small waist, swaying hips, and yes, big boobs! Between a flat-chested woman and a boobsie one, chances are the boobsie gets the attention. Having bigger breasts is considered beautiful in our current times. It is no wonder that many women aspire to have bigger breasts if attention and beauty are what they want. They go through all the gamut of exercises, massages, pills, creams, and the more daring injections and surgical procedures to achieve their goal.

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The less adventurous ones content themselves with wearing double bras or layers of pads inside their bras. The brassiere or bra as we call it is a witness to all these. Basically a band worn on the upper torso, it has two cups, one for each breast, with the right size and shape.

A cup is labelled A for the smallest, then B for the bigger one, and so forth. Taking into consideration the size of the back and chest, a numbered size is combined with the alphabetized cup, e.g., 32A where you measure the back-to-chest circumference as 32 inches together with the small A cup size. The biggest size so far is UK’s 48N bra. Asian women in general have smaller breasts compared to their Caucasian counterparts.

Just what are the breasts made of and why is it possible to make them bigger? Breasts are accessory parts of a woman, they are not essential to life. Aside from being aesthetically pleasing to the eye and sexually arousing to a man, they function mainly for providing milk to a newborn.

A normal breast would have milk glands or lobules that produce milk. Milk is then transferred from the lobules through ducts to the nipple when it is sucked. The pink or brown pigmented area surrounding the nipple is called the areola. In between the lobules and ducts are some fat and connective or fibrous tissues. When a woman gains weight and gets fat, the fats inside the breast get bigger, and consequently the breast itself get bigger too.

Conversely, a thinning woman may have smaller breasts because the breast fat lessens in size in the process of losing weight. When a woman does breast exercises, she may develop her pectoralis or chest muscle and the fibrous tissues within the breast, making the breasts appear bigger.

Breast size is controlled by hormones. The hormone estrogen controls the growth of ducts while progesterone controls the growth of glands. That is why many women and even men (gays, transgenders) who want bigger breasts take estrogen and progesterone pills, which are by the way the same pills used for contraception.

For women who don’t want big breasts (e.g. lesbians) or milk production (e.g. not desirous of breastfeeding because busy with her job) they opt to take male hormones.

All these have a few unwanted side effects, so we always say, “don’t monkey around with hormones.” Physiologic or normal ups and downs of body hormones naturally come about cyclically. In the first two weeks after menstruation, estrogen is high, while in the following next two weeks (already the time before the next menstruation) progesterone is high -- it promotes fluid retention, explaining why the breasts are bigger and tender at this point.

Some women apply hormone creams to enlarge the breasts, though the effectiveness is still in question.

When one wants an immediate and controlled enlargement, surgical intervention by an aesthetic or cosmetic surgeon is the choice. In a breast augmentation procedure, a slit is made under the breast or on the edge of the areola and an implant, basically a bag of saline or silicone gel, is inserted to add to the size of the breast. One may choose to have a cup C or D or what. The look is pleasantly natural but the lover’s caressing hands will feel the slightly firm area where the implant is inserted.

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For some women blessed with naturally large breasts, time is sometimes unkind. Breasts sag and become pendulous, in which case a breast reduction procedure may be done to make them smaller and more proportioned to the body. About half of the breast tissue is removed, the skin is shaped accordingly, and the nipple is replaced in a better position.

A breast reduction procedure can get rid of big breast issues like disproportioned appearance and back aches. Mastectomy or breast removal is usually done as an elective procedure by some transgenders to appear the flat-chested male they want to be. It is also the procedure of choice in many patients suffering from breast cancer.

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Since the breast augmentation surgical procedure done by a legitimate surgeon is considered pricey by many, they opt to have the cheaper injectable instead. Many beauty salons offer this service but mostly the ones doing it are not trained professionals and the injected substance is questionable. You hear of hardened lumpy or darkened wounds in the breasts after a few months of being injected by a beautician with petroleum jelly, mineral oil, and other harmful chemicals.

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Some basic questions are often asked regarding breast augmentation, like can they breastfeed? Yes. Can a post-mastectomy (breast removal) cancer patient have it? Yes, and often what is inserted is their own fat suctioned from their tummy fat. Can you have the implants removed if no longer wanted? Yes.

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The best thing of course is to ask the doctor about all your concerns before undergoing the procedure. In the end, whatever your size is, cup A or B or E or whatever, there’s no body shaming because it is your personality that will shine through. Any woman should walk head up high and proud of oneself. And as a post script, if you can be happier with a larger or a smaller cup size, ask the help of your friendly aesthetic or cosmetic surgeon.