Q.1) Hi I’m 16 and my breasts are not as well developed as other girls in my class, this gives me a complex when I’m with my friends. What can be the reason for this? Are there some medicines for breast enhancement?
Ans. Hi to you too. You didn’t say what your build is like as compared to the other girls of your class. If you are a tiny or small build person, then your breasts must be perfect for your body. Some heavily built people, however, do have small breasts comparatively. What could be the reason, you tell me. Can you tell me why your nose is too long for your face or your fingers too short and stubby? Every person is different and unique and it is this very strangeness that makes everything so interesting. You wouldn’t like to eat the same tasting food or smell the same flowers, would you? Enjoy being just as you are.
If you do not like yourself as you are, how can you expect anyone else to do so.
Other than this, to answer your next question, there are no breast enhancement medicines for your age group but any exercise which tones up the chest wall muscles will seem to enhance breast size. Such exercises include swimming, weight training and pectoral exercises/yoga for the upper body.
Q. 2) I’m suffering from irregular and scanty periods. I’m only 18, please help me, what should I do?
Ans. Irregular/delayed and scanty periods are very common in the few years after the very first menstrual period. Do check out the accompanying article on Menstruation on this site.
If you do not fit into PCOS, as explained in that write up by me, have you had any excessive weight loss or gain, excessive dieting or overeating, strenuous exercise or extreme stress of any kind in the recent past? Did you notice how extremes in any form are bad for the body. Our physical body machine works best when everything is in moderation and balance. Correction of any of these extremes will generally cure the problem e.g. getting back to the weight which is normal for your height and dealing with stress appropriately.
Do you have any other additional problems like loss of appetite, low grade fever especially at night, excessive night sweating, lethargy and exhaustion or unexplained pain in the stomach, diarrhoea alternating with constipation, sense of bloatedness……If you do not take care of your diet and your body’s immune defenses against infection drop, then one can have tuberculosis. Please do check with your gynaecologist and don’t worry – everything can be sorted out quite well.
Q. 3) Is it safe to have sex while I’m having my periods? Should hygiene be a consideration in those days?
Ans. Sex during periods cannot result in a pregnancy. The egg is released around 14 days before the start of the period and if not fertilized within few days, the lining of the uterus sheds off as a menstrual period.
But if you have AIDS, Hepatitis C or B, then God alone, if there is one, can protect your partner. The chances of transmitting these infections from the female partner to the male partner are tremendous if they have sex during her periods.
The female partner is also at higher risk of Endometriosis wherein some blood and cells are pushed in the opposite direction and come out through the tubes inside the abdomen. This can cause chronic pain, cysts in the ovaries and infertility.
Besides, is it not very messy? Imagine the whole neighbourhood knowing what you were up to because of the stained sheets!!
Q.4) I’m eight months pregnant, I’ve put on a lot of weight on my breasts. Is this normal and will they come back to their regular size? Can breast feeding lead to sagging of breasts too?
Ans. Yes. The breasts do get heavier as part of an overall weight gain during pregnancy. They will come back to their normal size if you yourself manage to go back to the weight you were before your pregnancy. You can do this by caring for your baby completely – feeding, massaging, bathing. You can allow your husband to help you as much as he can and do encourage him to burp the baby after each feed. It helps in father-baby bonding. Eat nutritious food, high protein, with 600 kcal extra from your diet during pregnancy but do not allow your mother or ma-in-law to add any extra ghee to your meals. I do encourage my patients to eat ‘panjeeri’ if they want to, provided it is made in only as much ghee as required to ‘dry’ roast the ingredients which are actually good for breast milk.
And no, breast feeding does not cause breast to sag. If you support the breasts, heavy with milk, by using a good support bra, you can prevent them from sagging to a large extent. One last word. Why bother about sagging breasts and body image once you have a mate and a child? Your health is important, not shape. Breasts are for babies. Enjoy feeding your baby. That is the best gift you can give your little one.
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