There is a lot of emphasis placed on the size of women’s breasts. Most of the time, the emphasis is focused on enlarging the size of the breasts. However, large breasts can be equally difficult for women. Usually the problem begins in early adolescence when puberty begins or after pregnancy, particularly when a woman has gained a great deal of weight. When a young teenager has large breasts, peers often make fun of them or make rude comments. This can create psychological problems that may persist into adulthood. In addition, a significant weight gain can cause the breasts to enlarge. The medical term for this is breast hypertrophy or macromastia. The increased weight from macromastia can cause a lot of stress on the shoulder, eventually creating poor posture which may lead to shoulder, neck, and back pain. In addition, women find it difficult to exercise due to “bouncing” and increased weight on their shoulders. Other symptoms may include skin irritation under the breasts,...
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© 2004 Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
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Blanchard, J. (2004). Breast Reduction. In: Encyclopedia of Women’s Health. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-306-48113-0_63
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-306-48113-0_63
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
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