01 April 2002
I'm 23 and lately my boobs have got bigger. When I was 16 this would have been great news, but this long after puberty, when you're as small as I am (and I always have been despite hormonal fluctuations) it's very obvious and a bit worrying. My boyfriend reckons that this can happen if they "get more attention", but I just laughed at him because I've never heard of this. I have done a pregnancy test, but it was negative and a few weeks on they are still large, if not larger. My diet hasn't changed and this isn't part of my monthly cycle. What's going on?

Response
We are certainly not aware that 'more attention' leads to larger breasts. The most likely cause of enlarging breasts, if you are not pregnant and have not recently started to take hormones such as the pill, would be weight gain. Some women gain weight on their breasts more easily than others. If you have no other symptoms, particularly no lumps and no discharge from the nipples then it is probably nothing to worry about. You might like to look at our leaflet on galactorrhoea).