Check out this list of eight facts about breasts — some amazing, others simply interesting, but all of which can give us a better understanding of these twin peaks.
Anything fascinating about breasts we overlooked? Let us know in the comments section below.
1. We’re the only primates with “permanent” ones.
No other primate has a permanent breast. In non-human primates (and other mammal species) a full breast is a clear indication the female is suckling young. Not so in humans.
2. The largest natural breasts are a 102ZZZ.
The Guinness World Record holder for the largest natural breasts is Annie Hawkins-Turner. Her chest measures 70 inches over the chests and around her back. That amounts to 3.5 feet of cleavage (with each side weighing in at 56 pounds), and a bra size of 102ZZZ.
3. Breast orgasms exist.
Women orgasming through chest stimulation is an actual thing, and there’s science to back it. In one study of 213 women, 29 percent said they had experienced a “breast orgasm” at one point or another.
4.They make the perfect food.
When describing the benefits of breast milk and colostrum (the sticky, yellowish substance produced at the end of pregnancy and the first days of a baby’s life) the World Health Organization doesn’t mince words, calling it the “perfect food” for babies. Breast milk contains antibodies that help babies fight infections and diseases and is easy for them to digest. Its made by cells in the breast called “alveoli,” which produce milk in response to the hormone prolactin. It’s released when babies suckle.
5. When it comes to milk, size doesn’t matter.
For breastfeeding purposes, it simply doesn’t matter whether a woman is an A cup or a D. Larger breasts have a higher proportion of fatty tissue, compared to glandular tissue, but this has no effect on the amount of milk you’re able to produce.
Though women with smaller breasts sometimes worry they’ll be unable to nurse their babies, it’s actually women with larger breasts who sometimes have greater difficulties, because of positioning issues, she says.
6. They fluctuate month-to-month (and even minute-to-minute).
Unhappy with your breast size? Give it a minute. That may be overstating things, but not by much. Many women experience breast growth — as much as a full cup size — during PMS, because the body has higher levels of the hormones progesterone and prolactin during that premenstrual phase, which can cause swelling. Breast growth is also one of the hallmarks of pregnancy, and some sex experts, claim that breasts can swell by up to 25 percent during moments of intense sexual arousal.
7.The left tends to be larger.
It’s perfectly normal for women to have one breast that’s larger than the other. And for around 65 percent of women, it’s the left one. No one knows why the left side tends to be bigger, although theories abound: One suggests that immune hypersensitivity, which is higher on the left side of the body, has an impact on hormones that help determine breast size and shape; another that women tend to prefer to nurse on their left side (leaving their right hand free) which results in that side producing more milk.
8. There are four chest types.
If you thought there was only one type of chest, you thought wrong. There are several common variations: “Normal” chests stick out a few millimeters from the areola, and then even further when they’re aroused or cold; “flat” chests only protrude when they’re stimulated or when temperatures change; “puffy” chests have a raised areola; and “inverted” chests (which come in grades) are essentially turned inward. The latter type isn’t necessarily problematic as long as it’s always been that way, but if the chest has only recently turned inward it should be checked by a doctor.
