7 Myths About Your Breasts You Thought Were True

4. People With Small Boobs Don’t Need Sports Bras

While ladies packing a little bit are told, and often condescendingly, that there’s no need to wear a sports bra, that’s a load of bull. All women, regardless of their cup size, should be wearing a supportive sports bra. Even women who have small breasts can experience back pain, discomfort and tissue damage (leading to stretching and sagging) if they don’t wear a bra when they work out.

5. Exercise Can Make Them Bigger

This is a great example of how things that might work for men don’t actually work for women. Yes, when men exercise their pectoral muscles can get bigger, but breasts are made of tissue and fat, not of muscle. So, while you can do exercises to improve your pectoral tone, and perhaps make your breasts perkier, there’s no exercise you can do to make those babies bigger.

6. Some Bras Cause Cancer

This one has terrified people away from their delicates for years, but we can happily report that, as far as studies show, there’s nothing supporting it. Rumours had spread, online and off, that wearing an underwire bra might lead to cancer, but studies investigating this found no link between wearing underwire bras (or any bras) and cancers of any kind.

7. All Breast Lumps Are Cancerous

First off, if you’ve found a lump, take a few deep breaths. You get our congratulations upfront for remembering to do regular breast checks, and you’re on the right track. Now, as it turns out, the majority of lumps in the breast are not cancerous at all. Many are benign lumps caused by hormones or more fibrous tissue as women age. Still, you should get all lumps checked out by your doctor, just to be sure.

Which one of these breast myths did you believe?

Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney, she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

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