'I feel so ashamed' - How big breasts fit affect your health

"I bin dey waka wit my shoulder wey bend, just so pipo no go notice say I get big breast. I remember am well becos e make me shame well-well."

For 2010, Raquel, one university professor from Argentina, decide say she go do breast reduction surgery.

Now she don reach 52 years, and she tok say di result give her one "sense of freedom" wey she never feel before.

Even say for many parts of the world pipo dey see big breast as sometin attractive, the real life fit hard - e fit cause serious problem for women health and dia quality of life.

Dem don link big breast to plenty symptoms like constant back pain, headache, bad posture, lack of feeling, sleep wahala, and even poor mental health.

Latest data from International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery show say 652,676 breast reduction surgeries happun worldwide for 2024.

Brazil record the highest number (115,647), followed by US (67,478), France (38,780), Germany (32,068), Turkey (25,334), and India (22,400).

Raquel tok say she don dey get constant back pain because of her big chest since she be teenager.

But for Argentina, she say pipo dey see big breast like blessing.

"Most pipo, especially women, go tell you say you too lucky," she explain.

"I no lucky at all. I suffer well-well. I suffer as teenager, and even as woman and as mother."

In fact, she tok say she still dey feel back pain becos of di way she bin dey waka befor just to hide her body.

Raquel wey like to stay active say she dey enjoy yoga, Pilates, and going gym. But later, di weight of her big breast stop her from exercising again.

Dr Nora Nugent, wey be President of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, tok say limited movement and difficulty to exercise na some of di common complaints wey she dey hear from patients wey want do breast reduction surgery.

"From bodi function side, big breasts heavy, so dem dey drag person forward and dey put constant pressure for back and neck," she tok.

"E still dey make exercise uncomfortable, and e dey very hard to find bra wey fit well and give correct support."

Raquel say she need to wear "two or three" bras just to support her breasts. And to find bra wey fit add extra financial stress.

'I feel free'

For UK, Nugent tok say most of her patients dey remove between 500g and 800g from each breast, although she don see cases wey pass that one.

"Sometimes e no be large amount for bodi weight, but e dey large for one small part of di body," she explain.

For Raquel case, doctors remove 2.5 kilos altogether from her breasts.

"After the surgery, I remember wetin I feel when I wan pick something from di floor, and e be like 'wow, na anoda body.' I feel so, so free."

"For Argentina, di ones wey fit big breasts too cost," she tok.

Di power of good bra

Wen Prof Joanna Wakefield-Scurr go see her doctor to tok about di chronic breast pain wey she dey get, dem advise am say all wetin she need na well-fitting bra.

As expert for biomechanics, she come decide to research wetin really make bra good.

"I realise say actually we know very little about why we need bra, wetin be di benefits of bra, and how bra suppose work," Wakefield-Scurr tok.

"Instead, pipo don dey see bra more like fashion item instead of something wey dey functional, wey get purpose and health benefits. Dat one really disappoint me."

Na dis one push am make she set up research group on breast health for University of Portsmouth for UK in 2005.

Her team identify four main negative effects of wearing bra wey no fit well pain, stretching of skin and tissue damage, change for di way person dey breathe and di time between heartbeats, plus barrier to physical activity.

"If you get heavier breasts and e dey bounce up and down, e fit actually change your breathing pattern. E dey change di force wey you dey use press ground. E get effect for your whole-body function."

Through many years of research and experiments, di group still find say breasts dey move like figure eight pattern during all kinds of exercise.

Dem come discover say di main tin to reduce breast pain na to slow down di movement, no be how much di breasts dey move.

Di team don now work wit top athletes like the Lionesses, England women football team, and some of di best golfers for di world, to create di best-possible bra for dem.

"We dey see organisations like the FA and World Rugby dey put money into funding health programmes for female athletes – and na only for di last about five years dis thing really start," Wakefield-Scurr tok.

"E still new, but e good say we dey see di kind change now."

'Patients wan live well'

How society dey see and understand di burden of big breasts na sometin wey Raquel gats face.

She tok say she feel say pipo dey judge her because she do breast reduction surgery, and plenty pipo get wrong idea about why she do am.

"I tink say most pipo believe say na for beauty sake I do am, no be health matter," she tok.

"I remember wen I do am, one woman tell me, 'Now you need go remove your belle too like liposuction."

Even wit all those kind comments, Raquel tok say she no get any regret.

"I dey very happy, and now wey I don reach menopause, I no know how I for take live wit big breasts. I no fit imagine myself dey try handle dat kind bodi."

Nugent tok say di increase for pipo wey dey look for breast reduction surgery fit show say interest for self-care don dey grow.

"Surely, no be only women all patients dey show say dem wan live well," she tok.

"No be say pipo dey chase perfection, na health and wellness dem dey find."