These pictures include women of Anglo-/Teutonic European, Semitic, N. Mediterranean, and N. East Asian, Native American, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and mixed descent who come from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds. The main point is: there is enormous variation in what is normal. Sizes and shapes vary enormously. So don't worry, ladies!

"I am a 27 yo mother of a 10 yo who had breastfed for approximately 18 months. I am 5'4" and have always been on the thin side. I've taken 'breast enhancing' herbal pills before for about a month and then herbs on my own for a couple months and never noticed a change. I just recently have been considering taking them again for a much longer period of time. I have always been very insecure about the size of my breasts and felt like something was/is missing. I've never felt very feminine since they do not show through my clothes without a padded bra and they pretty much disappear when I'm lying down. One is larger than the other and the smaller one's nipple was flat/inverted until I breastfed my daughter; she liked the larger one with the larger "normal" nipple better since she could get a better grip and I tended to let her nurse on that one longer - that's probably why the breast more noticely larger than the other now.



I think I may be finally getting close to coming to terms with being small-chested but I don't think I'll ever be as comfortable as I'd like to be since being small chested makes me feel like an adolescent. I definitely do not want breasts that are too large for my frame but to fill an A-cup would be awesome - I think I'd feel more like a woman and wouldn't be so self-conscious in a swimming suit or with my husband.



Thank you so much for your website. There are times when I'm so insecure that I have crying fits and I just can't stand to be in my own skin and when I go to your site I feel a lot better. I'm reminded that there are many many varieties of bodies, that I'm not alone in my insecurities and I'm not the only person in the world in less than a A cup - that I'm 'normal'. " Thanks again Alicia" I'm 35 years old, breastfed my 3.5 year old daughter for 16 months and am 7.5 months pregnant with my second. So they're a couple of cup sizes bigger than they usually are.



I've had a really difficult relationship with my breasts since I was about 13 and they first started developing. I was rather flat-chested and my right one has always been bigger/droopier than the left with the areola also noticeably bigger/a different shape. At school in the UK I used to stuff my bra with cotton wool to give myself more shape, and I wonder if that affected their development at all.



I was always very self-conscious and unhappy about their slightly saggy shape and how asymmetrical they were- it definitely affected my confidence in my intimate relationships, even though no partner ever mentioned anything or had any complaints.



When I was about 24, I saw a local breast augmentation specialist for a consultation a couple of times. I almost made up my mind to have the very expensive, invasive procedure to enlarge and lift them, and address the different areola size/shapes. Because I'm naturally slim it would have been a very big, risky operation and my actual chest muscles would have had to have been divided to place the implants behind them. Thankfully I decided not to go ahead, although I spent the next several years sometimes wishing I had. It's hard to be surrounded by the media's images of full, round, pert, perfectly symmetrical breasts with tiny areolas and nipples when I felt that mine were saggy, asymmetrical and ugly.



I got pregnant and had my daughter at 31 and finally realised the real, amazing use for my breasts. We had a very hard time nursing but I finally learned to love my beautiful breasts because they kept my beautiful daughter alive! Now I'm pregnant again and they're quite a lot bigger than usual, plus my areolas have darkened considerably. It's amazing how they change to prepare for nursing again.



I'm still a little self-conscious about how asymmetrical/slightly droopy they are when my husband sees me topless, but after more than 20 years of hating them and feeling really self-conscious I have finally accepted that they are perfect and wonderful just as they are. Thank you so much for this website and for showing real photos of real breasts in all their beautiful different sizes, shapes and colours.

"I am 32 years old and have had three little girls now 6,4 and 2. I breastfed each child for 18 months and now feel I have very "empty" breasts. I was getting slightly paranoid that my breasts were looking awful as I could only compare to pictures you see in newspapers etc. It's nice to know I am normal." " I am 34 years old, have been pregnant once, and breastfed for 9 months. I wear a size 34B bra on the tightest hooks and I always wear a bra, even while sleeping, so I hate that my breasts sag. I have always been self conscious about my right breast being smaller than my left and my stretch marks, but I know it is normal and common. "I'm a 19 year old girl, with 32AA size boobs and have always been depressed about their size but have never felt I could cope with breast enhancement. I often felt that the size of my boobs made me feel less like a woman despite men telling me it didn't matter. Looking at your site I have come to feel more comfortable with the way I look. I recently had an ectopic pregnancy (about 3 months ago), I was told my breasts did grow a little bit. I have always been skinny, and find it extremely hard to put on weight - not to mention finding clothes to fit me as I am quite short too."

"I am a 29 year old mother of 4 beautiful girls ... Always been of normal weight (went back to my size quickly after each pregnancy). I have breastfed 3 of my children for a total of 31 months. I was a perky B cup pre-babies with small pinkish nipples. Now I am a 34A and my nipples have stayed bigger and darker after my 3rd pregnancy (they had gone back to their pink color after my first two babies but had remained enlarged). I have lost a lot of upper poll fullness after breastfeeding 3 babies and it makes finding proper fitting bras a challenge.



I have struggled a lot and still am with the way my chest looks now. I have almost no breasts left and I feel self-conscious about them. But they are healthy and they are mine and that is what important. I am submitting my pictures because your site has helped me tremendously with my self-esteem issues and being the mom of four girls, I want to teach them what real women look like and not be embarrassed if they don't look like the airbrushed ads in the magazine.



Thank you so much for such a wonderful site. " "I'm 23, I've been pregnant once and am currently breastfeeding my (amazing, beautiful, healthy, happy!) 8 month-old son, with no plans to stop until he decides it's time. I've always been between 150 and 170, with little change in my 38DDD size. I don't have an eating disorder or anything; I've contemplated a breast reduction but I plan to have at least one more baby and nursing is so much more important to me than what my boobs look like! (Why risk the health of your precious baby to have "cute" breasts?? I don't get it.)



I'm completely happy & confident and at ease naked -- until I see my reflection or a picture, that is. I've spent lots of time naked around other people at Oregon Country Fair, various hot springs, Rainbow Gatherings, etc.) As long as I forget that my saggy (and useful, and life-giving, and amazing!) boobs are culturally "ugly", I'll have a great time. I love the quote, "Change how you see, not how you look," by J. Alison Hilber. It's so true. I would never judge another woman with my size & shape of breasts. I am usually in awe of women with something other than the ideal cultural body shape who walk around topless or naked. I feel proud to be in their presence and hope that I exude that same confidence." "I am ... currently in a relationship with a man who simply loves my breast inspite of their being saggy and loosing and gaining weight. To him, its me that matters and not how they look like. I am 29 yrs heading for 30 yrs soon. I had 2 pregnancies upto 3 months each but could not last and no children there after.

Before visiting your site, I felt ashamed of my breast and I always wanted to get treatments done. I came here looking for advice and options but now I have dropped the idea. I hope my volunteering would help other women in similar situation. My mother who's now 50 yrs of age still has better ones than mine, she's still on the firmer side with perky nipples and ideal 36 size. I didn't know how to discuss my problem with her as I had flat nipples but now I understand I am happy with myself."

"I'm 20 years old, and I'm a 34G. I've been pregnant three times and I have one child who I nursed for 18 months despite inverted nipples (which are cured now).



I was extremely thin and a natural 34C/D before my first pregnancy, and swelled to a 40H at the time of delivery after a 100-lb pregnancy weight gain, which is what I can thank for the stretch marks and recent sagging. They've always been slightly asymmetrical, with the right areola and the entire right breast both being a slightly larger than the left, but that's the least of my complaints.



The truth is, I love my breasts, and I can't say it any more eloquently than they do on Shape of a Mother — "I hope that one day our society respects and honors the WHOLE female, not just the maiden one." The 'perfect', perky, maiden breast is useless for anything but lust. The stretched, drooping, well-used breast is the one that has served a meaningful purpose, perhaps even changed the life of the one(s) to whom it has given the perfect nourishment that only it can provide." "I am a 19-year old mum with a 1-year old son. I only breast fed for under a week because I found it too difficult, but the changes in my breasts are quite shocking really, I used to have big areolas but now I have ones that cover the best part of my breasts. I was around a 34B before pregnancy and now over 2 years after I'm 36D. I was around 150lb before and now I'm around 180lb. I have been so insecure about my breasts since pregnancy that I've been researching breast reconstruction and I hate plastic surgery. Since looking at your site, it has made me feel so much better, women who haven't been pregnant have very similar breasts to me and that just reminds me that pregnancy hasn't ruined my breasts (although the street marks on my stomach are a sight) if anything they have made them better because there's more to see (and feel!) plus when I go out I wear bras with no padding now whereas before I had super padded ones with push-ups and everything! When I was finished developing I actually used to get my mother's breast jelly things that fit in the bra (my mother is a 34A) so it looked like I had a D. But now that I am I don't feel the need to make them bigger! So I am happy with my breasts, even if I don't like the look of them, my man does and I know that my baby had some good colostrum from them! Thank you for making this site!" "I am 36 and overweight. I have a 6-year old and 4-year old twins. I nursed all of them. My son for 18 months and my twins for about 5 months. Before having my children my breast weren't "perky" but they certainly didn't sag like they do now. From the time I was about 22 I wore a bra all the time. Even while sleeping in hopes that my breasts wouldn't get saggy. I loved the way they looked and I wanted them to stay that way. Well that didn't work. lol As I get older they are getting more saggy and it definitely worries me about what they will look like when I get even older. I'm so glad that you have this website because I definitely felt like I was the only one in my 30's with saggy breasts. I hate that when I lay down they fall into my armpits. For some reason I'm lucky and my husband still seems to love me and them. Don't worry what your breasts look like ladies, if you find the right person they will love you for you. ❤️"

"I stumbled across your site, and thought I could contribute. It is very rare to see "natural" breasts and so I will submit mine and share the site with my sister!



I am 25, Caucasian and I am 10 months postpartum, I am breastfeeding right now and am in the process of weaning. I started puberty at 11, and in high school I had an eating disorder and lost weight very quickly causing stretch marks, I still have 25 pounds I would like to lose (the healthy way) I still have body image problems and probably always will, especially with a spouse that surrounds me with an overwhelming influx of fake bodies. I was self-conscious of my breasts before pregnancy and in high school and I especially am now but it is an inevitable part of life if you want kids. I really wish we saw the range of normal in the media and not just a sexualized ideal pushed on women from sex crazed men!" "I am 24 years old, with one child that I carried to full term and nursed for 2 1/2 years. She still asks for boobie! I would say that I had considerable stretching and stretch marks, as my breast went from 32 C to 34 DD. Now I am a 32 D. I could have nursed two children with all the milk I had; it was awesome! It has been hard for me, as I am still young and feel self-conscious about my breast shape. It seems sometimes that I have just a little extra skin. But I wouldn't trade the experience; to give my daughter the years she had of nutrition and comfort that nature intended was amazing. Vive la breasts!

Thank you so much!" "I am 22 years old. I got pregnant for the first time when I was 20, gave birth to my son at 21, and he is now 10 months old. I have been breastfeeding him since birth, and I plan to continue to do so as long as he wants to (we practice child-led weaning). I am very healthy. Before getting pregnant I was a 36B, during pregnancy I grew to be a 36C, and now I am a 36C-D, depending on how full of milk my breasts are. My right breast is slightly lower (and larger) than my left breast. I think it has always been like that! My areolas and nipples are a lot larger now than they were before breastfeeding/pregnancy, and they've also gotten a little bit darker, too (or so my husband says!). I have some stretch marks on the sides/tops of my breasts that I've had since I was a teen, but they're less visible now. I'm really proud of my breasts, even though they are a little bit droopy and lopsided... they're mine, God gave them to me, and they feed my son."

"Thank you so much for this site!... After I stopped nursing my son from a size 36 DD I went to a size B. I am a 35-year old mother of three. I have been pregnant 5 times. I have nursed all three of my children for over 1 year each. This picture -- my breasts are deflated 2 weeks after I stopped nursing. I am currently doing push-ups (5 sets of 10) and massaging with olive oil, ice as well as shea butter to tighten the skin so that it is not so saggy. I also have been doing exercises and wearing a fitted sports bra to keep the skin from stretching any further." "I have found your site extremely beneficial. I am 32 years old at present I don't feel too bad about my breasts I am incredibly proud of myself for breastfeeding all of my children. I needed to express milk for my twins who where born very premature and I truly believe my milk helped them to survive. I then breastfed them for four months but it was difficult so I reluctantly stopped. I also breastfed my baby daughter for seven months.



My breast are flat and flop on top of each other when I lay on my side, they have lots of stretch marks and my nipples are huge!!!!!! Reading your site makes me feel that that is OK!!!" "I am 29 yrs old with 3 kids. I would be proud to have them viewed on your wonderful site." "My breasts are a 38DD; they have deflated and sagged. Also my areolas are bigger now. My stomach is stretch marked badly and I have a lot of loose skin."

This woman had very small breasts until pregnancy and nursing. She has breastfed two babies. Mature droopy breasts. The large areola is due to the breast changes during pregnancy. The same woman as on the left - here after her second pregnancy, currently breastfeeding.

"I am 37 and have one child whom I breastfeed for 7 months. I have hated everything about my boobs - being small, to having one that is bigger than the other, to having an inverted nipple, to having one that barely has tissue at the bottom of it sometimes causing the nipple to point down. I have recently embarked on a journey to love my entire body, including my breasts." "Stumbled across your site, and love it. I'm a mother of two children, ages 5 and 9. I nursed each of them for 2.5 years. I'm now almost 32 years old and pretty happy with my 34DDD breasts. I spent too many years hating them, and learned to like them more when I saw what comfort they gave my babies. It's stupid that breast size goes "in" and "out." That's like having race/ethnicity go "in" and "out" of style. Totally uncontrollable....... and we're ALL beautiful.

Although I will say, I still hate shopping for swimwear to fit them. Some things never change." "I noticed there is a lack of saggy breasts on your site and thought I'd submit mine for you to add. I now know my breasts being saggy aren't due to no bra. I have a BMI over 60. I'm going to be getting bariatric surgery."

This lady with small breasts had a high-risk pregnancy due to heart problems and had to stay in bed in the hospital most of the time. The baby was premature, but did just fine - with the help of her milk. Here we see a lady with nearly flat chest and small areola. She breastfed all three of her children with no problems. These breasts of a woman in her 50s have assumed their lower position. Back when she had kids, bottle-feeding was the norm and she didn't understand breast being better.

"I'm 36, two pregnancies which both ended within the first 2 months. Currently about 4 stones overweight and my bra is a 40C. Looking at these pictures emphasises how much I need to lose weight - I always had the most beautiful, pert breasts but now they're starting to get saggy and dangly looking, and it's because I'm fat." "I'm a 37-year old mother of two children (13 and 11) and I wear a 34b. I nursed my first child for about 4 months and the second for 12 months (wearing 36d/e then). Before I got pregnant, my breasts were a little tighter, but I'm quite happy with how they are today and I love being a woman from the bottom of my heart." The same lady as on the left; this picture is at 18 months post-partum. "My nipples are lighter now than they were on that first picture. Some women worry when they see how dark their nipples got with pregnancy and breastfeeding. My picture shows that they don't stay as dark forever. Although they might not be the same light color they used to be pre-baby, they have lightened a lot in the past few months."