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Are you wearing the right bra?

The wrong fit can lead to health problems
05:55 AM Mar 01, 2011

by Eveline Gan

In 1913, exasperated by the whalebone corsets women wore in those days, a 19-year-old
New Yorker fashioned a bra out of two silk hankies held together with pink ribbon and cord.
Mary Phelps Jacob's invention of the first modern bra changed the way women held up their
bosom buddies. What Phelps did not anticipate, however, was that her ingenious idea has
its pitfalls.
While a bra isn't as constrictive as rib-crushing corsets, an ill-fitting one can be potentially
hazardous to health. This is why a group of four Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
final year students and Pierre Cardin Lingerie have launched a campaign to educate women
in Singapore on the perils of wearing the wrong bra.
Named Benefit with a Better Fit (BWBF), the campaign aims to encourage at least 2,000
women aged 19 to 25 years to find their perfect bra fit. From March 5 to 13, lingerie retailer
Pierre Cardin Lingerie will donate $1 to The Breast Cancer Foundation for every woman who
gets fitted at its participating outlets (visit www.gettherightfit.sg).
Unsurprisingly, the all-girls NTU team behind the BWBF campaign have had their fair share
of unpleasant experiences with bras.
Said team member, Beatrice Lau: The rationale and motivations behind our campaign are
driven by our personal concerns with ill-fitting bras and the belief that every woman should
be able to enjoy wearing bras."
Mercer Low, a professional bra fitter at Pierre Cardin Lingerie, said most Singapore women
are "clueless" when it comes to choosing the right bra. Out of every 10 customers she sees,
eight will end up trying the wrong bra size.
"Many Singaporean women have the mindset that it's okay to wear any bra as long as it
covers up the breasts. Some women share bras which are passed down from mums or
sisters, and others who are too embarrassed to seek help from professional bra fitters,"
said Ms Low.
Numerous studies have shown that ill-fitting bras can lead to detrimental health effects
such as chronic backache, shoulder pain, lumps and skin problems that women usually
attribute to other causes.
Research by the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom, which looked at 50 bra
designs tested on over 100 women for almost three years, has found that a bad-fitting bra
can stretch the ligaments and damage the breast. It was reported that 70 per cent of
women wear ill-fitting bras.
"The chief complaint is usually pain. Sometimes, poorly-fitting straps or an ill-fitting bra
circumference can cause backache or pain around the boobs," said Dr Bertha Woon, a
general surgeon who specialises in breast surgery at Gleneagles Medical Centre.
As no two breasts are symmetrical, women may also experience pain when a too-small bra
cup compresses the slightly larger breast, she added.
"When an ill-fitting wire keeps pressing on the breast tissue, it can cause pain as well as
trauma to the breast which can sometimes reflect a thickening of breast tissue that women
mistake for a lump," said Dr Woon.
DEFYING GRAVITY
Health aside, professional bra fitters like Ms Low believe that wearing the right bra can help
retain the breasts "perkiness". A loose bra lacks the support breasts need to defy the
effects of gravity.

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"If your bra straps are too loose or if the cups are too big for your breast size, then your
breasts will sag prematurely," said Ms Low.
Dr Kevin Teh, medical director of Singapore Lipo, Body and Face Centre, a subsidiary of
Singapore Medical Group, said there may be some medical basis to this, although there
have been no proper studies to support Ms Low's claims.
"The proper fittings of a bra will lessen the gravitational forces acting on the skin. This in
turn can reduce skin laxity, avoid aggravating stretch marks and help delay some sagging,"
he said.
The older you are, the greater the effects of gravity, said Dr Teh. Saggy breasts,
unfortunately, can occur at any age although most ladies will have "noticeable breast sag"
by the time menopause hits. Breast sagging can be further accentuated by pregnancy and
breastfeeding.
Other factors that contribute to premature sagging include smoking, sun damage, sudden
weight gain and loss and doing active sports without wearing a sports bra.
"Once sagging occurs, there is little one can do to reverse the loss in ligament strength",
warned Dr Teh. He added that the ways to perk up the breasts would be to undergo
treatments involving injections of a stabilised hyaluronic acid gel. In severe cases, only
major surgery can help.
WEAR THE RIGHT BRA
Dr Woon advised women to get bras fitted to their body shape, and the curvature of the
breasts when buying underwire bras.
Dr Teh added: "If you are sporty and active, a well-fitting sports bra helps prevent the
excessive 'up and down' motions that can stretch out the breasts ligaments."
As a general rule, women with fuller breasts - C cup and above - should wear bras with
softer padding, and broader straps and back panel for support, said Ms Low.

Am I wearing the wrong bra?

by Eveline Gan

"Your breasts are obviously sagging, and you're wearing the wrong type of bra," was the candid remark
professional bra fitter Mercer Low, 39, made as she cast her expert eye at my chest.
Embarrassingly (for me), she was spot on. I was fully-clothed but Mercer's decade-long experience as a bra
fitter means no saggy, out of shape boobs will escape her sharp eyes.
"It's very obvious to me when someone is wearing the wrong bra. I see it all the time while on the MRT.
One telling sign is excess armpit and back flesh - it means the bra size is too small," she said.
Having gone through pregnancy and breastfeeding, my chest has indeed been looking a tad floppy lately.
After taking my bust measurements, Mercer told me that I am wearing the wrong bra cup size. Technically
speaking, I am at least one or even two cup sizes - that's a C or a D - larger!
"You need to wear a bigger cup size and get that excess flesh to 'go home' to the front of your chest,"
Mercer told me firmly. She added that I was also in dire need of bras with a broader back band and
shoulder straps, to slow down the nasty effects of gravity.
I was speechless. To think I've been mistreating my bosom buddies all this time. The fitting session was an
eye opener. Now I know what to look out for the next time I go bra-shopping. Eveline Gan
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