Ms Jemila Baidoo-Gyan, a Teacher at the Community Development Vocational and Technical Institute (COMDEVOC) has hinted that wearing the wrong brassiere size could lead to many health problems.
“Wearing the wrong bra size can make one’s breast highly affected and can give rise to a variety of health issues”.
She explained that wearing the wrong bra size could cause scarring underneath or on each side of the breasts, which is not immediately noticeable, however, over time, a bra that is far too tight would end up creating a scarring effect, where the bra has dug into the flesh.
Ms Baidoo-Gyan who is also a fashion designer and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Sesema House of Seams gave the hint in an interview with GNA on the physical and healthy issues that could affect an individual wearing the wrong bra size.
According to her, women with large breasts often had a battle on their hands to find bras that fitted them giving them the correct amount of support for their shape, but often, many large breasts women opt for a smaller size bra, which might look more attractive than a “granny bra”, but a smaller size would actually cause more problems than it solves.
She indicated that a bra that fits properly should not ride up at the back nor should bra straps dig into the shoulders, leaving behind red marks.
“An ill-fitting bra will not provide enough coverage for the breasts and if your breasts spill out of your bra from all angles, then you are wearing the wrong size bra”.
She pointed out that women who wear the wrong bra size often had problems maintaining correct posture, which could lead to bending rather than sitting and standing upright, as well as unexplained back and neck pain.
Touching on risks caused by an ill-fitting or unsuitable bra, she mentioned skin complaints, especially in the underbust area, and added that an improper bra size could cause blisters on the skin around the breast, especially when the size is small and it is very tight around the breasts.
“The many proven risk factors for the occurrence of breast cancer definitely, play a much more important role. However, there can be no doubt that a well-fitting bra not only looks better and feels more comfortable, but also prevents the occurrence of any potential health problems which may be associated with a badly-fitting bra”, she stressed.
She noted that wrong bra size could develop the risk of irreversible damage to the breast ligaments, which can cause pain and lead to breast sagging.
Ms Baidoo-Gyan advised that the best solution to wearing the wrong bra size was for one to visit a tailoring shop to get the bust measured, not once every few years, but every single time they want a new bra because a woman’s bust size would change throughout her life due to hormonal reasons, pregnancy, weight loss, and other factors.
“Wearing the wrong bra size can cause health problems, but allowing yourself to be measured each time you want a new bra will ensure that you buy the correct bra size. This will eliminate the health problems that can occur while wearing the wrong bra size”, she pointed out.
Ms Jemila advised that bras should be hand-washed and air dried instead of using a washing machine and dryer to clean them.
She indicated that breasts also come in a wide variety of shapes and to get a truly comfortable bra, one would need to take the shape of her breasts into account by examining the breasts and determining if they were “east-west or outward-facing, widely separated, bell-shaped, globe-shaped, long and narrow, asymmetrical and teardrop to enable them to get the best bras size”.
