What is normal breast development?
Breast development is a vital part of reproduction in the human female. Unlike other mammals, however, human females are the only ones who develop full breasts long before they are needed to nurse their offspring. Breast development occurs in distinct stages throughout a woman’s life, first before birth, and again at puberty and during the childbearing years. Changes also occur to the breasts during menstruation and when a woman reaches menopause. The development and kinds of breast changes that take place are directly related to age. There are three phases of development: lobule development, which takes place between the ages of 10 and 25; glandular development, which is under the influence of menstrual hormones and occurs between the ages of about 13 and 45, and involution, or shrinkage of the milk ducts, which begins from about age 35 on.
