Motivational factors in women requesting augmentation and reduction mammaplasty.

This study confirms that women requesting breast reduction and breast augmentation differ beyond the anatomical. There were significantly more single and co-habiting women in the breast reduction group, and significantly more separated and divorced women in the breast augmentation group, compared to women attending an obstetric clinic. The majority of women requesting surgery agreed that to feel more confident was an important reason for seeking surgery, but those requesting breast augmentation also stressed the need to feel more feminine and less shy with men. A significantly higher percentage of the breast augmentation group had been pregnant, and they had a higher average number of pregnancies than the obstetric comparison group, together with a significantly higher experience of miscarriage. The psychodynamic proposal that women requesting breast augmentation are seeking to symbolically boost their sense of femininity and womanliness is supported by this study.