Women choose breast surgery for many reasons: to restore and reconstruct, to reduce, and to enhance their bodies. A recent national survey by the National Women's Health Resource Center explored women's motivations for breast aesthetic surgery, and found that life-changing events, such as childbirth, significant weight loss or divorce trigger changes in a woman's mindset, inspiring improvements around health, fitness and, for 42 percent of women, physical appearance. Of those women motivated to improve their appearance, nearly half (45 percent) said they would consider plastic surgery to do so. The survey also found that 88 percent of women believe that their breasts contribute to their overall feeling of femininity and more than 90 percent cited the desire to reshape their breasts following a major physical change like weight loss or childbirth as the primary reason they may consider breast aesthetic surgery. So it's not too surprising to find that breast augmentation replaced liposuction in 2006 as the most commonly performed cosmetic surgery in the United States.

To learn about the safety, benefits and risks of breast aesthetic surgery, as well as how to choose a qualified plastic surgeon, use this Breast Aesthetic Surgery Tool Kit presented by the NWHRC.