- Knowledgebase: Questions about Sex, Puberty, and Periods
- Questions about Sex, Puberty, and Periods, for adolescents and their parents.
- 10. Does the Pill make a women's breasts get larger? - Top
- Q: Is it true that the size of your breasts will increase in size because of the birth control pill?
A: Depending on the woman, yes. The hormones in birth control pills (estrogen and progesterone) often lead to an increase in breast size that generally reverses following a few cycles or after a woman goes off the Pill. Sometimes this is because the hormones cause edema (fluid retention) in the breasts, making them feel larger and engorged. When this is the case, the breasts often feel smaller during the pill-free week. Other times, the estrogen and progesterone actually lead to a growth of breast tissue, in which case the change in breast size tends to be more constant, at least until the woman stops taking the Pill. Breast fullness may also be accompanied by breast tenderness (mastalgia) or tingling.
The higher the dosage of the Pill, the more likely an increase in breast size. That's one of the reasons why health care providers try to prescribe the lowest dosage pill that will still work at preventing pregnancy, such as a progestin-only pill or one that contains 20 mcg of estrogen. If this influences your choice of contraception, know that there are advantages and disadvantages of each method. Fortunately, you have options.
- Updated: March 10, 2001
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