Love this question.
Forget the awards and accolades that a surgeon might aspire to…..the single greatest achievement of my life was the day I became a mummy. My little girl is on the edge of puberty, blushing with horror whenever I mention the word and sneaking tinted lip balms and clear mascara into my shopping basket dipping her toe into the spoils of womanhood. But there are bigger changes afoot; Barbie is out, and Tiktok is in. Rolling, constant reels of tanned teen girls, bright white smiles, lashes for days, and thin waists and thighs. Here I am on the internet talking to you about body image in teen girls and younger, but the vast majority of this app is filled with glossy girls all with the same Insta-look. And as mothers, we need to instil a sense of “normality” in our girls.
Women are becoming more and more aware of breast health, breast checks, breast lumps and yes, how their breasts look. A girl that has reached full adulthood will have well formed opinions about their body image, but I see more and more teens, occasionally pre-teens, asking “why are my nipples so puffy” “why is one growing and the other one isn’t?” the basic underlying question they are all asking is “is this normal?”. And the answer? YES but you need to give it time. Yes you will inevitably find someone to operate on you as soon as prom is over. But what if you were on the edge of a hormone surge and they might’ve grown anyway? What if you get a breast reduction but your hormones keep driving the breasts to keep growing? At the end of the day, performing cosmetic surgery, surgery of any sort, is a privilege and a responsibility and not one I take lightly. Gently educating our daughters is my job. And knowing when NOT to operate is more important than rushing in.
