'I wish I had done it sooner': Behind the surge in breast reductions

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. 'I wish I had done it sooner': Behind the surge in breast reductions2 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleRachel FlynnRanvia​Ranvia - pictured before and after her breast surgery - says the size of her breasts began to impact how she was perceivedRanvia is still haunted by the memory of being wolf-whistled at by an ice-cream man when she was just 11 years old. She'd hit puberty a few years earlier, and it was at that point she says the size of her breasts began to impact how she was perceived - and how she saw herself. At school, boys would give her nicknames about her boobs, and touch and squeeze them without consent.

"I was still a child," Ranvia says, "but suddenly I had these two body parts that brought attention I was not emotionally ready for. " RanviaRanvia, pictured here pre-surgery, says boys at school would touch and squeeze her boobs without consentGrowing up in a south Asian family in Leicester, Ranvia remembers the embarrassment she felt at not being able to dress the same way as her high school friends. "I couldn't wear because my boobs would stick out," she says, "and my mum would gasp and say, 'You cannot wear that.

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'"There was a physical impact, too. Ranvia had back pain, her bra straps would dig into her, and exercise was difficult. Her ADHD also meant the "sensory and emotional intensity of constantly being aware of my body was unbearable".

By the age of 25, weighing 50kg with a 32JJ cup chest, Ranvia reached breaking point. Her lifeline, she says, was discovering a breast reduction Facebook group with nearly 6,000 members. It was through this group she did the majority of her research into the procedure, while waiting to hear back from her GP about having surgery on the NHS.

"Again and again, I saw women saying the same thing: 'I wish I had done it sooner'," says Ranvia. Six months after the doctor's appointment, and with no word from the NHS, she decided to go private. A few months after her surgery, Ranvia was then told she was eligible for the op on the NHS - which only happens in "exceptional circumstances", says breast surgeon Lyndsey Highton - because of her low BMI.

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RanviaThe first post-surgery photo, after almost 1kg was removed from each of Ranvia's breastsRanvia is one of thousands of women in the UK who have paid for private breast reductions - an increasingly popular procedure, according to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS). "When I woke up after surgery and looked down, I could see my stomach for the first time," she says. "I broke down in tears.

I had been carrying this physical and emotional weight for so many years - and suddenly I could see myself. " Data from BAAPS in April says for the first time, the number of people having breast reductions and implant removal procedures combined has surpassed those opting for bigger boobs. The number of breast enlargements in the UK in 2025 was down by 8%.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.