For my 40th birthday, I mustered the courage to do something that I'd wanted since my 20's. At the time that I seriously began considering reconstruction, I wasn't familiar with the term "augmentation." My research process began with reading internet articles and advanced to peer reviewed journals from the Johns Hopkins Library. As I educated myself, I questioned my gynecologist and nurse practitioner at the gynecologist's office. I was very timid and felt some degree of guilt for even considering reconstruction. 

We want you to feel beautiful. We want you to love your breasts and your body, to feel pretty. Women who have frustration, anxiety or discomfort with their breasts live with that feeling everyday. Getting dressed, wearing stylish clothes, putting on a bathing suit create “silent discomfort”. This feeling, not known or obvious to others makes you feel unattractive or self-conscious. And if you don’t feel pretty, how could you expect to feel sexy or relaxed in an intimate setting?