Our relationship with our breasts can be complicated and dependent on our experience from a young age. From their appearance and how they affect our body and body image to their ability to bring us pleasure and pain and to produce milk, our breasts often carry our story as women. And yet, we don't talk about them enough, we often don't touch them enough, and many of us don't know our breasts as well as we should.

Getting to know our breasts can be one of the most important things we do for our health. By looking at them and feeling them regularly, we establish our baseline or "normal" allowing us to better detect changes as they come up–whether it be breast pain and fullness that accompany shifts during the menstrual cycle, hormonal fluctuations during perimenopause and menopause, or new masses that should be evaluated to rule out breast cancer. The more we know our breasts, the better we can care for ourselves and our body.

We created this guide to bring together women who are passionate advocates of breast health to share current guidelines and red flags, as well as share ideas of how caring for our breasts can be a powerful tool to promote overall health and wellness. We are grateful, to have joining us, the wisdom and expertise of Dr. Monique Gary ("Dr. Mo"), a breast surgeon, educator, and advocate for wellness, who currently serves as the Medical Director of the Grand View Health cancer program and is CEO of Still Rise Farms. Tara Elmore and Lisa Lundy, the dynamic sister duo behind Complex Creatures, are on a mission "to make breast wellness essential to self-care". Their clean products were developed to transform and improve our relationship with our breasts. And last but not least, we cannot talk about breast health without talking about bras! We love them, we hate them, and most of us don't know what size we should be buying or how a bra should fit us;) Ali Schwebel of Vibrant Body Company, a brand that creates underwear, bras, and tanks free from potentially harmful levels of chemicals, offers tips on what to look for in a clean bra and how to measure to ensure a proper fit.