Ever since the male species became obsessed with female breasts, things were never the same. Women suddenly became conscious of them - whether they were big enough and looked right. Fashion found a way of exploiting them and pop star Madonna gave new meaning to them with her outrageous outfits. Not surprisingly, the one thing most women are afraid of nowadays is when gravity finally catches up with them and pulls their breasts down to oblivion.

Hope, however, springs eternal, more so in troubled times. When Caresse Crosby - also known as Mary Phelps Jacobs - first patented the modern bra in November 1914, women believed their troubles were over. Tormented by thoughts of drooping breasts, many began wearing bras to prevent this tragedy from happening. And if sales are a good indication of how popular bras have become, the figures are enormously encouraging.

From Crosby's initial design made from two handkerchiefs sewn together, bras now come in many shapes and sizes to suit every woman's need. The industry has grown by leaps and bounds and is now worth over $20 million.

Ironically, although many were impressed by Crosby's invention when she wore it on the dance floor, sales were slow. Crosby managed to sell only one for a dollar and for a while it seemed that the bra was doomed to be forgotten.

Things suddenly changed when she sold the idea to the Warner Brothers Corset Company of America for $15,000. When it hit the stores, the bra suddenly became the most popular thing on earth - at least to most women anyway. That attitude remains to this day.

Still, are bras really worth the attention they're getting? Can they really help the breasts and prevent sagging? Or are they just a cute cosmetic cover-up?

While a good bra can make the breasts look better, Dr. Christine Haycock, a surgeon at New Jersey Medical School in Newark, said it has no effect whatsoever on their tendency to sag which is an inherited quality. She adds that a lifetime of bra wearing does little to preserve the natural curves of the breasts.

That wrong notion began when doctors earlier thought that the ligaments that support the breasts had to be aided by a bra to prevent a pendulous profile. But the truth turned out to be much different. How the ligaments react to gravity is largely a matter of skin elasticity, experts say. And how elastic your skin is all boils down to heredity. Thus, breasts that are doomed to droop at a certain time will eventually do so regardless of how long a woman wears a bra.

"It's true that most women's breasts lose their perk with age and extremely large-breasted women will, in general, be affected earlier and to a certain degree. But the reasons aren't related to ligaments or even strictly dependent on breast size. Much more important are inherited characteristics such as skin elasticity and breast density which reflects the ratio of lightweight fat to heavier glands," explained Deborah Franklin in Health magazine.

Another common myth is that exercising without a bra can damage the breasts. This has prompted female athletes to purchase unnecessary sports bras and similar clothing that supposedly protect the breasts. Their anxiety appears to be reasonable. Vigorous exercise, after all, puts a lot of strain on the breasts, causing them to bounce up and down in unimaginable ways.

But even under this kind of torture, Haycock said breasts can manage quite well and no harm is done. So, by and large, you don't need a sports bra unless you feel pain while exercising which comes from skin stretching.

If breast size is a problem, a good bra can improve the shape and contours of the breasts. For those who yearn for bigger breasts but are afraid of surgery, the Clevastin Natural Breast Enlargement System may help. This special herbal system combines the dual power of Clevastin capsules that are packed with breast-enhancing compounds similar to the ones produced naturally by your own body, and the Clevastin accelerator gel cream that penetrates deep into the outer layers of the breasts for maximum results. For more information, visit http://www.clevastin.com.