Selecting a Nursing Bra
Having a baby may be the most exciting time in a woman’s life, well worth the bodily changes that can prove troublesome at times. One of those changes begins in the first trimester of pregnancy, when most expectant mothers outgrow their pre-pregnancy bras (as well as their jeans). If you're having to buy new bras during your pregnancy, you might as well buy maternity shorts at that time. Nursing bras might not fit immediately after birth, when your breasts are swollen, but they'll fit at some point in your breast-feeding career.
You should be able to open the cup flaps with one hand. Being able to unfasten them with one hand is also nice. Remember, your other arm will be busy with a hungry baby. For discreet nursing in public places, choose a bra with fasteners that you can open without looking at them.
During breastfeeding, soft cups are recommended instead of bras with underwires. The reason for the soft cup recommendation is that underwires can pinch the underside of the breast and cause plugged ducts, which can lead to mastitis. If you feel the need for the extra support underwires provide, try wearing one for only a few hours at first. If you are not developing any plugged ducts, then try it for a little longer, always checking for plugged ducts. Under wires can also make it hard for the entire cup flap to fold down for breastfeeding. So, make certain you check this when you’re trying on the bra.
Nursing bras have cups that open, which allows you to open the flap on the cup so that baby can nurse while the rest of the bra stays in place. Here's what to remember when you shop for and use these bras.
Bras should fit comfortably. If the bra is too tight, it can contribute to plugged ducts and breast infections in the parts of the breast where the straps or underwires might block the flow of milk.
By the third or fourth week after delivering, you’ll probably start leaving the house more often. You’ll have lost a fair amount of the weight that you gained during pregnancy, and you’ll likely want to wear clothing that fits closer to your body.
Also at this time, you might want more support from your bra, depending upon your breast size. If your breasts aren’t extra large now, you might find that the comfortable bras you’ve been wearing so far are just perfect. If your breasts are fairly large now, you might need a bra with more support.
Like some conventional bras, one type of breastfeeding bra fastens between the cups at the front. This type is easy to open but perhaps a little to indiscreet for some mother.
Most women find they need to wear a bra because they leak breast milk in the early weeks, so you need a bra to hold the maternity tops in place.
Most women also find that their breasts change in size from hour to hour in the initial weeks post-partum. For this reason you will want a bra with a lot of stretch to accommodate this ever-changing breast size.
You’ll are interested a bra which has room in the cups and can be slightly snug round the ribcage. Most women realize that their ribcage size decreases as soon as they birth the baby along with their breasts increase.