Feeding Bras: Should you buy many? Is it okay to sleep in them?
“Feeding bras? Why are you even wearing a bra? Don’t you know it will chafe your nipples?”
“Come on, nothing looks as stupid as a nursing bra. Want to look more frumpy after having the baby?”
“Go bra-less, right! You’re not going out so soon; are you?”
“Feeding bras are expensive lingerie. Not worth the temporary investment.”
Hey, new mommas! Motherhood is beautiful. And breastfeeding is as physically overwhelming as happy it makes you feel. So, like all the gyaan that’s tossed at you left, right & center about how to make your breastfeeding journey hassle-free, you have people telling you often about why you should be wary of investing in nursing bras. Don’t you?
BTW, irrespective of pregnancy & baby, most of us do not like wearing our bras on for like, 24×7. Nothing feels as liberating as unhooking your bra and throwing it off into the laundry pile, I know right?!
So, here’s the BIG QUESTION again, do you really need nursing bras/ feeding bras?
Well, let’s quickly look at the how your breasts change through pregnancy and the birth of your baby.
Size
Most commonly from the second trimester of pregnancy, your breasts start to become slightly bigger, fuller & even sensitive to touch; sore. As a result, although your girth/circumference may not increase par measurement, your cup size is just not going to be the same. In fact, you can expect a few more C’s or D’s in the coming months.
More Sagging
Now that your breasts are getting larger and heavier, they will tend to sag, if not until the present.
Milk Ducts
Your milk ducts progress rapidly through the later months of pregnancy & a lot of women experience ejection of milk or colostrum from their nipples during this period.
Obviously considering the above 3 major changes, your breasts are not going to fit well in your regular bra anymore, at least for another year or so.
SO…
Does a bigger bra size or cup size solve your problem?
Sadly, NO.
While you MAY be able to manage with a bigger cup size of the regular bra until the end of your gestation, you’re likely to struggle with that once the baby comes in.
Why REGULAR BRAS cannot replace NURSING BRAS
- Underwire bras may possibly block or suppress the milk ducts in lactating women. This may potentially lead to problems related to breast engorgement, pain or even mastitis. Particularly, if you happen to wear them for most part of the day.
- The fabric of regular bras isn’t necessarily tailored for you to feel comfortable in, even if it’s pure cotton. When you’re breastfeeding, random leaks are a daily affair, at least for the initial months after birth. Investing in separate breast pads is only going to wear you out of the number of times you’d have to change them. More so, from my experience, the fabric of regular bra cups doesn’t feel as comfortable until your milk supply is regulated. That’s because, until then, your breasts are going to leak very often making it annoying to change the bra over & over again to avoid nipple or areolar irritation due to the dampness.
- If you’re looking at pumping your breastmilk often during the day, it is going to be a tad difficult with the regular bra with having to frequently change your dress. Most of the feeding bras come with double-up cups; which makes it super-convenient to detach the regular cup & stick to the feeding cup. So that you don’t have to face the ordeal of removing your top everytime and unhook your bra before pumping, in order to avoid spillovers or the pump accidentally falling off the breast. Oopsie!
Is it OKAY to sleep wearing a nursing bra (feeding bra)?
Honestly, it depends on your comfort preference.
For most of us, bedtime is the only time when we can let our breasts free from too much of cuddling in their bra cups or the uni-boob sports bras. Pregnancy & the lactation phase causes your breasts to sag due to the extra weight that they bear along the Cooper’s ligaments.
It is these ligaments that give the breasts the shape. However, pregnancy does bring some stretch marks. To some extent wearing a bra most of the time does help prevent breasts from sagging over time. Given the above purposes that a nursing bra is typically meant to serve, they’re best to support you until you wean your baby. While sleeping in them or not is entirely your prerogative, I personally believe that they’re extremely useful at least in the first few weeks of postpartum, when your breasts end up leaking a lot of milk even while you’re asleep.
Well, ladies! Gone are the days of those really boring & ugly conical feeding bras that put you off. Feeding bras have evolved rather magically with time and the best part about them is that you can shop online for the most comfortable and stylish nursing bras while structuring your maternity wear & couture in this pandemic. I’m sure, you wouldn’t want to part from them even after having weaned your child (unless you’re dropping sizes after that, sexy lady! 😉 )
I would recommend you to buy nursing bras of TWO different cup sizes, which would work extremely well both during pregnancy & after the baby comes along. 🙂
Would love to know what you have to say about this.
Wishing you a happy motherhood!
Disclaimer – This is a sponsored post. However, all the views are my own stemming from my personal experience. I never recommend products or services that I haven’t familiarized with or used myself. You may read my full disclosure here.
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I actually found simple cotton non-underwire bras from M&S and H&M to be way better and more comfortable than the feeding bras which had hooks etc. I did have to buy new bras, but not necessarily from the maternity section.
Very helpful and insightful post for lactating moms. Nursing bras must be chosen with caution.
Very informative post for new moms.