Bra People - please help me with maternity bra's

[Autumn12]

So, after one of the last threads I ascertained that instead of the 36A's I have been wearing I measure as a 32D.

I went into M&S today to try on materbity/nursing bra's but none fitted right.

My current bra is a 36A. It is worn on the loosest hooks but sdtill leaves red marks around my body, however, the cups gape especially when I lean forward.

I tried on several bra's in a 32D. They felt very tight around the body and it was a slight struggle to turn the bra around once on so that the hooks were at the back. It didn't feel like it was cutting off my circulation though.The cups did not gape but there was a strange part at the bottom of the cups that was empty. Like a narrow ridge of material that wasn't filled. I tried pulling the straps up but it didn't help. Was this a fit issue or because it was a nursing bra?

I also tried on 34D's but they didn't fit well at all in the cups.

[OneLittleLady]

I'd guess that it was possibly a style issue. Not every style suits everyone who tries it. A well fitting bra is meant to be tight otherwise you won't get the right support. I'm not really up on nursing bras so someone else can probably advise better but I would suggest trying other brands to see if you have the same problem. I've always found M&S to be quite small fitting myself and that's just in the standard bras so you might have more luck in another store.

[ooievaar]

My uneducated guess is that it's a style issue - aren't M&S's nursing bras all non-wired? I reckon that might make the shaping very different and lead to gaping, especially if it was one of the moulded ones. Avoid like the plague I say...

If you can bear to do a little light sewing, it's very easy to convert a normal bra (with non-padded cups) to a nursing bra. You can get nursing bra conversion kits on Ebay for a fiver or so. I've got a drawerful of pretty, underwired nursing bras I converted myself or got my mum to do in sizes (28F and thereabouts) that you don't get in shops to boot. Honestly, it's a cinch and will give you so much more choice of bras!

[JennySense]

I totally recommend www.bras4mums.co.uk/
There are several bra fitters around the country I believe and you can get a phone consultation

[HazleNutt]

I would find it very difficult to turn my bras around - just hook them the right way. And I agree, if you tried non-wired bras then you'll never get the same fit, so that might be the issue. There are wired nursing bras available, like Anita.

[SorrelForbes]

Ok, it could be a style issue or a size issue. Sometimes, if your boob is the wrong shape or too big for a cup it can't fit right into the bottom of the cup. This is called the 'orange in the glass' effect.

Having said all that, I don't rate M&S bras anyway

[Autumn12]

I've never been able to do my bras up without turning them round. I can't even undo them without turning the hooks to the front

They were moulded cup bras without underwiring. Orange in a cup just about sums it up actually.