Maternity Bra/Nursing Bra

[CupcakesHay]

Hi

I hope someone can help. I'm 15 weeks pregnant - and finally starting to get the pregnancy boobs. I lvie abroad, so can't get to shops til I'm home next in Sept.

I'm usually a 44dd. Can anyone recommend a good place to get a bra?

Are maternity and Nursing bras the same thing? How many will I need to buy?

Any advice would be great - thanks - as I'm a bit confused .

I recommend Bravissimo. They have an online fitting guide & I know they ship internationally.

You want to get the bra fitted so that it's on the tightest setting now to allow room for rib expansion.

Nursing bras usually have dop down cups to allow boob access for feeding. Maternity bras are just soft cup bras - underwired bras need to be very well fitted and changed regularly as tight wires can mean blocked milk ducts.

I'm assuming nursing bras are ones that have a hook at the front for breast feeding, I bought 2 from M&S although the range of sizes wasn't great, I was a 36 G although I think they only went to a 36 F!!!. I also bought a couple of normal bras from Sadie the Bra Lady at about 6 months pregnant, but these were quite expensive. You really need to go somewhere to be properly measured, Debenhams do a range of larger sizes although not sure about nursing bras.

Thanks for the advice. I'm doing my best not to wear bras at the moment (luckily work from home) - only wear when I go out or we have company!

Am I going to damage my milk ducts by wearing underwires for a month til I can get home?

You can wear underwires safely if fitted properly. When you put your bra on, grab your boob and haul it away from the side wires. The wires should not touch any of your breast tissue there.

You don't necessarily need maternity bras, soft cup bras or sports bras will do the same job. I had a nightmare finding maternity bras, so I have spent my pregnancy in non-wired bras, sports bras and nursing bras (luckily my size hasn't changed since 10 weeks so my nursing bras still fit!)

I wore underwired all the way through - self fitted though ordered on line from Bravissimo and no probs with milk ducts. Actually the only time I ever went to be fitted they sold me one that was way too big. Once you get an idea of what a proper fit is, it's easy to do by yourself. Rather than hauling your boobs into the cup, put the bra on then lean forward, hold the wire and jiggle it up and down. Hey presto - boobs in perfect position. I find the usual high street retailers complete pants for anything bigger than a DD cup and they look like something your granny would wear.

I bought two Anita underwired nursing bras and wore them in late pregnancy and for nursing. Go up to large sizes, very comfortable, and most importantly have a soft underwire suitable for preg / nursing so gives you good shape. Would def recommend.

Try nursingbra.co.uk - think they are the cheapest!

Oh and breastfed for a year with no probs with blocked milk ducts.