Are Mothercare nursing bras any good?

[Marabou]

I'm 36+5 and going to Mothercare tomorrow to do the final baby shop. I suffer from bad SPD and it's not easy for me to move around on public transport so I figured I'd get fitted for a nursing bra while I'm there. Just wondered what people generally think about their nursing bras.. Would I be better off just ordering online?

I went to bravissimo and was measured and bought one of their bras but then using the size they gave me as a guide I ordered a mother care twin pack and they are great x

If you go instore, join their mum and baby club. It's just a case of filling in a form and they give you a pack containing vouchers, one of which is for (IIRC) £5 off if you spend £30 on lingerie.

Do be aware though that if your abdomen hasn't dropped yet your ribcage may be a little bigger than it will be after the birth. I went in to get fitted at 37w and was told they prefer people to get fitted at 38-39w. I believe that in general, post-birth your ribcage will be narrower but your boobs will need more room.

Personally I didn't think their nursing bras were much good. They have sleep-style bras which don't have cups, they're more like a short vest top, and normal cupped bras, one described as firm control. I'm an E cup at the mo and none seemed to offer much support. Some places advertise that their bras can cope with the daily increase and decrease of size that occurs when you are BF, so that may be something to consider when choosing one.

I personally think they are shite, BUT, I think bra's and how they fit are quite a personal thing.

Just like normal bra's you seem to have to make expensive mistakes to eventually fin the ones that suit you best.

I think the best ones to get for the early weeks are the non-formed-cup sports bra type. They seem to cope with your cup size going up and down much better than any other style, however they're not the prettiest.

I use the sports bra type ones at first and then when my boobs/milk settle down I get some prettier ones.

They're horrid and badly made.
Natural Birth Centre did some lovely soft very forgiving ones i recall.

am a marks and spensers girl myself

Thanks for the advice! I had been reading some mixed reviews about their bras and that's why I wasn't too sure what to do.. Oh I'll definitely join their club!

I was a 34E pre-pregnancy so will be needing quite a lot of support I presume. I had a look on their sleep bras on their website and none of them really looked supportive enough.. I think I'll get fitted for one anyway and perhaps buy a few just to get me sorted for the first few weeks and then when things settle down I'll have a better idea of what to expect/what I need.. Also I'll hopefully be able to move about more easily, as right now it's a struggle just to get out of bed.

They were rubbish but are a lot better since Blooming Marvellous was bought out by them so they do the clothing. Don't buy nursing bras yet. I bought 2 then when dd was 2 weeks old and milk had come in my boobs completely changed and I had to fork out for more.

I'm 34F (18w pg with twins) and sleep bra is supportive enough - I tried it on and it's so comfy. With dd1 3 years ago they didn't do the job at all. Totally different now.

Some M&S stores stock them but I'd make sure you go somewhere to try them on.

Oh so you think I shouldn't buy any at all at this stage? Wouldn't it be difficult to manage with none at all..?

rubbish, didn't get the support I needed. Was a large size though.

Go to Bravissimo asap!!

Hm, I guess the nearest Bravissimo store to me would be in Ealing, but to be honest, I think any extra travel will have to wait until bubs is here..

I thought MC bras were awful. 08458 100 100.

Ring NCT bra fitting service and do it in the comfort of your own home!

Ou wau, thanks! Didn't know such a service existed!

I'm going to try the NCT fitting service this time.. I had MC nursing bras with DC1 and they were rubbish. not supportive and digging in in all the wrong places, even when they were the size that I had been measured for.

I went into mothercare to get measured a couple of weeks ago to get a general idea of size, and the girl in there was useless. told me I was a 36G. Uhh. I wear very well fitting bras from a lingerie store in our town in 32E at the moment, and I had tried 34E in Mothercare to see what it would be like (waay too big), so I don't trust that measurement. Nevermind that they don't have much choice in regards to style and support for the less common sizes.

Personally this time round, being on the rather large norkage size myself (went from 32f to 34hh) I will make do with the old maternity bras I have and as soon as they settle down will get some well fitting under-wired bras and convert them to nursing bras. I have read that so long as the wires don't dig into the breast tissue, i.e. they fit properly you shouldn't have any problems. I'll use the catches from the old bras and a piece of ribbon! I hated the poor support, the rash I got from poor support and vainly the mono boob look.
Having said that, best of a bad bunch are N.C.T. own brand, so their home fitting service sounds great for you.

Oh god, they are awful. No support at all!

Another one here who found MC nursing bras dreadful.
Poor support - do NOT wash well - crappy, saggy, stretchy - urgh.

I have some designed by Miriam Stoppard from Debenhams - they are fine, but prefer my basic M&S ones :)

NCT bra service is great. Rang up on Tuesday, nice lady came round with box of samples the next day, found one that suited, she ordered me what I wanted, and they arrived on the Saturday. There were about 6 styles I tried, and bought one that is designed to change back and cup size, and can feed in.They stock several brands, as well as their own brand.

I used Tescos cheapy ones. However I am small up top- even when breast feeding- so not sure if they would offer much support for more luckily endowed ladies!

A few friends used the NCT one and found it great. We all had bad experiences with Mothercare. Bravissimo are also really good, if you want to feed for a year or more I'd say a good investment.

I just used a couple of the crop top like bras from Bravado (can buy these in various mother/baby shops, I think I got mine from Blooming Marvellous) and then when things settled down I got a couple of nice Hot Milk bras. I'm small though so haven't found I needed much support.

I bought a two pack of cotton ones from MotherCare, the clipping/nursing aspect is good, but no support or shape at all. Very disappointing.

I also got a sleep/sports bra type one as mentioned by other posters, and agree its best for the very early days shape changes. Also agree it looks hideous but its all about comfort when the milk comes in/getting breastfeeding established.

I bought it online from Boots - no sizing problems as it is very elasticy and adjustable.

www.boots.com/en/Emma-Jane-Next-Generation-Nursing-Bra-black_1206697/

A lone voice, but I found them fine. I am not massive however, so that might be why...

Thanks for all your tips ladies! I ended up just getting two sleep tops which I'll pack in my hospital bag and then I think I'll use the NCT fitting service after the baby is here.. I joined the Baby&Me club and uised the £5 voucher plus another £15 one off from the total bill so as we were paying the whole lot on a gift card we ended up spending £0 and are now happily waiting for everything to be delivered free to our house :)!

JoJoMamanBebe are much better than Mothercare I found.

MC ones, unsupportive, uncomfortable and give monoboob. Agree re JJMB, there was an Emma Jane one which has UNDERWIRE suitable for nursing. Joy!