Maternity Bras - where can I get a pretty one or should I just give up?!

[JoJo32]

I'm new to this site and a first time pregnant person. On a recent trip to M&S I thought I'd better get my bra size measured (if only to see if pregnancy has blessed me with bigger boobs yet or not) where upon the matron-esque lady in the fitting dept suggested I purchase non wired maternity bras...

Is it me or do all maternity bras look like 2 jock straps sewn together?

Is there somewhere I can get pretty undies at roughly M&S prices??

Any suggestions much appreciated!

NCT Catalogue are feminine,sexy and cotton

Unfortunately well-made, supportive, non-underwired bras which are also pretty are veyr difficult to find, especially if your boobs grow to generous proportions. And it is important that your boobs are well-supported, as it's the growth and weight-gain in pregnancy that can make them sag afterwards, rather than the breastfeeding.

Why not get mostly the conventional maternity bras or ordinary sports bras (try John Lewis, I find their range is better than M&S, as is their fitting service), but get yourself one or two 'pretties' for occasional use.

And if you think the maternity bras are boring - wait until you see the delights of feeding bras .

figleaves or bravissimo

elle mcpherson intimates are quite nice (and pricy)
nursing bras don't look so bad once your milk has come in and you fill them out! needed some quick so bought some mothercare ones, but will splash out on the elle mc ones in a few weeks

I think it will depend on your bra size - Bravissimo is good but only caters for larger sizes (D or DD and above, I think). It might be worth visiting the lingerie section of a big department store like House of Fraser as they will do lines from different manufacturers. Alternatively, try looking at the full range of non-wired bras in M&S rather than just the maternity ones. A quick search here might uncover something less hammock like!

you don't really need a special maternity bra though

Just has another thought! Isn't there a chain of high street lingerie shops called Contessa? I think that they stock loads of different manufacturers, styles, types of bras. Have a look here

Health warning on Contessa!

I've just had a quick look at their non-wired bras - they seem to do lots of variations on one style and that style's name is Doreen.

I bought some really lacy maternity bras from past season M & S from ebay. They are great and not like bolster holsters as I had before. Even found some matching ish knickers with a pale blue one which makes a nice set.

La Redoubt(sp) catelogue had some nice spotty ones a while ago in their maternity section

I got mine from figleaves after trying them from everywhere else, the elle mcphearson intimates range, look online for promotional codes first cos i saved quite a bit of money this way. Bravissimo ones look ok and have seen that Topshop and Agentprovocateur (pricy tho) do maternity/nursing bras now!!!

I got mine from figleaves after trying them from everywhere else, the elle mcphearson intimates range, look online for promotional codes first cos i saved quite a bit of money this way. Bravissimo ones look ok and have seen that Topshop and Agentprovocateur (pricy tho) do maternity/nursing bras now!!!

I got a couple from JoJoMamanBebe, similar price to M&S, cotton with lace round the tops, I like them . Only go up to D or DD iirc though.

Thanks Prettycandles, I think the thought of them gravitating towards my knees was more of a scare than the dodgy bras!

Just glad I only have this to stress about...for now!

H and M do some nice ones, so do new look though havent tried them on so cant vouch for supportiveness, an d so on!

PMSL at the Doreen. I am pg for the second time, and am currently wearing my bras from last time - Triumph Doreens!! It was all John Lewis could offer me last time, the most mortifying thing is that they're the range that my mil swears by!
And they are horrid. I'm waiting to go to bravissimo when I'm in Glasgow next month so I can get properly fitted for new ones.
Hope you find some.

I can't face the thought of bra-fittings with children in tow, or of trying to fit the fitting into the tiny space of child-free time I have when they're both at school/pre-school, so I'm going to try out the NCT's bra agent service. Hopefully I'll have many months of bfing in which to try other bras and widen my range. I'll just accept boring stuff until then.

It's very annoying that the prettier ranges (eg Elle Macpherson etc) only fit smaller women. There aren't that many bfing mum with boobs no larger than DD, surely?!