Bra advice - are nursing bras necessary? What to wear at night if BF?

[WantingBaby1]

As the subject suggests, I'm hoping for some bra advice.

I'm a 38D having grown a couple of sizes during my 6 months of pregnancy. I'm hoping to BF when baby arrives. Do I absolutely need nursing bras or can I continue in underwired M&S t-shirt bras and just flip/pull the cup down when I nurse? I've found these are the only things that are comfortable - I hate non-wired and haven't found any drop-cup/nursing bras that are underwired.

Also, if I do manage to BF, what do I wear at night? Does anyone have any good recommendations for tops/bras that allow for room for a breast pad in case of any leaks during the night? Otherwise I fear I'll be changing the bedding on a daily basis once my milk comes in.

It is recommended that you change into non-wired bras toward the end of pregnancy, as wearing underwired bras/too small bras can interfere with breast tissue growth I think.

I wore non-wired bras from Bravado and they were not beautiful but were incredibly comfortable. I wore them day and night (obviously changing frequently!) with pads in. If my boobs got sore and I wanted a break I slept on a towel.

I did occasionally wear a normal bra and flip the cup down but honestly it was less comfortable for me and for the baby and made it less easy to be discreet.

Go to a good shop and get fitted and see what you find comfortable.

I think with all the challenges of early BF you really need a bra which is designed for access unless you're happy with no bra at all.

That said, there is no point getting measured for a fancy nursing bra until you've given birth, as your ribs tend to change shape once the baby is out.

What I did was to buy a couple of cheap (ish) night time nursing bras, which look a bit like sports bras (flattering ... ) and cover a range of sizes. They then did me until I could actually get measured for a bra I wanted. You can wear underwires, but you'll need to be very confident that the wire sits on your ribs, not the breast tissue, because any protrusion into the breast tissue can cause blocked ducts which can be painful and turn into mastitis.

You will find your breast tissue is less sensitive after birth but your nipples won't be, so you might find that you have more freedom in terms of bras than what you find comfortable now. But IME you do need something to hold nursing pads in place in the early weeks - this does settle down.

I'd say yes, you do need nursing bras, I would have found it a faff raking half a bra off for each feed. You can get 7mderwired nursing bras, this one is from jojo but the same brand has some others I think: www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/emma-jane-underwired-maternity-nursing-bras-b6368.html?gclid=CPu89IT6vNMCFUQq0wod3l0FuA
I was like you when pregnant and hated non wired bras, even cried about wearing a non wired so spent the whole pregnancy in wired. I'm now mostly in non wired nursing ones, but have got them all from specific maternity places (jojo, mothercare etc) as I find they tend to fit better and be more supportive.

As for the night, I wear sleep bras and pop breast pads in, I find them comfy enough and no leaking!

If you look at a site like bras4mums, there are lots of options there for sleep bras. I'd get a few, as I found I needed very soft bras until I stopped changing size so much between before and a after feeds, so I used them during the day as well for the first few weeks. After that, I used them to avoid milk leakage at night and for comfort.

You can wear wired bras when feeding / pregnant BUT it's really important that they fit well, and the wire isn't pressing on any breast tissue, as that can cause problems like blocked ducts. So I'd get them fitted in person, if they're underwired, at somewhere where they know what they're doing (not M&S). You may find you want softer bras at first anyway, because of the changing size so much between feeds, but that you want to go back to underwires when things have settled down.

Definitely try to get something soft and non-wired to start with at least. I also think that having the clips that enable you to move the cup right out of the way will be more comfortable than trying to squeeze your boob out of a normal bra cup - in the early days when you're both getting the hang of breastfeeding you need good access to the whole boob. I hated non-wired bras pre-pregnancy, but have managed with Mothercare ones with no issues. I wore my bra at night with breast pads in for the first couple of months until I'd stopped leaking at night.

I HATE proper nursing bras. I find them awkward and uncomfortable. HOWEVER I was an A cup prior to pregnancy and am now around a C cup (maybe...haven't been measured lately). Also, my breasts go from A cup size to C cup size in the space of 24 hours depending on my milk supply issues - I would need multiple different sized bras each day. Not sure if they would provide enough support for your size during the day but I would suggest something like these overnight, I wear these 24/7:
m.asos.com/au/cake-lingerie/cake-lingerie-milk-sleeping-bra/prd/7361904?iid=7361904&clr=Navy&SearchQuery=&cid=19764&pgesize=100&pge=1&totalstyles=146&gridsize=2&gridrow=31&gridcolumn=1

I didn't need nursing bras. Used them initially, but then discovered that with most bras it's just as easy to slide the strap down the shoulder and hoik the boob out. Would get a couple of those stretchy types for the early days though, as your boob size will go up and down quite considerably. But perfectly possible to manage with normal bras after they have settled down.