Maternity bras for large breasts

[TruffleMama]

Hi all

Can anyone recommend good quality, supportive, comfortable maternity bras for large breasts?

I'm 5'2" and my bust size prior to pregnancy was 32E.
However, I'm currently 16 weeks pregnant and my breasts have ballooned and look absolutely ridiculous! They are massive and I feel like I look like a cartoon. I really don't like them and I'm very self-conscious of them. I have visible bump now and it doesn't cause me any issues when trying to sleep.. but my breasts make me so uncomfortable

Most underwear shops are still closed so options are a bit limited at the moment. I think I will visit M&S for a fitting to find out my current correct size (watermelon!)

Please.. any recommendations on maternity bras for large breasts??

Thanks in advance!
TruffleMama xx

https://www.bravissimo.com/collections/nursing-and-maternity-bras/

I've had the Nursing Sleep Bra, Padded Sleep Bra & Freya Pure Nursing Bra from Bravissimo.

https://uk.hotmilklingerie.com/collections/bestsellers/products/my-necessity-nursing-bra-jet-black this one is my holy grail!

I'm a 34F

I had an EE/F cup before pregnancy and mine have absolutely ballooned and I haven’t been able to wear anything with underwire since about 16 weeks. Not a nursing bra but I’ve got a couple of amazing fuller bust sports bras from Sainsbury’s in a G cup that have saved my life so far!! I’ve also got a few fuller bust wireless bras from ASOS that do the job too

@TruffleMama I'm a 38E and looked everywhere for maternity bras! The only place I could find ones that were okay for me was in Marks and Spencer's

Asda and Sainsburys do bigger cup bras without having to spend a fortune!

I got mine from M&S but my size is literally the last size they go up to in maternity (36G) in my local one anyway. I'm a bit worried that when i give birth and milk starts coming in i'll get even bigger.. but we shall see 🤞🏻

I found it incredibly difficult to find bras that fit my size!

I went up to a 34 K after having my daughter and could only find maternity bras in bravissimo. Very comfy though

" I think I will visit M&S for a fitting to find out my current correct size (watermelon!)"

Please don't visit M&S, they are notoriously terrible at measuring for bras.

Go to Bravissimo. Meanwhile, if you want to measure yourself, try Boob or Bust.

I have similarly huge boobs and I find the Cake Sugar Candy bra very comfy and surprisingly supportive for a non-wired bra. I have the nursing bra version but I think there is one without nursing clips too. It's quite pricey but you can find it slightly cheaper online... and it's so worth it!

The Panache Sophie bra is quite pretty but I find it gives me a monoboob effect.

Try a few though, we are all different shapes and sizes and the bra that fits you best won't necessarily be the one that fits me best.

Bravado (different company to bravissimo) are excellent and have good instructions for measuring yourself (and the measurements don't have to be perfect, they factor in that you will go up and down a bit during pregnancy and breastfeeding).

I have 32Fs and despaired until I found www.nursingbra-shop.co.uk/ recommended on here.

OP take a second to appreciate that some of us have what you call ridiculous cartoon watermelon boobs for our whole lives, not just the few months around a baby coming.

Freya pure and hot milk ones are the best I've found, I like flexible underwire otherwise it turns into a monoboob sweatfest. They're all expensive. If you're not averse to second hand ones you can often get bargains on eBay, people often use them only briefly or get the wrong size and need to sell on.

Pretty soon your belly will outswell your boobs and it'll seem less weird.

Another recommendation for Bravado. I’m at 32E too and only 5”2 so similar sizing to you. They are really comfortable and supportive and will do from maternity all the way through to breastfeeding.

I’ve been wearing these www.marksandspencer.com/2-pack-non-wired-full-cup-seamfree-crop-tops/p/clp20138158?color=BLACK/WHITE
Didn’t seem worth buying bras when my boobs are still growing!

Congratulations on your pregnancy.

I got several saggy white bras from the supermarket. Didn't give much support to my pregnant k cups.

The best thing was the hot milk bra £££ but worked. I think I had 3.

@DemolitionBarbie

I wrote my post not with the intention of offending anyone. It wasn't an attack on anyone else and I hope no one perceives it as such.

I commented that my breasts look ridiculous and I feel like I look like a cartoon as that how I personally feel about my own body (no one else's). "Watermelon" was an attempt to try and make light of a subject I have hang-ups about.

I can appreciate what it is like to have very large breasts at all times other than just during pregnancy. I'm 5'2", prior to my pregnancy, I was size 6 with 32E breasts, but I had only been a size 6/32E for the past few years.. before that I was a size 12 with 36G breasts. I have always felt very self-conscious about my breasts and I have never felt that they are in proportion to the rest of my body. They have been the subject of much unwanted attention
over the years such as teasing, nicknames, inappropriate comments and sexual touching. My personal feelings towards my breasts has been exasperated during pregnancy.

If anyone has been offended by my comments, I apologise. This was not my intention and I am sorry xx

I agree with not going to M&S to be measured. Last time I went they sold me a bra in 34D. A few days later, Bravissimo measured me as being a 32FF - quite the difference, even allowing for different brands!

I'm currently 8 months pregnant and wearing maternity bras that I bought from bravissimo 4 years ago to breastfeed in. They've become a little tight - proof of how much your body can change before, during and after each pregnancy - as the shop assistant warned me at the time. I've put a little bra extender on the hooks and they're now absolutely fine, but I know I'll need to get measured again once the baby is born.

If you can get to a store to be measured it's definitely worth it, although the online service is great too. I've been to several different stores and all the staff seem big chested too, so they get it! And they are honest about which of their brands do and don't have more generous sizing (Panache is quite small) so you really do get the best fit.

I know I sound like I should be on commission, but I swear I'm not - I've just had 10+ years of great service!

"I was size 6 with 32E breasts, but I had only been a size 6/32E for the past few years.. before that I was a size 12 with 36G breasts."

That sizing doesn't sound right.
Size 6 should be 26 or 28 back (because 26 is virtually impossible to find).
Size 12 should be 32 back. 36 is 2 band sizes too big.

It is hard having large breasts and even bigger during pregnancy, I hear you. But the right size bra does help.

I was a 36GG and was recommended to get a decent regular bra when I went for a fitting as the nursing bras in particular wouldn't give me decent support.

I got quite good at shimmying a strap down an arm for feeding.

I'm a 28DD/E normally I switched to size 8 DD+ bralets from M&S at about 18 weeks which saw me through to about 30 weeks.
I then switched to size s nursing bras from asda. I have measured myself as a 32F at 36 weeks and the back is okish on the smallest hook and without the padding they fit in the cup. They aren't supportive enough for long term use but will see me through to the end of my pregnancy and hopefully until after my milk has come in and my boobs settle down. I don't want to spend a fortune on a bra that will be the wrong size in a few weeks.
I usually use brastop for bras and they have some nursing bras too.

It's fine to wear regular (wired) bras for breastfeeding once you've established BF and your size has settled ie stopped fluctuating so much. But you shouldn't wear wires at the beginning as a poor fit can be uncomfortable and possibly cause mastitis.

During pregnancy it is advisable to wear non-wired or flexi wire, because the body is still changing.

I'm pregnant and really miss being able to wear normal bras but there's no point wearing wired bras, they're uncomfortable and even if I could get a good fit it wouldn't last long before my size changed again.

@NameChange30

"That sizing doesn't sound right.
Size 6 should be 26 or 28 back (because 26 is virtually impossible to find).
Size 12 should be 32 back. 36 is 2 band sizes too big."

Size 6 was in reference to my waist/clothes size, not my bust.
Just prior to pregnancy I was wearing size 6 jeans/trousers/skirts and 32E bras.

A few years back I was wearing size 12 jeans/trousers/skirts and 36G bras.

Hope that makes more sense.

This was getting me down for so long as no bras fitted or were supportive enough...

Found nursing’s bras from bravado and it’s been a life changer!!
uk.bravadodesigns.com/

"Size 6 was in reference to my waist/clothes size, not my bust."

Yes I understand but if the rest of your body is a size 6, it's very unlikely that your band size (the underbust measurement) is a 32. You would have to have a disproportionately wide rib cage in relation to the rest of you.

Top/dress size is relevant to bra size for that reason, although of course if your cup size is big then a size 6 might be too tight around the bust even if your waist is very slim.

It's not quite a simple as size X as y back size. I was a 28inch back from size 2-6 then went up to a 30inch back at a size 6-8 pre-pregnancy, and 32 inch back in pregnancy still fitting into some of my size 6-8 clothes.

Sent too soon.... so as a size 6 I have had between a 28 and 32 inch back.

@Superscientist - thank you for helping to try and explain this as I'm clearly not doing a very good job. We are all unique and waist size is not always directly proportionate to chest/rib/bust size.

@NameChange30
"You would have to have a disproportionately wide rib cage in relation to the rest of you."
...basically, yes. My top half is disproportionately wider than my waist. My hips are also not very wide. So yes, my rib cage is not in proportion to the rest of my body. I've been very self-conscious of this ever since I can remember.

My weight has fluctuated over the years going from a size 12 waist with a 36G bust to a size 6 waist with a 32E bust. Prior to pregnancy, I was wearing size 6 jeans/skirts but I'd mostly wear size 12 tops to accommodate my bust. Hence why I have always felt my bust is so out of proportion to the rest of my body.