How necessary is a nursing bra?

[CoalCraft]

Hi all, I'm 32 weeks with first baby currently, planning to exclusively breastfeed if all goes according to plan.

I'm just wondering about the logistics of breastfeeding and clothing when out and about and looking to hear experiences there. I've read that the best bet is to have two tops, one that you pull up, the other down, but what about the bra? From practicing now it seems easy enough to pop the bra down under the breast, but I'm aware that what's easy now won't necessarily be easy while juggling a baby!

I've seen nursing bras online that essentially have a little window, but they're quite expensive and honestly I've had all my daily bras for do long that I'm not sure I'd get the right size and everything online. I don't want to fork out for something I'll find uncomfy and won't use.

So yeah, after all that waffle the question is simply... if you breastfed or are breastfeeding, were you able to do with a normal bra or was a nursing bra required? Any other tricks for discreet breastfeeding while out and about (I'm not embarrassed to be seen breastfeeding, but don't want to flash too much of my boobs to innocent strangers in the process).

You can buy cheap nursing bras that unclog on amazon, I think they are pretty essential personally. Too hard to wangle a cup of a normal bra under your boob, during lockdown, I mainly wear a vest and a top over but if I was going out I’d def wear a bra.
I also leaked loads in the early days, do not buy supermarket rubbish breast pads the only good ones that don’t irritate your nipples are the lansinoh ones. Good luck!

I had several, i cpuldnt habe done it with a normal bra i dont think. You can get converters for your normal bra though, so you add a clip to the strap and just unclip, if you can sew.

H and M do nursing vests, I used though a a lot with my first, no bra, but am small of boob.

Top tip - crack on and don't give a shit.

Once you're established it's fine (though you do damage the bras a bit), but in the early days you'll usually need the full boob out and also your breasts do get really full. If you're not huge busted, feeding tanks are amazing, H&m does some good ones I wore a lot under a cardigan in the early days then under a jumper once I knew what I was doing.

If you buy nicer ones, Hotmilk are quite pretty and more supportive, and both these and the tanks last well - mine have gone through 3 X extended bfing. They're sometimes listed second hand or unused used on eBay too.
Best of luck!

I don’t really need one for support but absolutely needed one to tuck pads into to prevent milk leaking all over my top in a really attractive way. So I would even sleep with a soft stretchy nursing crop top bra while I never usually sleep with a bra. Something to think about!!

I definitely needed them, but if you're not sure buy one and see how you get on.

I’m also wondering this. I’m 34weeks. I don’t have a large chest and generally just wear crop tops so was hoping to get away with them, a vest and something over the top. I think I’m going to wait till baby is here and if I think I need a nursing bra try and order online, but like you I don’t trust measuring myself! I also don’t know how big my boobs will get when/if my milk comes in. Such a minefield isn’t it?

In my experience, nursing bras have been essential. I got some reasonably priced ones on asos. Also bought some softer ones for bed which were great and kept reusable pads in place. Good luck with your breastfeeding journey x

I didn’t get on with them. I went for H&M vest style nursing tops under normal clothes. I found that worked much better for me than a nursing bra.

Definitely essential. Your baby will need good access and that’s really hard if you are trying to just pull a normal bra down.

I didn’t like the ones with windows much. I wear ones that almost fully fold down

@Flamingolingo do you mean you didn’t wear any bra at all? Or a normal bra under a nursing vest top?

Nope - I found the tops with in built support to be better for me. Much more comfortable and easier to feed in.

I think this depends a huge amount on your figure. My friend just stopped wearing a bra when she had the multiple top option going on, I needed something very supportive, with lots of room to manoeuvre, so only proper feeding bras worked for me.

Lots of people never use what they buy in advance, so I'd try to get some from ebay/fb marketplace and see what works.

If you feed for more than a few months you may need to change, as often you won't stay the same size all the way through the feeding process. The bras I bought when pregnant were way too big on the ribcage to ever use after I'd given birth, my cup size went up dramatically during pregnancy and remained huge for a few months, but gradually reduced back towards normal size after that.

Couldn’t manage without a nursing bra with my years of breast feeding.
Essential here but I’ve got huge norks so there’s no way of pulling a normal bra down under mine.

www.marksandspencer.com/santoni-non-wired-plunge-nursing-bra/p/clp60376230

I had these for the first couple of weeks, non wired, not cup or back fitted, soft but give a bit of support and padding.

Then went to bravissimo to get measured but by that point you’d have more of an idea what you wanted. Bought 1 bra from bravissimo then bought the others from hot milk for much cheaper. Am still breastfeeding at 16 months and now back in my old bras as my back has shrunk back down.

I didn’t use them, just sports bras. They were amazing!

IME it depends on what style of bra you usually wear. A half cup or balcony style might be viable. But, underwires aren't the most comfortable thing when you're full of milk. And a lot of styles with fuller coverage don't pull back enough. I preferred the type with the little clips on the shoulder strap. I'm not sure about timings to get a nursing bra but I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will be able to help. 32 weeks is definitely too early to get them though. I had some "sleep bras" which were essentially tight crop tops which were pretty good, & you could probably take a gamble on a bit sooner if you want to be prepared.

Personally, even with my relatively small chest, I wouldn't have just gone without. It's not just support we're talking. They also hold nipple pads in place. If you're BFing, you'll leak. Possibly quite a lot. Unless you're stuck to the sofa & alternately feeding your baby & pumping every few hours, & have a ready supply of clean tops, & never go out, or are willing to smell of cheese, you'll need nipple pads. TBH they barely stay in place in a bra, I can't imagine how far they'd wander without one.

Regarding discreet BFing while out - just find a seat in a corner somewhere, maybe with your back to the room if you prefer, & get on with it. Most people don't even notice. I really wouldn't bother with a cover. My mother tried to cover me up a few times & DD hated it, she would yank her head back without releasing the suction first, not nice. More people noticed my yowls of pain than ever noticed DD quietly feeding!

I think nursing bras are pretty essential, but whatever you go for make sure there’s no wires in it

In the early days he's. I second Hotmilk because they're pretty and you can do with feeling a bit pretty rather than the more functional offers from high street stores. Sleep bras are also excellent things, mainly for stashing nursing pads (I switched to reusable ones and never looked back, so much more absorbent and comfortable, I found that the disposable sticky ones were never really that sticky anyway). I favoured the crop top type sleep bras for sleeping in, think the best ones I bought were from mothercare I'm afraid but I'm sure I also picked some up from primark. It took me a long time to wean myself off wearing a bra at night because they were so comfortable, even when there was no leaking at all!

Once I got feeding established then pretty much any bra would do-underwire is ok to use as long as the bra is fitted right so just make sure it's not digging in if you do want a bit of underwire as that can lead to blocked ducts etc

And yes YES to two tops, turns pretty much any top into a breastfeeding one, just wear a vest top underneath and you're sorted, one up and one down. Just don't make the mistake I made in the early days and merrily leave the house in a dress and a vest top then realise it was either flash my entire boob or flash my pants...went for the boob. No regrets. I imagine most of the south east of England have seen my nipples whilst I was trying to establish feeding with two tongue tied babies, you do find that after the first couple of times you don't really care that much anymore, there's soon a head in the way and it's just...nipple. Good luck!

Nursing bras were the only piece of breastfeeding clothing or equipment that I brought in the decade or so that I breastfed for in total. Oh and a couple of packets of breastpads, some of which I think might still be in the bottom of my wardrobe 20 years later.
I don't suppose they are absolutely essential - nothing is needed by everyone- but I certainly found nursing bras made life easier. Maybe just buy one to start with and see how it goes? One person's "essential" is another person's " complete waste of money" so I'd suggest buying the minimum until baby is here and you know what's working for you.

I certainly couldn’t have managed with my normal bras, they would have been far too small and very uncomfortable with milk full boobs. Also would have leaked into them.

I wore something like PeigiSue’s link, but mine were from JoJomamanbebe. More of a crop top than a bra. I also had some soft thin cross over front ones for sleeping in (due to needing to wear pads).

Honestly I think the key to discreet feeding is not really about clothes, it’s about technique. If you can get a good latch and a position that’s comfy for you both then bf is pretty discreet whatever you’re wearing. I could never manage it as DD had undiagnosed tongue tie and kept slipping off and having to be relatched all the time ... not discreet especially with fast let down!

Essential.

I’m a 32B, so fairly small and normal bras just pop back up pushing on the baby’s mouth. You’ll be fed up of that in less than a day! Also great points from others on breast pads, that will be more faff and bulk to pull aside in a normal bra. They’ve been invented for a reason!

I agree with PP about the H&M tops with a cardigan. In general I preferred side access rather than lifting a flap of material for access, and I also often wore a button down top.
Somewhere, and I can't find it ATM, is a guide to buying maternity bras based on your pre-pregnancy bust size.
Can I also recommend Little Lamb washable breast pads.

You also do not need a nursing apron / shield. A regular scarf (not a winter woollen one!) works fine.

I had the ones with a clip on the shoulder strap. Very handy. I bought one pack of breast pads and never used them. Not a leaker for some reason!

Absolutely vital here! I couldn’t feed in a normal bra. DD has been EBF throughout and now 14 months.

I bought 2 BF tops which helped my confidence in the early days but other than that I didn’t need any special clothes. But the bras were essential. I have soft wrap ones at night and various sorts for daytime.

I’m only feeding a few times a day now (and nights) but still can’t imagine it working with a normal bra. Actually dreading the day. i have to go back to them!