when should i not use an underwired bra?

[blondie14]

Help!!! I am 5 wks pregnant with my second child (ds is nearly 3)and not sure if and when i should not use my underwired bra's. My boobs are very sore and heavy and i remember with my first, the maternity bra's i bought were not very supportive or comfortable. Also is it true that the underwire can interfere with milk production?

I think that if they fit well, there's no problem with underwires when pg or bfing, though some shops may tell you different, remember an m&s tutting when I went to get measured at about 12 weeks. You can even get underwired maternity/bf bras now as well, try bravissimo, or figleaves, I'm sure you can find them elsewhere too. I think they're by Anita.

I don't think they interfere with bf. I got tired of the saggy, where on earth's my waist gone look long ago, and am still bf, despite underwires. Just make sure they fit well, and don't dig in anywhere

You should not wear underwired bras when pregnant or nursing as it compresses the milk ducts and can cause blockages and then ultimately mastitis.

Personally I think it's down to buying the right size and brand. I got some superb Royce maternity bras at Debenhams which were much more supportive than underwired as they have a cross fabric system which lifts and separates (why does that sound like sorting grain to me? )

If they fit well then there is no problem at all. Blloming Marvellous do underwired nurisng bras.

I am now 32 weeks and still in underwired bras. My MW hasnt had a problem with this and she is actually wearing underwired and breastfeeding.

Agree with oldbutattractive

I was told off for wearing underwired bras up to my 16th week - I was wearing a 34A and when I got measured I was actually 36D!!! No wonder I was in pain. But now my boobs, though a lot bigger, look a lot smaller without my underwiring and padding! I miss my real boobs!

Underwired bras are meant to be OK as long as they fit properly. If they are too tight then they can press on the milk ducts, but I was told this by a qulified corset fitter when I tried to buy a 34 J bra for my ginormous pregnancy boobs.

Non undewrired simply did not give the required support

They're fine as long as the wire is well away from your breast tissue so fitting by someone experienced is vital- also the wires must lay flat against your body, so larger ones also have a wider band to achieve this - I wear normal underwires with 3 rows of hooks and nice wide straps ,and am a 36g, 30 weeks pg and BF DD 2.8. I got sick of the horrible disappearing waist and spare tyres you get when wearing nursing bras

Blondie 14 I am in exactly the same boat- 5 weeks gone and with a nearly 3yr old! Hello!

(Sorry, really off topic but excited to find we are at same stage!)

And on-topic, my boobs don't feel too painful yet but when they do get tender, I don't think an non-underwired bra would give them the support they need, poor floppy sad sacks that they are. So a good fitting wire it will be, or a really good sports bra maybe.

I never wore a non underwired bra in either preganacy, and I never got blocked ducts, but I made sure that my underwired bras fitted me. I am an F cup, and wearing a non underwired bra gave me backache, as well as making my norks take on an odd, droopy, shelf-like appearance

Jamila - we are at similar stage - am 32 weeks (just about) and 36G. Agree that non wire doesnt bear thinking about!

Yes Awen -I find i still look like a human being (ok one who's swallowed a spacehopper)with wires -without i look like some monobreasted michelin man

Oh dear. Do people really still bandy about the idea that you can't wear wires in pregnancy? I wore them throughout my pregnancy (with full approval from my midwife), and once dd got to something over a year I started wearing them again (am still bf at 21 months). I have never had any problems at all due to this.

Just make sure that they fit properly - too tight obviously could cause a problem.

One of the reasons I've personally gone for non-underwired - despite starting at a humungous G-cup - is that I am unsure of when & how much boob growth is going to occur & I feel that you can "get away" with more in a soft bra, ie if you go up a couple of cup sizes without changing bra (cos you can't get round to it or haven't realised you need a bigger size) it won't be as uncomfortable compared to being in a wired.
Overall I think the ultra-cautious advice would be to avoid wire but practically speaking these days it is down to personal choice.

Hello minkus!! nice to meet someone else in the same boat. thank you all for your words of wisdom, think it will have to be underwired for me, cant stand the pain when i take it off for a shower never mind working and running after my son!!(and i am only a 34dd/e at the mo) how often do you need to get measured?

Well I now cant wera one of mine as the wire snaped was an expensive one too, fantasie.. can i take it back to John Lewis... probably to embarrased to.

Of all my bras, the comfiest is by far the underwired one - I don't see why it's causing any problems as I'm guessing it would feel uncomfortable if it was digging in anywhere.

I'm now 32 weeks and had boob leakage from about week 16, so I can't see how it's interfering in that area!

Hi - I am wearing underwired bras while pg - I was fitted at Bravissimo and the fitter was great. She suggested styles that would be best suited to pregnancy (she ddn't think my usual style was appropriate as it would have constricted things too much) and made sure it fitted really well and didn't dig in, and it's been really comfy. I think the best thing you can do is make sure you are fitted by a properly trained bra fitter, and tell them you are pregnant so they do know. But I don't think there is any problem with underwired bras per se.

I think this is an old wives tale. I've worn underwired bras my whole adult life and am in my 5th year of bfing. The wired bits are nowhere near the milk producing bits are they, unless you have actually put the bra on upside down. In which case milk production is probably not your greatest problem...

I wore underwired bras right throughout my pregnancy and when I went to M&S to get measured for a nursing bra the woman said 'you're wearing an underwired bra?' as if I'd just admitted mainlining heroin for the last 8 months! It does something to your milk ducts apparently but mine were fine and, quite frankly, I've always needed the industrial strength wiring to keep them under control!

When I was pg with dd I was still undergoing investigation for lumps in my breasts - biopsies/ultrasounds etc etc. When I saw the consultant I asked about underwiring. He was high up in all things breast related and he said, much the same as most of the posters - as long as you are fitted properly and regularly (ie not one bra for the whole of pg - maybe 2/3) then you are fine. It's about being comfortable.

Went on to have dd with no problems and b/f her for 23 months. Although someone is yet to invent an underwired nursing bra in a J cup, so it was back to saggy boobs for b/f

I'm 35 weeks and have been sucked into wearing non wired practically the whole time! Will prob just continue now but wish I'd read these comments earlier. If anyone was interested top shop do a fab maternity bra, really pretty and padded - excellent shape x

i think they need to change the advice given in books and magazines on this subject and maybe it will stop all the wives tales and confusion! all hale the underwired bra!!!!!

I'm fed up with the droopy, unsupportive 'maternity' bras sold by M&S and Mothercare! Also by the rubbish way in which they measure you, pregnant or not, in M&S - they always get my size wrong, I believe them and then go home with too small a cup size!

Recently, I treated myself to a fitting at Ribgy & Peller's in London, who have got to be the last word in knowing how to fit bras. (Actually, 'treated' is the wrong word because it costs nothing and they are incredibly helpful, and don't pressure you to buy the (very expensive) bras afterwards. If you're in London, you should go!) And they put me back a chest size and up at least two cups on what I was wearing on the advice of M&S. Underwired is absolutely fine as long as you've been fitted for the correct cup size by someone who knows more about fitting than waving a tape measure at you. I'm currently wearing a 36 DD underwired bra rather than my 38C M&S 'maternity' job, and the difference in support is amazing!

The only thing about buying underwired bras is that you might have to put up with some tutting from underinformed lingeries saleswomen! ;-)

I stopped wearing my underwired bra on the advice of my wonderful bra fitter. She just said it would be more comfortable to get out of underwire and that because my boobs might grow so quickly the underwire might end up making me uncomfortable, even with proper fitting.

I was 5 weeks pregnant when I went to be fitted the first time, and my boobs were really engorged and painful and the bra I was wearing, (although supportive) was no longer fitting properly. Taking it off and putting on the bra she suggested felt so good I didn't look back.

I'm not wearing maternity bras though, I'm wearing really supportive sports bras and although they're not what I would wear if not pregnant, they give good support and a decent silhouette.

That said, my boobs have now gone back to a DD cup and aren't much sore any more, so I imagine if I'd stated with underwires it would have been grand. But that day the soft, supportive, wide-strapped sports bra was like a gift from the boob gods.

I think the main thing is going to a shop where you will be fitted by someone genuinely knowledgeable about breasts and bras who can give you good advice and show you different options. I would avoid M&S like the plague as I've always found their bra fitters pretty crap. Also I would tend to steer clear of maternity shops - I used to work in one and the training I got for fitting bras was cursory at best.

I'd second Rigby and Peller for people that actually fit bras to women rather than tape measures, although I didn't visit them while pregnant. Also worth knowing that they do have some good basic bras that don't cost a fortune. I was a 32F before I got pregnant and didn't actually change that much but found soft cup more comfortable and still pretty flattering (as long as I chose carefully). I'd agree that underwired is fine as long as it fits well everyday.