Maternity underwear makes me want to cry - any advice please?!

[amybelle79]

Why is it all so awful?

Am 26 weeks and have just been to get measured. Everything the lady brought in looked like something you might find in my grannies top drawer. I wouldn't mind it they gave me a decent shape but as well as being ugly they all seemed to give me Madonna style cone boobs.

My mum insists that if I have to invest in the granny scaffolding in order to avoid saggy post preggers boobs

I'm quite happy to give up my usual the pretty, lacey stuff and switch to non-wired minimalism but I just cant bring myself to

Any ideas as to where I might find something reasonable?

I'm still in the same bras as I was before I was pregnant. I have 2 nursing bras but honestly all nursing bras are horrid! I'm 38 E normally so the choice is limited.

I will wait till my milk comes in and then go shopping. I'm considering strapless multi way bras as a way of getting a bit of shape and style without the granny factor.

excited85 same here...I definitely still need a bit of 'help'! I got a couple from new look (one boring nude colour one and a pretty navy and pink one that was in the sale - both nursing bras) which are very lightly padded and give a nice shape. Not too flattening like some others I've tried on.

At 34 weeks pregnant I have stayed in underwired bras the whole way through, as long as they are fitted correctly & not digging in there are no problems. I have one maternity/nursing bra at the moment, I got it from Topshop & surprisingly well fitting, comfortable & very pretty. Will be looking at nursing bras sold through NCT (they do padded ones) when I need to get some for breastfeeding.

I'm not so fussed about the matronly look as the fact that the over the shoulder boulder holders I now have to wear all seem to be uncomfortable, and want to climb most of the way into my armpits. I bought some (otherwise well fitting) underwired bras, but since I a) got PG and b) went on the bra intervention thread, I'm wearing such a large cup size that my frame seems too short for the bras.

I'm loathe to spend yet more money on bras, seeing as I seem to be still growing

Still, for me, the Debenhams ones by Miriam Stoppard seem to be most comfortable, but they are hardly glamorous.

A vote here for hotmilk bras. There can be good deals on eBay from time to time.

Bravado Silk Seamless. Not sexy, but give good shape and support - like a t shirt nursing bra. And soooooo comfy when you milk comes in. Trust me, you will care about comfort more than anything soon!

Comtesse have you tried the Bravado one I mention? (silk seamless). They are so, so comfy and come in sizes that cover a few cup sizes, so good if you're still growing. Or shrinking, like me

Two brands are worth buying - Anita and Hotmilk.

All the rest is shocking and should be made illegal.

Both times I just wore normal bras, just ensuring that I went for regular fittings so that I wore the right size.

Sorry, by normal bras I meant non-maternity, underwired bras. No-one, but no-one is getting in between me and my underwires

Underwired is FINE if it fits properly. Don't get fitted at Mothercare or M&S. Bravissimo and Rigby & Peller are your best bets. Check out the bra threads for excellent fitting advice!

I've not read all of the above. If John Lewis can't help you (I'm guessing you have a big bust!) go to a specialist maternity shop. Lots of options. There is a small chain called pretty pregnant in London but there's probably others nationally too.

Maternity bras make me want to cry. I'm a 28D usually and I struggle to find anything in a 28 back or even a 30. Does anyone know which companies do smaller back sizes?

enormouse Mine's a nursing rather than maternity but Panache do 28 backs. I've got the Panache Sophie and it's lovely

Just wear normal bras for pregnancy people, as long as they fit. Anita make underwired feeding bras and Ewa Michalak make custom ones and come highly recommended by some of the MN bra experts, or you can convert normal bras.

I'm a GG/H cup and I'm not giving up my wires for anyone.

Despite strongly protesting I switched to non wired at 13 weeks. Despite having bought the right size of my favourite underwired bra the previous week. i just found the underwires themselves to be yncomfortable all of a sudden.

Ended up in a 38 GG Sophie from Bravissimo. It's never going to give you the same shape as under wired but I think it's pretty.

'From here to maternity' online has a good range for the non enormous titted.

The good thing (if there is a good thing) about maternity bras is that they usually have smooth cups inside - a lot of the ordinary bras have the seams all in the wrong place or lace over the nipples which makes me want to rip them off within 20 seconds of putting them on!

It's got a bit easier now, but particularly in the early days there were days when I wanted to go home and change at lunchtime because I could have cried with how itchy the bras were on my poor oversensitive boobs.

Also my usual high leg knickers from M&S (I'm all about the sexy me ) are coming up a bit high on my tummy, but all my small, sexy knickers are too darned small across the posterior for everyday wear. I'm lucky that my arse hasn't ballooned yet but I feel I want something with a low front and more rear-end coverage. Sigh. More bloody expense I guess.

I'm 39 weeks pregnant and still in my normal underwired bra (and I'm a 36 GG so hardly small). I tried on the maternity bras, and they were just hideous. I've just got myself measured very regularly to make sure the underwire doesn't dig in, and have been comfy throughout the pregnancy. I will obviously be moving to nursing bras when baby is born, and I've had those fitted at bravissimo - they have some which do give a reasonable level of support for non-wired bras.