Bra size

[aichi]

I am so confused!

I'm 17 weeks pregnant with my first baby and my boobs have expanded and I can no longer wear my pre pregnant bra - 32 B. So I went to 2 different mothercare this weekend to get my bra measured.

One said I was 32 D or 34 D ;-o

Another shop assistant measured me and said I'm a 32 B - which is really strange...When I told the shop assistant this she said my cup size doesn't go bigger but your chest size will expand as baby makes space and pushes up. So it looks like your boobs are bigger (!?!) Its after you give birth you increase your cup size.

Totally totally confused as my boobs are definetly much bigger&heavier than before.

I tried on my usual size but it looked too small and tight! D cup looked just too BIG...

Who's right? and where can I get my bra measured properly?

What nonsense! I've gone from 38D to 38FF. I tried a 40 chest fitting at first so I had room to expand, but my ribcage still hasn't moved and I ended up with shoulder ache from the bra being weighted wrongly.

Mothercare have a bad rep for bra measuring, looking at the threads on bras. I highly recommend Bravissimo for their fitting service and if you might be a D cup or bigger, then you'll fit in their range (plus they'll have more stock in small back sizes and big cup sizes).

I've always stuck with M&S right the way through and no matter where I subsequently buy my bras, their sizing has always been right on for me. My cup size has definately increased; never heard about your chest increasing though!

Um...she sounds very confusing. For the vast majority of women I think their actual breasts do get bigger! Most women would go up a cup size or two.

However she is also right that chest size increases as your ribs move out - so I went from a 34C to 36E.

Your cup size will however increase again when your milk comes in (think a cup size or two over night!). Also your rib size may decrease...you might need a new fitting a few weeks after birth depending on whether you are breastfeeding or not or whether things have settled down.

I would suggest getting bras with stretchy cup material and finding one which fits on the tightest fitting and can then be let out.

I would go for some cheaper ones which fit now rather than worrying about all of this if you can. Marks and Spencers do some nice soft ones quite cheaply if you are looking for comfort / price.

It does all settle down in the end

Your back size is unlikely to change until around 34 weeks upwards, but your cup size def will.
32 is a tough size to be, as your boobs grow, you find that no maternity brand or nursing brand make bra's bigger than a D or DD cup in a 32 back size. So hope they don't get too big!
Mothercare bra's are a waste of time. Get to John Lewis if you can, or get measured properly at a department store (I think M&S are rubbish too) then try Figlesaves.com. They have a lot of different brands made all over the world so you can order lots of bra's in one hit to try at home and something is bound to suit your frame (ok, you do have to pay postage, but only once). I buy about 10, pay on credit card and then try at home. You send back all the ones that don't fit and they refund your card. I find Anita bra's a great fit, not available in any shops here!

(i'm 32E normally and go up to 32G or H when pregnant).

At 22 weeks I have gone from a 34B to a 38D, had the same lady measure me so at least if she is wrong she is consistent! My boobs have definately got loads bigger and my chest/back has expanded too.

Cup size doesn't get bigger???? What rot!!! By week 12 I had gone from a 32B to an E. Am now 24 weeks and think I'm about to go up another cup size, although my back measurement doesn't seem to have changed at all (still on the same hook). I was fitted at Bravissimo - thoroughly recommend them if you can get to one of their shops. Having a small back and big knockers can make it hard to find bras in the right size - particularly maternity/nursing ones. But Bravissimo does a very good range in all combinations of back and cup size, so you should find something suitable. And at the risk of bringing up the whole underwired vs soft bra debate again, I'm still in underwired and intend to be all the way through - if the wire fits properly under and round the breast tissue they are not going to do you any harm. And especially with a small back size I've found it hard to get proper support from a soft bra.
Good luck and congratulations!

Well for me the cup size got smaller

I was a 34E/36D and got measured at Mamas&Papas and Pretty Pregnant as 38C. Or rather they thought that I would expand some more rib cage wise sp went for the 38.

It is mighty depressing though DH insists they are bigger.

my boobs look bigger but apparantly haven't changed! still a 32D (actually a 29D but can't get this size) I went to a nice independant shop who were lovely, mothercare measured me at 36D and after buying a couple found they just fell off me!

Hello, I was a 32B before getting pregnant, now up to a 32F, I have found Hotmilk bras from Figleaves website fit really well and are comfortable too. Some of the styles go up to 32FF. If you look up the Hotmilk website you may be able to find a local distributor where you can be measured / try them on in the shop. To be honest I prefer to order several sizes and try them on at home to check how they fit and how they look under clothes.

Mothercare were rubbish for fitting and the bras they convinced me to buy were really uncomfortable - and so haven't been worn so a total waste of money.

The Hotmilk ones seem to wash and wear fairly well too, I have some still going fine from my first pregnany and I always just chucked them in the washing machine (in a washing net). There is a 20% discount code for the Figleaves website at the moment - only valid until midnight 9 June though - enter TWENTY at the checkout.

Hope you find something you like soon

M&S get huge stick on here for the crapness of their bra fitting service (do a search). Most people recommend John Lewis or Rigby and Peller for bra fitting -- you don't have to buy their bras, but they seem (by MN consensus!) to be the best for fitting.

I went to Rigby and Peller for my maternity fitting, and they were excellent -- I'd gone up from a 34D to a 36F!!! I then went straight out and bought M&S bras in that size, though I have to say that the one I got from Rigby and Peller is the most comfortable bra I have ever worn. I'll be going back for my nursing bra fitting soon.

Oh yes, and I also second Bravissimo if there's one near you.

CUP-SIZE NOT GOING UP? ONLY RIBS??? Well my ribs have gone up three cup sizes.

I can report that Debenhams have a lovely range of not-too-pricey bras for the fuller-figured ladies - of which I've now become. Have swapped my modest 34Cs for a pair of 38DD/38E! Assistant was very helpful, she said that Debenhams only advise non-underwired during pregnancy, but I was firm and said I'd done my research, and she was brilliant, finding me some very pretty bras. She also recommended that I put bra on tightest fitting - as opposed to usual advice to use loosest hooks - to allow room for expansion. Would defo go there again, especially as bras were only £16 each.
I would have gone to Bravissimo, but their bras do tend to be more expensive.
Hope that helps! x

beccas - Bravissimo do larger cup sizes starting at small back sizes in both soft-cup and nursing bras. Their range usually starts at 28D.

blondecat - I'm pretty sure that a 38C is a bigger cup size than a 36D as the cup size is relative to your back size. When I went to Bravissimo I was wearing a 40D and they said that fit fine, but I could go down to a 38 back size to get more weight off my shoulders. Dropping the back size meant I came out a 38FF!

Fwiw, my Bravissimo bras were £20 and £24. So whilst it's not the cheapest, it's a lot cheaper than R&P!

blondecat, your cup size has gone up! It's because your back size has gone up too it looks like it hasn't, but you've gained an inch!

OK, back to the thread. Grab a tape measure and someone you trust and get yourself measured at home. Measure in inches along the line of your bra strap and around your bust keeping parallel.

Take the bust measurement from the back measurement and convert into a letter 1" = A, 2" = B etc.

TBH I think that you are probably going to be more towards the D, measured in the new way (they used to add 4 or 5 inches to your back measurement) most people are C+ I've measured a few men as a bit of fun/ research and most are C cup, even when they seem skinny or quite fat.

Why do it yourself though, if you can get it done professionally for free? You just have to go to the right fitters, not the wrong ones. . .

But that's the thing, so often they're not using the modern standards or they're just not getting the right figures for whatever reason. How do you know if you're going to the right one or not? How do you know if 34F, 36D or 38B is right? (Answer, they all are but 34F will fit best)

I used to fit bras and can work a woman's size out looking at her. The amount of clients I've fitted who were given wildly varying figures is ridiculous!

By measuring yourself (by which I mean getting a partner etc to do it as it's not easy to do on your own as your breasts change shape when you lift your arms) you have an idea of what they should be finding at the shop. I'm also a big believer in knowing your own body and believe that knowing your breasts is a big part of that.

I've gone from a 32B to 34D in 11 weeks. The M&S lady was fab at measuring me.

Debenhams are good I went from a 32 B to 34 DD the assistant was lovely and gave me a few bra's to try on. She did say that I should be prepared to get bigger as I'm only 24 weeks and to maybe buy one or two and then get remeasured again later in my pregnancy.

I always go to bravissimo or John Lewis. They tend to know just by looking at you as confuddled says.

You may have noticed that I recommended John Lewis and Rigby and Peller, who DO know what they are doing; whereas I wouldnt have a clue, even following your excellent instructions, confuddled!

I've had some bad reports from JL. Only Bravissimo gets regular good reports that I hear, never heard anyone complain anywhere in the country.

How do you know if the person measuring you knows what they're doing?

I would check the pictorial guide to good and bad fitting bras on the Bravissimo website so that you know what you're looking for. I've heard of people being told by Mothercare and M&S fitters that it's normal for soft-cup bras to not touch the chest between the boobs for example, which just isn't true.

Thanks for your replies.
Now I know I shouldn't go to Mothercare for bra measurement! Since they're specialist or specialise in pregnant women&babies I thought they knew what they are talking about..

Theres Bravissimo where I live so I'll try there this weekend.

Happy bra fitting everyone!

Aichi Hi hon I am 6+5 and I have already gone up a cupsize to a 34 DD. Stick with M&S for your bras, they are really good and so helpful and the bras are good quality and well priced. The girl in that shop obviously didn't have a clue what she was talking about. Your boobs get bigger during pregnancy - its a fact of life!! She's probably not gone through it

I went to Marks and Spencers at week 19, I was previously a 34DD but it was digging into me and my boobs were hanging out of it and was measured at a 36E (some styles an F), so saying that your cup-size does not increase is a load of rubbish. I feel so comfortable in my bra now (I am wearing the maternity ones from Marks and Spencers). I have always bought my bras from M&S mostly for quality and some are quite good value too. I suppose it depends on which store you go into because there will be a training that each company lays out that their employees have to do but it will be upto management to enforce it and carry on with the training. I have always gone to M&S in Newcastle and Metrocentre these are quite good (maybe because they are bigger stores so have more people to train, better managers possibly who need to run a tighter ship of their storewith it being bigger???), I went to one in Hartlepool once but they were rubbish (their store is tiny), so as I say it depends on the store. Btw it's just a theory that it depends on the size of the store, it's just my experience that it has turned out like that.