Every mom needs the right nursing bra for their stage of pregnancy or postpartum, but it’s also important it fits in with your lifestyle, size and needs! Not all bras are created equal, but there’s a few basic criteria that every nursing bra should meet.
When you first find out you’re pregnant, there are so many things that you need to learn and make decisions about. Avoid soft cheeses and alcohol, take your multivitamin and don’t dye your hair. But what about your breasts? If you decide to breastfeed, they’re going to be responsible for sustaining your new baby for the first few months (and beyond), so you want to take the best care possible!
1. A NURSING BRA THAT ACCOMMODATES YOUR GROWING BREAST SIZE
During pregnancy and postpartum, your breasts undergo a myriad of changes, regardless of whether or not you’re breastfeeding. That’s why it’s so important to be in a nursing bra that fluctuates with you, without compromising on support. So, what kind of bra do you wear when you don’t feel like wearing one at all (but know that you should)? A seamless bra, of course!
All of our seamless styles are super soft, strong and supportive, but will never be flattening or restrictive. Traditionally, seamless bras have been limited to the smaller busted mamas, but we now know that fuller busted women actually make up the majority! That’s why Cake Maternity also makes a number of seamless styles for F cup and up, because everyone deserves to be comfy and supported.
Plus these nursing bras all seamlessly knitted on a special machine (which reduces waste) with a microfibre/Lycra blend for optimum strength and endurance. This means they’ll last your entire pregnancy and beyond. Gone are the days of buying new bras every few months! Win for mamas and win for Mother Nature.
Try these best selling nursing bras for ultimate comfort: Cotton Candy, Rock Candy, Serenity & Sugar Candy (for the fuller bust).
2. A NURSING BRA THAT MOVES WITH YOU WHILST GIVING YOU A LOVELY PROFILE
Once you reach your second and third trimesters your breast cup size is likely to stabilize (in fact your breasts are usually the same size between the 3rd and 8th month!); however as baby continues to grow, you’ll notice some pretty significant expansion in your rib cage.
Fun fact: 80% of women are the same cup size when they’re 8 months pregnant as they are 6 weeks postpartum when their milk supply has regulated! So assuming you factor in the fact that your rib cage will contract post-birth, the 8 month mark is a great time to be fitted for nursing bras. Because let’s be real, no one wants to go bra shopping when they have a newborn.
Second Trimester Of Your Pregnancy
So you’re past the first trimester and *hopefully* the nausea, your boobs aren’t as tender, so it’s time to reintroduce some pretty flexible wired bras! Flexi-wire gives you similar shape and support of a regular underwire, minus the potential damage to your precious milk ducts. Flexi-wire moves with you, whilst also providing a super smooth profile — perfect to regain a bit of pre-pregnancy normality. Cake’s flexi-wire bras also sit wider and deeper on the chest wall, just to ensure there’s no constriction on your breast tissue.
If you’re after a t-shirt nursing bra that you can comfortably wear all day, every day, Croissant is your one. Looks simple, right? Wrong! Croissant is a spacer bra, which basically means the cups are made from two layers of fabric which are separated by a spacer yarn which forms a gap between each layer. This ensures the cups are super breathable, but also provide a lovely shape without the bulkiness of foam.
Third Trimester Of Your Pregnancy
Wires not your style? That’s totally fine! Anything goes in the last trimesters. Tea nursing bra is just as supportive as our flexi-wire range, and is made from a *super* technical fabric which is comfy against the skin and super strong on the outside. There’s also clever bits on the inside that lift you up and separate your bust, but we don’t want to give away all secrets!
3. A NURSING BRA THAT MAKES BREASTFEEDING EASIER
The period after you’ve had your baby is referred to as the fourth trimester, and we tend to break it down into two phases. The first phase is the first 6 or so weeks postpartum. During this period, everything is very overwhelming and sore. Your milk is coming in and your supply fluctuates day by day and hour by hour. We recommend you jump back into your seamless nursing bra from trimester one to help ease this discomfort. Chances are, you won’t feel like wearing anything more restrictive anyway!
After around 6 weeks the second phase begins. You’re starting to find your rhythm and your breast size has settled down. Now you can begin to reintroduce your cup size bras (only if you want to!). Anything goes, be that flexi-wire, t-shirt, sports or soft cup, as long as you’re comfortable.
If you’re pumping you should also check out our Lotus Hands-free Pumping Bra. This one is soft cup and seamless, so it’s safe to wear from trimester one, right through to postpartum.
4. A NURSING BRA THAT MAKES YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE AND SUPPORTED
After you’ve had your baby and they start to sleep through the night (in a perfect world, anyway), you’re going to discover the wonderful world of leakage. Our Milk Bamboo Sleep Bra is perfect for sleeping as it’s made from bamboo viscose which is soft as butter and super absorbent. The racer back style ensures the straps don’t slip off through the night, and the hidden pockets keep your nursing pads in place. This will ensure you’re comfortable and supported all night long, with the bonus of keeping you and your sheets dry.
Now, we’re not saying the right nursing bra will make your motherhood journey a breeze, but if you’re able to nurse, pump, sleep, work and just live, all while being comfortable and supported, we’ve done our job. The less time you spend thinking about your uncomfy bra, the more time you have to concentrate and bond with your new baby.
Cake Maternity extensive range of maternity and nursing bras features something for every mom and mom-to-be. You can also follow Cake Maternity on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instragram.
Katie Brooker
Katie is the proud mom of two beautiful girls. She is responsible for all the designs, style and fit at Cake Maternity. She is a nursing bra specialist and a fit, pattern and grading technician.
Katie is determined to make the breastfeeding journey a comfortable, supportive and beautiful one for all moms. She understands that it doesn’t always come easy to everyone. That’s why she has made it her mission to empower women as they mindfully navigate the world of motherhood and help make breastfeeding easier, through experience-driven innovation.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored blog post written by the bra experts at Cake Maternity.
This post is interesting lots of good information
Interesting read, I don;t think we thought of these things 30 – 40 years ago.