Motherhood: Nursing Bra Review

Material wise, since the size of the breasts fluctuate before and after nursing, I personally recommend nursing bras[1] made of cotton material (slightly elastic type) to accommodate the changing breast size. Also, cotton is a good sweat absorber, which is a big plus point given that Singapore is rather hot and humid at times.

Many would say that underwire[2] helps to support the breasts from going out of shape (or becoming droopy). But for nursing mummies, bras with no underwire would be better. This is because the pressure from the underwire and the rigidness of underwire bras may cause blocked milk duct which increases the risks of getting mastitis.

This review will not be comparing brands of nursing bras. Rather, it will mainly be on the following three types of nipple access that I have tried: the full drop cup, the window opening and the movable flaps without hooks/clasps.

Full drop cup

First of all, we have a type of nursing bra whereby the whole flap/cup will drop down to reveal the whole breast once the hook/clasp is unclipped. Since the whole cup of the bra drops down to allow your baby to access the nipple for nursing, I think that is the reason for its name: the full drop cup.

The hooks/clasps take a bit or practice before you can clip/unclip them smoothly. In most nursing position, this full drop cup is pretty easy to use. But if you nurse in the lying position, the cups may shift out of place. So, you may have a situation whereby baby latches on to one nipple while the other nipple (or even the whole breast) is exposed. This may be of slight inconvenience especially if you leak during a let down. But the pros of this bra is since it exposes the whole breast, you get more skin-to-skin surface with your baby as he/she nurses.

Personally, because the cups may shift out of position, I feel the support for the breasts provided by this type of nursing bras is not as strong as the next two types.

Window opening

Next, the window opening which only exposes the nipple for your baby to latch on. Unlike the full drop cup, this type of bras do not shifts out of place as easily (hence unlikely to expose the other nipple which your baby is not latched on).

My personal experience with QW, when she was at least 5 months old, was that she started entertaining/distracting herself by "pulling" and "snapping" my bra as she nursed. So, I guess it is a cheaper baby distractor than those nursing necklaces sold during the baby fairs.

The cons about this kind of opening is it may get in the way of your baby's mouth when the bra shifts out of place if you nurse in the lying position.

Moveable flaps without hooks/clasps

Last but not least, the sleep bras that do not have hooks/clasps. Similarly to the window opening type, the sleep bras do not shift out of place easily too. The great thing is that they look like sports bra. So if you do not live with your elders, you may opt to wear the sleep bra with a shorts on those very humid and hot days, and yet not run the risk of being sued for public nudity ;)

By the way, I stick the breast pads (both disposable ones and washable ones) on the flap to absorb any leaking for all three types of nursing bras. Sticking the breast pads also help to hide the nipple if you are wearing tight fitting tops.

There are nursing mummies out there who may not wear nursing bra. Instead, they wear camisole/spaghetti strap top/sleeveless T-shirt/tank top or cotton bra with neck holes or cups that are easy to fold/push down. When nursing, they just pull down to allow their babies access to the nipple.

I did try the $9.90 nursing bras from OG but preferred the Kelly bras from.Fabulous Moms carried by Eugenesella[3] eventually because of quality issues. But why Eugenesella? For the same brand of nursing bras, it seems that Eugenesella sells it at a more reasonable price (typically around $1 to $2 cheaper). Also, their delivery is pretty fast. Last but not least, one of the sellers is a nursing mummy. So, her testimonials attracted me quite a bit.

The cheapest nursing bra I have heard of costs $4.90 from Giant. I have yet to try those because I am worried about the quality. Have you tried and have good feedbacks for these $4.90 nursing bras from Giant?

Do you have any good and cheap nursing bra to recommend? We all know that periodically changing bras is a good hygiene practice. So, do leave a comment as many will benefit from your recommendations :) Thanks in advance!

References:

1. Wikipedia - Nursing bra
2. Wikipedia - Underwire bra
3. Qoo10 - Eugenesella