From: betsyp@apollo.hp.com (Betsy Perry)
Subject: SUMMARY: Nursing Bra FAQ
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 20:57:01 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Corporation, Chelmsford, MA

Well, response to Kate's nursing bra questionnaire
was overwhelming.  I've tried to edit down to a manageable 
size, but the files are still quite large.  Bear with me, please.


Kate Gregory has asked me to collate and post
the Nursing Bras FAQ, since she's tied up with
academic matters.  Thanks to all our VERY enthusiastic
participants!

This is part I, which discusses how many bras
to buy, when to buy them, and participants' feelings
about bra style.

___________
Question 1:  How many bras did you buy, and
how many should you have bought?

Most people bought two to four bras; however, many
respondents believed that they needed more, and commented
that they didn't feel they could afford as many as owuld
have been useful.  (One commented, "The first week,
I used two a day and wished I had a dozen!")


HOW MANY BOUGHT:
      *
      *
   *  *
   *  *
   *  *  *
   *  *  *
   *  *  *   
   *  *  *
   *  *  *
   *  *  *  *
   *  *  *  *
   *  *  *  *  *
*  *  *  *  *  *     *      *
1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

HOW MANY SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT:

         *  *
      *  *  *
      *  *  *           
      *  *  *     *
      *  *  *  *  *     *     *
*     *  ** *  * *   *  **    *
0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

__________
Question 2:  When did you buy your bras?  Did you allow extra room
when you bought them?  Did they fit for nursing?

There wasn't a clear consensus, but enough people had fitting problems
that it's probably wiser to buy no more than a couple of nursing
bras while you're pregnant: buy more after a couple of weeks,
when your bra size will (hopefully) have stabilized.


WHEN BOUGHT:

During pregnancy, no extra, did fit: 		***
During pregnancy, no extra, did not fit: 	***
During pregnancy, left extra, did fit: 		****
During pregnancy, left extra, did not fit:
Late pregnancy, no extra, did fit: 		*******
Late pregnancy, no extra, did not fit: 		********
Late pregnancy, left extra, did fit: 		*******
Late pregnancy, left extra, did not fit:	**

Postpartum: 					**

Note: The "didn't fit" reasons varied.  Two women was smaller while
nursing than during late pregnancy.  Many women commented that they
needed larger bras during the first couple of weeks post-partum --
"When my milk first came in NOTHING would have been big enough for the
first few days, then I settled down to my late pregnancy size."

The commonest addition was one cup size to the pregnant
bra size.

___________
Question 3: What style of nursing bra do you prefer?

Everybody had a strong opinion on style, but there wasn't a consensus.
A strong plurality, me among them, hated bras with hook-and-eye cups,
saying they were impossible to fasten one-handed.  Others loved them,
saying that, unlike snaps, they didn't come undone unexpectedly.
Everybody agreed that you should try fastening nursing bras one-handed
in the fitting room, and be severe: remember you'll be performing this
motion several hundred times before weaning!

Individual comments:

Clips in front unclip when pressed inadvertently (e.g. leaning over
the side of the bathtub to bathe a kid, burping a baby) but are easy 
to reclose with one hand (just slide in place and click).  Wide hooks 
can unhook accidentally (e.g. running, bending over the conference 
table at a meeting or the table at a dinner party) but are also easy 
to reclose.  Clips which are opened by pulling a tab away from the strap 
are hard to reclose with one hand. 

I can't believe I've fogotten so much already!  As I remember,
I liked the kind that latch above the breast and drop down
to open, there was one particular latch that I liked but
I couldn't find it on the size I needed (I didn't know they
made H cups!).

I prefer bras that hook in back, I find they fit me better.
So I ended up with bras that hook in back and latch at the top
with eyelet hooks.  When open, most of the breast is exposed.
The best thing about this bra was that the cup, when open, was
sturdy enough to hold the end of a bath towel while nursing,
which I needed on both sides if I wasn't going to soak any clothes.
I used bath towels for 5 months.  The one draw back is that it
takes two hands to open and close.  But I never did see any with
snaps, as others have mentioned, and I'm clumsy enough it'd still
take me two hands to work it.

The only thing that I think is really important in terms of style is
that the bra, when the cup is open, should have support ALL THE WAY AROUND
the breast.  So you look like someone took scissors to your regular ones
and cut a hole in the middle of each cup.  For larger cup sizes (D or larger),
the ones that don't have all the way around support will allow pads to
shift, the whole bra to shift, and the non-nursing breast to fall out.
This may not be a problem for smaller cup sizes.


In my size 38 DDD there was very little choice.  However I stuck with
the 100% cotton and tried not to get any with polyester in them.  I
also liked the hook closures, The one I had with snaps was a pain
because one side was always coming undone.  

All of the bras have back hooks.  The least durable of them was a knitted 
cotton one in which the entire cup detatched from poppers at centre front
on the band that runs around the chest.  Also, the poppers tended to spring
fairly easily on their own.  The other two both have cups that detatch from
the point where the strap meets the cup at the top, leaving a sort of frame
of cup around the breast.  These were both fine for convenience (slightly 
different latches, but both workable with one hand); the cotton one is vastly
more comfortable than the synthetic one.  It also seems to be more durable --
and was the most expensive of the lot (~$30 Can).

[I liked] Leading Lady, style 437.  Bra hooks at the back with 
three hooks (four rows of eyes).  Latch is hook & eye (three eyes)
at strap (the adjustment here took care of any size changes in the
breasts).  About 1/3 of breast is exposed when open.

I preferred a 100% cotton one. I found one which allowed
me to fully uncover and cover one breast with one hand (after
some practice). It unhooked at the shoulder or it could be
unhooked somewhere under my breast. After two weeks I always used
the shoulder unhooking because that was more convenient.

I like the kind that snaps shut.  The kind with hooks and eyes didn't
work, because the hooks bent, rendering the bra useless, and they
weren't as easy to close with one hand.  I liked being able to have
most of the breast exposed when unsnapped. I liked having the snap at
the bottom of the cup.  They were all back-hook bras--didn't want
anyone unhooking the bra while unsnapping the cups! 

I had always had underwire front latch bra's before I got pregnant, so
that's what I looked for in nursing bra's.  While I found underwire, I 
couldn't find front latches.  My friend (3 daughters, a singleton and 
twins, all breastfed) had told me that front snap-for-opening styles 
(where the cup opens in the front/center and is pulled to the side)
were much easier than top hook, so my first set of three were underwire,
back latch, front snap bras.
Unfortunately, I think the underwires contributed to the breast infection
I got within 2 weeks.  Although I realized how much they were cutting into my 
breasts, it took a while for me to recover enough from my C-section to 
go out shopping.  I couldn't go braless; my breasts *hurt* from engorgement
(ice packs helped a little) and the pull of gravity was something I wanted
to avoid.
When I was finally able to buy larger bras, I refused to wear underwire, 
which forced me into the top latch style.  While I found underwire bras that
were top hook, I could not find non-underwires that were front snap.

Boy, I *love* the front-snap closing bras.  They are, IMHO, completely
superior to the top closing bras, simply because they only require one
hand to close, instead of both.  I didn't try a front-hook;
back-hook/front-hook was not the issue for me.  In terms of breast
exposure, either style seemed to provide for maximum breast presentation!
And not just to the baby, either!

I bought two nursing bras, one with latches at the top and one with center
latches. The one with latches on top was more obtrusive, since I had to reach
higher up to open it. It was also more like a set of armor and made me feel
less feminine at a time when I wanted to regain that sexual sense of myself.
On the other hand the non-disposable nursing pads stayed in place better after
unlatching than did the center opening one. The center latching one was more
comfortable and in general I liked it much better. Both were reasonably 
discrete after leaking had stopped and my baby had learned to stay latched on
to the breast. 

First, I have a preference for underwire bras.  Mine was an Olga brand 
(not cheap) with an underwire, it was cotton.  It snapped (not hooked, I 
heard those plastic hooks break fairly easily) in front.  The snap was in 
the center about where a front closure regular bra would be.  The bra then 
opened to the side (not up like some, stayed nicely to the side and out of 
the way during nursing).

I had latch at top with the first, snap at the middle wiht
the second.  Snap at the middle is better - more discreet
when you are nursing where others are around and you're not
sure if they will be embarassed

The kind I disliked was an inexpensive bra from Sears.  The cup fabric had
no "give" to it.  It was easy to unlatch the cup, but difficult to latch.
It was kind of scratchy, which might have gone away if I wore/washed it
a lot.

The style I found I preferred during the day was an Olga/Christina
(style number 36344) nursing bra.  It's underwire (but still
comfortable) and had snap closures in the center of the bra.  The cups
(and the entire bra) were of a stretchy, thin fabric, which fit when I
was full to bursting, as well as when I was emptied.  Most of the
breast is exposed, when open.  I really like the center snap closure,
because I can easily do/undo the bra with one hand.

At night, I use the leotard-y bra.  It is hardly a bra at all, but holds
the breast pads in place (merely by pressure).  I just pull/stretch the
material over my breast at night to nurse.  It was a discontinued? (I got
them at 50% off) model by Calvin Klein.  A plus is that it's a bold, striped
fabric, so even when I am wearing it under a mostly unbuttoned nightshirt,
it doesn't look like I'm exposing myself.

I prefer the cotton/nylon versus the lacy things.  Didn't even consider
the underwire ones.  Front hook is best.  I have small breasts so they
were pretty much all exposed, but with the clothes I wore (loose) it
didn't matter.

I bought the cheap ones from Walmart and loved them.  Very Very comfy
and easy to unlatch.  They are fastened in the back and the latch is
at the shoulder on the front of the strap.  It is a slide gismo that
you push out and down.	I hope that makes sense.  The whole breast is
exposed.

I bought two kind.  One that was a top hook cup.  It was VERY awkward
to do/undo and got in the way if I didn't pull it WAY down and tuck it
into the band.  This was some fake fiber blend and wasn't very
comfortable.  The ones I bought with the snaps at the center were
great!  It was so easy to get into and out of these.  They were
cotton, so washed easily and were comfortable (especially in the
summer), they have underwires for support.
Both styles fastened in the back, which I don't normally like.

I like bras that hook in the back but have nursing access from the center of
the front (instead of hooking up by the shoulder strap).  I can't stand
underwire bras.  The bras I wear now have a separate snap for each cup in
the front (where a front closure bra would have its closure.)  I found the
Japanese Weekend nursing bra very painful (velcro does _not_ belong near
breasts).

I have heard from the breast-feeding class that a wire one
will give more support.  While this is true, I found it
very uncomfortable to sleep in.  I prefer my other one that
is all fabric.  The one with wire is less exposed when open.
Both of mine has snap-on in front center which I've heard
is more convenience/less exposed  than the kind that you have
to reach the hook from the strap.

Prefer center-opening.

I like the ones with 4 hooks, they never rode up the back.  Also, ones
lined with cotton seemed more comfy.  I had back hook bras.  The first
ones (which I still wear now that I don't breast feed) require 2 hands
to hook the flap back up - not handy in public or anywhere where you
can't set baby down.  The later ones were one handed.

3-hook-in-back, strap-latch cups (HATED one-handed)
Wanted cotton knit with snaps at bottom, but couldn't fit.

Front opening sports bras were blissfully 
comfortable.  The nursing bras I had were the standard latch opening which effectively have 
support in a triangel around your breast. I found the latch opening quite easy
to use but found that the support dug into me and was very uncomfortable.
The sports bras I bought were front opening and were 'moulded' (ie. no seams
over the breasts). The front opening was marginally more cumbersome than the
latch/flap system but this was more than compensated for by the feel.

I had all-cotton bras. Two had a plastic latch that required
two hands to operate (I got good at it at the end but it was
still a pain). Front hook. The other two, also fronthooks, were
the classic "hook and eye" design and could be operated with
one hand. MAJOR FEATURE to look for. I never cared about how
much breast was exposed.

I prefer the snap in the middle front.  Easy
one-handed operation.  Problem is, the only
kind I could find was the Olga Christina.
The cups are simply one sheer piece of material.
It makes nursing pads a necessity at all times.
I got both the natural and the underwire.  The
underwire was very uncomfortable.  I guess I
tugged at it a lot to try and make it comfortable.
After a while, the wires poked through.

    Mostly I've used the back-hooking, top-of-the-cup-flap-latch style.
    I've had no serious problems. I can undo the latch through the fabric
    of my shirts.  Re-latching the bra is tougher and I usually do it from 
    the top, reaching in through the neckline (works with everything but
    turtlenecks).

Cotton knit with cup snaps in center front (loved)

I liked the style of the nursing bras I bought, however.  The flaps snap
    below, in the middle.  In fact, baby learned very quickly how to unsnap
    them (clever boy!); that became a problem after a while, because the
    material around the snap gradually weakened and tore in that area.  The
    larger sizes had more hooks in the back for support.

All the nursing bras I could find hook-and-eyed in the back,
and then the cups opened separately at the front.  Regular
front-hook bras didn't work well for me -- I'd unhook them, they'd
fly out to my armpits, and I'd have to fish like mad to put
the whole works back together again.  This required two hands.
I never (well, hardly ever) slipped bras up above the breast,
having read that this could cause mastitis.

Hooks and eyes at the top of the cup SUCK ROCKS.  They absolutely
require two hands.  My favorite brassieres came from Sears and snapped
at the center -- each cup separately, and could be done one-handed.
All nursing bras in my size (38B post-pregnancy) have underwires; I
found these excruciatingly uncomfortable, constantly jabbing me in the
armpit.  I wound up cutting holes in the sides and pulling the
underwires out.  MUCH more comfortable.

Whole cup folding down, leaving ribbon from shoulder to rib; okay.
Cup-within-cup with hole: hated because pads wouldn't fit and breast
felt squeezed through hole.

Only one kind - the ones that latch at the shoulder -
i.e. top, outside of the cup. Most of the breast is exposed
(unless covered with your t-shirt). I didn't know there were
other kinds.

Hook-and-eyes CANNOT be done one-handed.

Back-hook with flip-down cups.  Plastic clips that latch are great.
Clips that have to thread through the top part are a PAIN.
I also prefer the nursing bras that have flaps that are not attached
in the middle of the bra (so pulling one flap down doesn't 
yank on the other flap)."

Tried hook front and snap front; both latched in back.  HATED
the hook closure.

Liked the "center snap" style (by Olga). Disliked the "shoulder  
latch" ones- especially when they sprung open at the grocery store or  
snagged my hair when I was closinng them. I only bought back hook  
ones (there were no front hooks that I could find for my size- 36G!)

I liked a style that was in the Sears catalogue.   It was a back hook
style, with the latches located where the straps attach to the cups
in front.  The quality was fine. 

I bought the back opening, with flaps hooked up to the bra strap in
front. Just unhook the flap to feed. The flap opens wide enough to
expose till just below the nipple, yet still supports the lower part
of the breasts. I got two different types of hooks; it is hard to
describe the hook mechanism, but **make sure you can hook it with one
hand**. I got two that I can do with one hand, two that needed two
hands (or at least, one hand but requires extra fiddling).
Sometimes I wear extra large exercise bras, but I usually prefer
nursing bras; I find that with nursing bras, I hardly leak, whereas
without bras, I drip drip drip. Exercise bras can be pulled down at
the straps during nursing (I hate pulling the bottom part *up* to
nurse), but they're not as comfy as nursing bras.

I like (in any bra) something seamless with minimal lace. The bra I
didn't like was a cotton knit with a seam from nipple down, and was
too pointy and too wide across the back - it would stretch with
wearing (no real "elastic" in the facbric), so I had to take it in,
which was only partially satisfactory. The bras that I was very happy
with were from the Penney's catalogue: cotton-lined, underwired,
seamless, decent price ($15-ish). Their only problem was that the
cotton lining shrunk slightly with months of washing/drying.

I had both hok-and-eye closure, as well as the slip-it-in-and-click typre,
and I can't say that I preferred one over the other really. I had a better
chance of closing the bra one-handed with the hook and eye, but a worse
time in general of being able to close it at all, sonce the hook and eye
were so small and diffcicult to find.

I loved the center snap one, but did not get enough support
from it.  The snaps tends to snap open sometimes, too.

First pregnacy, I got 2 cotton bras, underwire, with top of
the cup eye hooks.  The underwires had a tendacy to dig into
me (although I normally wear an underwire all the time).  I
went to a "better" department store, and got fitted for them.
The stupid lady talked me into a larger bra, since I would
get bigger during my pregnancy (I was about 7 or 8 months),
and also would be bigger when my milk came in.  What blithering
hogwash!  I also went back there after the baby was born, and
bought an expensive lacy bra (center snap).  When I asked if
it would last very well, the woman assured me it would.  It
really didnt.

I got the top of the cup eye hook, in cotton.  No underwire.  I went
to JC Penney, and fitted myself.  I am much happier.

-- 
Betsy Hanes Perry   (note P in userid)     betsyp@apollo.hp.com
Hewlett-Packard Company
"It seems to us that the readers who want fiction to be like life are
considerably outnumbered by those who would like life to be like fiction."
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