Abstract:
The present invention is directed to a wearable breastfeeding cover, such as a nursing overshirt. The cover is comprised of a garment having sleeves or arm holes, a front panel having at least one access port, and a flap member secured to the front panel.

Description:
RELATED U.S. APPLICATION DATA  
       [0001]     Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/736,656, filed on Nov. 15, 2005. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to a garment worn over other clothing to provide privacy for nursing mothers. In particular, the breastfeeding cover comprises an overshirt that enables a wearer to nurse a baby in public while concealing herself and, if desired, the baby.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     In recent years, the benefits of breastfeeding a baby, such as enhanced immunity, brain development, and weight loss for the mother, have become known. However, breastfeeding in public has always been a challenge for mothers. Historically, mothers would hide in dark corners or excuse themselves from social gatherings, confining themselves to a private area while nursing their babies. If bold enough to engage in nursing in the company of others, a mother would often cover herself—and the baby—with a receiving blanket or small cloth draped over her shoulder in order to provide a modicum of privacy. Such efforts at concealment may be hindered or even thwarted, however, if the baby pulls the blanket off the mother&#39;s shoulder or pushes it aside, as is often the case.  
         [0004]     In order to accommodate mothers wishing to nurse their babies in public, lines of clothing and other coverings have been designed specifically to provide some covering and to aid in public breastfeeding. Examples of these include breastfeeding-specific clothes with built-in openings through which the baby can access the mother&#39;s breast. Such clothing is worn in the place of “normal” clothing. Mothers, however, often express that these clothes are not attractive, and unnecessarily keep them in the “maternity” clothing arena from which they desperately seek escape. Such breastfeeding clothing is also often expensive and limited as to styles available, which substantially limits a woman&#39;s dress choices especially for more formal occasions. Many nursing mothers are simply unwilling to purchase such clothing due to the limited choices and high costs for items that will be worn for only a relatively short time.  
         [0005]     Other options that are available are in the form of nursing cover-ups. Each of these designs, however, has its own limitation. The first is essentially an apron-styled cover, in which the mother places the product around her neck and encloses the baby in a small tenting of material. This product provides the mother with the desired level of privacy, as well as allowing the mother to view her baby while feeding. However, many babies do not like the sensation created by this type of covering and struggle to move the material away, making for a very disruptive feeding environment. In addition, such apron-styled garments are generally quite obvious in appearance, thereby calling undesirable attention to the mother.  
         [0006]     Another available cover up comprises what is essentially a long sash centered on the mother&#39;s shoulder. The sash drapes over the front of the mother, like the receiving blankets of old, and extends in the back, allowing the mother to sit upon or lean back on the material for anchoring. The longer stretch of material in the back allows for slightly better control and placement on the mother&#39;s shoulder. But if the baby pushes the front sash to one side or the other, the mother is again exposed, defeating the purpose of the product altogether. In addition, the sash requires that the mother have a place to sit or lean back so as to anchor the sash, which is not always the most convenient option.  
         [0007]     The present invention overcomes these and other shortcomings of the prior art by providing a cover for breastfeeding that is secure, does not require a specialized wardrobe, and is easy to use.  
       SUMMARY of the INVENTION  
       [0008]     The present invention is directed to a wearable breastfeeding cover, such as a nursing overshirt. The cover is comprised of a garment including a pair of sleeves or arm holes, a front panel having at least one opening such as an access port, and a flap member secured to an upper edge portion of the front panel. In a preferred embodiment, the flap member is integral with or fixedly secured to the upper edge portion of the front panel. Also, in the preferred embodiment, the front panel includes a pair of access ports, such as large vertical, slit-type openings for feeding access. The front panel may also be secured around the back of the wearer, such as with ties, hook and loop enclosures, or the like.  
         [0009]     To wear, the woman places her arms through the armholes or sleeves, and with the preferred embodiment, the garment is then fastened around the back of the wearer. The preferred embodiment of the garment may even be worn in different manners. In one way, the front panel of the garment is worn closest to the wearer&#39;s body, with the flap member outside the front panel. In order to breast feed, the wearer may lift her normal clothing to access a breast. The baby is then guided to nurse through one of the openings in the front panel. The wearer is afforded substantial privacy in that the front panel conceals all of her torso but the portion accessed through the opening. This minimal exposure is lessened even more by the fact that the baby&#39;s head also serves to cover the woman&#39;s breast. If desired, the flap member may be laid over some or all of the baby to provide even added privacy. Unlike conventional receiving blankets, the baby is unable to pull the flap member off of the wearer, exposing the woman, and causing embarrassment and an awkward situation.  
         [0010]     Alternatively, the garment can be reversed and worn in a different way. The garment can be worn in a reversed manner from the previously discussed manner of wearing. For example, the flap member is worn closest to the wearer&#39;s body and the front panel with the access ports is on the outside. In other words, worn in the “reversed” mode, the flap member is on the underside closest to the wearer, and the front panel with the vertical openings are over the flap member. To feed, the mother moves the flap member slightly to one side to create access to the vertical openings in the front panel, which now are on the top of the shirt, closest to baby. This mode would be used in the common situation when the baby does not like the sensation created by a cover over their head or body. Rather than covering the baby, the fabric panel now serves as additional cover for the mother, more than would be offered by the shirt with the vertical openings alone.  
         [0011]     This garment is perfect for use while pumping or expressing milk, which is becoming increasingly common in the workplace.  
         [0012]     It is also preferred that the garment be constructed of high quality and stylish materials such that the nursing overshirt provides the mother with a fashionable option for breastfeeding privacy. Since the garment is worn over whatever “normal” clothing the mother is wearing, her wardrobe options are not limited to breast feeding clothing, thereby replacing many articles of clothing with just a single cover-up. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0013]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a breastfeeding cover according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a right side view of the breastfeeding cover of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a rear view of the breastfeeding cover of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a front view of the breastfeeding cover of  FIG. 1  with the flap member lifted to reveal a front panel having access ports;  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is left side view of the breastfeeding cover of  FIG. 1  with the front panel lifted to reveal a front panel having access ports; and  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is a front view of and alternative manner of wearing the breastfeeding cover of  FIG. 1 .  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0019]     The invention disclosed herein is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms. Shown in the drawings and described hereinbelow in detail are preferred embodiments of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the present disclosure is an exemplification of the principles of the invention and does not limit the invention to the illustrated embodiments.  
         [0020]     A preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIGS. 1-2 . Breastfeeding cover  10  includes arm holes  12  on side panels  13  on the left and right portion of the breastfeeding cover  10 . Alternatively, breastfeeding cover  10  can include conventional arm sleeves (not shown) in place of arm holes  12 . Cover  10  includes a front panel  14  and a flap member  16  that is secured at the front panel upper edge  20 . Flap member  16  can be secured at front panel upper edge  20  permanently or it can be detachably secured in such a way that flap member  16  can be removed from cover  10  at the option of a wearer. Alternatively, flap member  16  can be integral with front panel upper edge  20 .  
         [0021]     As shown in  FIG. 3 , cover  10  contains rear edges  22  at the ends of respective side panels  13 . If desired, the two rear edges  22  can be secured to each other by conventional methods known in the prior art, such as ties or hooks.  
         [0022]     As shown in  FIG. 4 , front panel  14  contains at least one opening such as an access port  18 . In a preferred embodiment, front panel  14  contains two access ports  18  in the shape of large vertical slits.  
         [0023]     In use, cover  10  is placed onto the body of a wearer in a variety of manners. Cover  10  can be placed on top of a wearer&#39;s other clothing, or cover  10  can be worn by itself with no additional clothing beneath it. Typically, a wearer places her arms through arm holes  12  such that front panel  14  is adjacent the wearer&#39;s front side, and side panels  13  are adjacent the wearer&#39;s left and right sides. Side panels  13  are wrapped around the body of the wearer such that rear edges  22  are adjacent each other, and the rear edges  22  are fastened to each other adjacent the rear side of the wearer.  
         [0024]     In a preferred embodiment, front panel  14  is adjacent the wearer&#39;s body and the flap member  16  extends along the outside of the front panel  14  furthest from the wearer&#39;s body. In this embodiment, the flap member  16  covers the front panel  14  from the view of an outside observer.  FIG. 2  illustrates such a configuration with the flap member  16  covering the front panel  14 .  
         [0025]     In this configuration, flap member  16  can be lifted vertically or moved horizontally to expose the front panel  14 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . By lifting flap member  16 , access ports  18  can also be exposed to allow access to a wearer&#39;s breast beneath the access ports  18 . A wearer can guide a baby to access ports  18  to allow for breast feeding, and can arrange flap member  16  around or on top of the baby in order to maximize the comfort and privacy of the wearer and the baby. In a preferred embodiment, the flap member  16  is connected at the front panel upper edge  20  such that the flap member  16  cannot be pulled completely off of the cover  10  to expose the wearer during breastfeeding.  
         [0026]     In another preferred embodiment, flap member  16  is adjacent the wearer&#39;s body and the front panel  14  extends along the outside of the flap member  16  furthest from the wearer&#39;s body. In this embodiment, the front panel  14  covers the flap member  16  from the view of an outside observer, except for the portion of the flap member  16  that can be viewed through access ports  18 . Although an outside observer is able to see through the front panel  14  at the location of the access ports  18 , the body of the wearer is covered from outside view by the flap member  16 .  FIG. 6  illustrates such a configuration with the front panel  14  covering the flap member  16 .  
         [0027]     In this configuration, because front panel  14  and access ports  18  are already externally exposed, access to a wearer&#39;s breast can be achieved by simply moving the portion of the flap member  16  located beneath the access ports  18 . A wearer can arrange flap member  16  in such a manner to maximize the comfort and privacy of the wearer and the baby. In this configuration, flap member  16  is generally not placed over the baby, but is instead arranged to provide maximum privacy and comfort for the wearer.  
         [0028]     The foregoing descriptions are to be taken as illustrative, but not limiting. Breastfeeding cover  10  can be constructed from any suitable material of any color or texture. Cover  10  can contain variations to its general structure that alter the style or fashion of the cover. Other variants within the spirit and scope of the present invention will readily present themselves to those skilled in the art.