Abstract:
A T-shirt style nursing garment is described. A T-shirt or other type of torso garment has an opening along the sides of the garment starting from under the arm to approximately half-way down the length of the garment. The opening is not apparent or obvious to someone looking at the garment. The nursing garment allows a woman to breastfeed without exposing any portion of the breast or shoulder. In order to provide access to the breast by a nursing infant, the woman does not have to unhook or unzip the garment or remove any other portions of clothing, such as panels or flaps. Upon separating the back and front panels of the nursing garment to create the opening, the woman pulls the front panel of the garment toward the middle of her chest thereby creating the opening and exposing the breast for the nursing infant.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to garments for nursing women to facilitate breastfeeding of their babies. More specifically, it relates to a garment covering a woman&#39;s torso, such as a T-shirt, that enables nursing an infant while minimizing adjustment of the woman&#39;s clothing and has the appearance of a regular, non-nursing garment. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Mothers of newborn babies and infants have long been advised to breastfeed their children. However, because of women&#39;s typically active work schedules and lifestyles, they must often wear clothing that allows them to breastfeed in many locations other than in the home. Nursing women may also prefer wearing a garment that does not have the appearance of being a nursing garment for aesthetic reasons. Consequently, a need has existed for a garment, such as a long or short sleeve T-shirt style garment, that allows for breastfeeding with minimal exposure of the mother&#39;s torso and that appears to be a regular, non-nursing T-shirt. 
     Presently, T-shirts and similar garments that facilitate breastfeeding have visible features that make it apparent that the T-shirt is a nursing garment. Many women feel that these features detract from the garment&#39;s appeal, style, and aesthetic. Some nursing women would prefer to wear a regular or conventional looking T-shirt or other more fashionable garment but still be able to breastfeed comfortably while wearing the garment. For example, many women would like to wear a contemporary, form-fitting T-shirt or top that contains no obvious indicia of being a nursing garment. Some women would also prefer to avoid having to unhook, untie, or unzip any part of the garment or T-shirt or have to adjust or move layers of clothing or material attached in some manner to the garment or that work in conjunction with the garment. These obvious functional features of present nursing garments detract from their appearance to some mothers and make it obvious that the woman is wearing a nursing garment. Thus, there is a need for a T-shirt style nursing garment that has the appearance of a regular T-shirt, does not require significant adjustment, and minimizes exposure of the mother while breastfeeding. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A novel nursing garment that allows for breastfeeding with minimal exposure of the breast and having the appearance of a regular, non-nursing garment is described. In one aspect of the invention, the nursing garment is styled as a long or short sleeve T-shirt which may optionally have a design on the front, back or along the sleeves giving the T-shirt a non-typical nursing garment appearance. The garment has a front panel having at least one upper side section located near a breast and the side of the garment. A side seam connects the front panel of the garment to a back panel. The side seam has an upper segment and a lower segment, where the upper segment extends from near or immediately below the armpit area of the garment to approximately mid-way down the side of the garment ending at or near the middle of the woman&#39;s torso. The lower segment begins at the lower ending point of the upper segment and extends to the bottom of the garment. The upper segment has a seal and can be opened and closed as desired by a nursing woman. When the seal is closed, the upper segment of the seam has the general appearance of a normal seam and to others seeing the garment being worn, is generally indistinguishable from the lower segment of the seam. 
     When the seal of the upper segment is opened, the woman wearing the garment can control exposure of a breast for breastfeeding. The upper side segment can be opened by detaching the means being used to seal the front panel and the back panel. Once detached or unsealed, a breast can be exposed by pulling or moving the upper side section of the front panel towards the middle of the woman&#39;s chest as far as necessary to sufficiently enable breastfeeding. There are no flaps, layers, or other components of the garment that need to be moved or adjusted in order to open the seal and facilitate nursing. The seal may utilize one of several means including multiple hook and loop materials, such as Velcro, laces, buttons, snaps, and the like. The sealed upper segment portion may extend from the armpit area of the garment to any point below the mid-torso area, for example, to the nearly the bottom of the garment, thereby allowing the creation of a larger opening if desired. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       References are made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the description and in which are shown, by way of illustration, specific embodiments of the present invention: 
         FIG. 1  is a frontal view of a nursing garment in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of a nursing garment with the side opening sealed. 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of a nursing garment showing an open seal thereby exposing a breast for breastfeeding in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a frontal view of a nursing garment showing a seal in the open position thereby exposing a breast for breastfeeding. 
         FIG. 5  is a frontal view of a woman breastfeeding a baby wearing a nursing garment in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates examples of sealing means in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Exemplary embodiments of a nursing garment according to the present invention are described. These examples and embodiments are provided solely to add context and aid in the understanding of the invention. Thus, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without some or all of the specific details described herein. In other instances, well-known concepts and garment components have not been described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention. Other applications and examples are possible, such that the following examples, illustrations, and contexts should not be taken as definitive or limiting either in scope or setting. Although these embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable one skilled in the art to practice the invention, these examples, illustrations, and contexts are not limiting, and other embodiments may be used and changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 
     A garment that facilitates breastfeeding by a woman styled as a T-shirt that does not have the appearance of a nursing garment and minimizes exposure of a woman&#39;s breast while breastfeeding is described in the various figures. Presently, many nursing garments have obvious or at least some apparent features indicating that the garment is not a regular garment but is specially tailored or styled as a garment that enables a woman to breastfeed an infant. In the described embodiment, a T-shirt styled garment has the appearance of a regular, non-nursing garment yet allows a woman to nurse with minimal exposure. In addition, the garment does not require partial disrobing by the woman or removal of any undergarments. Various alternative embodiments of the present invention are described further below. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , a T-shirt  10  has a collar component  14  and a design  12  on a front panel  13  in accordance with the described embodiment of the present invention. Embellishment  12  may be a screen print, embroidery work, beading, and the like that may appear on any other non-nursing male or female T-shirt. Garment  10  has sleeves  20   b  and  20   a , which can be long sleeve or short sleeve. Sleeves  20   a  and  20   b  begin on the top shoulder portion at points  16   a  and  16   b , respectively, and begin at the bottom underarm portion at points  18   a  and  18   b , respectively. Two areas  22   a  and  22   b  of front panel  13  are also shown. The relevance of these areas is described below. Garment  10  has no internal or underlying components and the appearance of garment  10  as shown in  FIG. 1  (and in  FIG. 5  below) is what an observer may see while the garment is being worn. As is apparent from  FIG. 1 , garment  10  looks like a regular, non-nursing item of clothing. 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of a nursing garment with a side aperture sealed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Collar  14  is shown on top of garment  10  and portions of embellishment  12  can be seen. As described in  FIG. 1 , there is front panel  13  and side portion  22   b  near the under arm area shown in  FIG. 2 . Also shown in  FIG. 2  is a rear or back panel  26  which extends to a bottom  36  of garment  10 , as does front panel  13 . Garment  10  has a side seam  28  that extends from bottom point  18 b of the sleeve, as described in  FIG. 1 , to garment bottom  36 , and that connects front panel  13  with back panel  26 . The seal may utilize one of several means including multiple hook and loop materials, such as Velcro, laces, buttons, snaps, and the like.  FIG. 6  illustrates examples of sealing means in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
     In the described embodiment of the present invention, side seam  28  has two segments. A bottom side segment extends from a point  27  to garment bottom point  36  and is normally stitched or sewn in a permanent manner. In other embodiments, point  27  can be higher or lower than that shown in  FIG. 2 . Point  27  is preferably at a point below the woman&#39;s breast and, as such, its position along side seam  28  may vary. In the described embodiment, a top side segment extends from point  27  to point  18   b . This top side segment is not permanently sewn or stitched, as indicated by the dashed line  29 . In the described embodiment, point  27  is vertically positioned along side seam  28  to allow a woman to pull front panel side portion  22   b  towards the middle of the woman&#39;s chest in a manner that provides access to the woman&#39;s breast and will not pull rear panel  26 , as described and shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
       FIG. 3  is a side view of a nursing garment showing an unsealed or open top side segment creating an aperture for exposing a breast for breastfeeding in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. A top side segment  32  shows the segment shown in  FIG. 2  by dashed line  29  in an unsealed or open position. An aperture  30  provides access to breast  34 . This is done by the woman pulling on front panel side portion  22   b , thereby opening the seal and creating aperture  30 . Aperture  30  may extend from point  27  to point  18   b . The woman wearing garment  10  and wanting to breastfeed can pull portion  22   b  as far towards the center of the woman&#39;s chest as desired. In the described embodiment, the lower point  27  is along side seam  28 , the larger the aperture may be when pulled toward the center of the woman&#39;s chest. If point  27  is positioned higher along seam  28 , the more difficult it may be to create a sufficiently sized aperture for breastfeeding. This may also cause rear panel  26  to be pulled toward the front of the woman&#39;s torso in an uncomfortable manner. 
       FIG. 4  is a frontal view of nursing garment  10  shown worn on a woman&#39;s torso with aperture  30  providing access to breast  34 . As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , top side segment  32  is open to maximize access to breast  34 . Top side segment  32  need not be opened completely to enable nursing. A woman may partially open seal  29  starting from either bottom point  27  or from top point  18   b . In the described embodiment of the present invention, there are no other clothing components, such as internal or external flaps, that are part of garment  10  to facilitate breastfeeding. For simplicity, garment  10  is shown in the figures without any undergarments, such as a bra, camisole, etc. However, garment  10  may facilitate breastfeeding if a woman is wearing such undergarments. Upon unsealing the top side segment of the garment and creating an aperture, a woman can unhook, move aside, or otherwise remove any underlying garment. 
       FIG. 5  is a frontal view of a woman breastfeeding a baby wearing nursing garment  10  in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. A woman  38  wearing garment  10  is nursing an infant  40 . Aperture  30  is created by pulling front side portion  22   a  as shown in  FIG. 1  toward the center of the chest. Once pulled, side portion  22   a  (not shown in  FIG. 5 ) may assume an unsealed position thereby comfortably forming and maintaining aperture  30 , which in the described embodiment begins at about top point  18   a . The size of aperture  30  can be adjusted by woman  38  wearing garment  10  thereby controlling exposure of breast  34 . Given that in the described embodiment, there is no extra material or clothing that is needed to cover the breast while nursing, it allows the nursing mother to maintain eye contact between mother and nursing child, thereby promoting calm, steady nursing as recognized by mothers and nursing specialists. 
     As described, seal  29  can be opened to create aperture  30 . Various mechanisms can be used to create seal  29 . Preferably ones that allow a woman to open and close the seal with one hand and do not involve extraneous or additional material should be used. For example, a Velcro® attachment or any other type of multiple hook-and-loop material can be used. In this embodiment, the “hook” side of the material may be attached to a tab running vertically along the side of seal  29 . The “loop” side of the material may run vertically on a tab on the inside of seal  29 . In another example, tabs and character strips used as a fastener in diapers may also be used to create seal  29 . Other common garment seals such as zippers, laces, snap, and buttons may be used, although, as noted, it is preferable that the seal be easily opened by the woman wearing the garment and remain closed when sealed. Further, the effectiveness of sealing and re-sealing the opening should be generally maintained upon long-term use, which may limit the utility of, for example, the tab and character strip fastener. In the described embodiment, it is preferable that garment  10  not require any releasing or adjusting of any fastening devices for opening and sealing seal  29 . As is evident to one of ordinary skill in the art, there are many variations and possible implementations of the mechanism or material used to create seal  29 . 
     In other embodiments of the present invention, garment  10  may be a bodice portion of a dress or other type of torso component of a full-length woman&#39;s garment. Garment  10  may also be a sports or active wear style T-shirt having a form-fitting design or a more formal top, such as a blouse. Garment  10  may also be sleepwear or an undergarment. Generally, garment  10  may have various styles, patterns, shapes and can be made of different types of fabric, such as a flexible fabric that stretches easily (e.g., a Jersey knit fabric). 
     In the described embodiment, aperture  30 , seal  29 , and other components and features described above are on both sides of garment  10 . In another embodiment, aperture  30  may only be formed on one side of garment  10 . The other side may have a permanent side seal that extends from bottom point  36  to point  18   a  or  18   b , as in a regular, non-nursing garment on the other side. 
     Although illustrative embodiments and applications of this invention are shown and described herein, many variations and modifications are possible which remain within the concept, scope, and spirit of the invention, and these variations would become clear to those of ordinary skill in the art after perusal of this application. Numerous stylistic modifications can be made to garment  10  without exceeding the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the embodiments described are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.