Why the Fit of Your Designer Nursing Bra is So Important

The improvements in design to maternity and nursing bras are ongoing - thank goodness! Gone are the days when being pregnant or feeding your baby means you are only able to wear dull and functional lingerie. These days, wearing a designer nursing bra is an expected norm. For someone like me, who spent years revelling in luxurious lingerie, it meant I had to start my own maternity lingerie company in order to wear sexy, feminine underwear. The importance of the lingerie being both gorgeous and a perfect fit is paramount.

I am continually amazed at the number of women who still wear ill-fitting bras - the statistics are generally in agreement that this is around 80% of women! Your nursing bra must fit in order to encourage healthy breastfeeding, a beautiful and well supported silhouette and a feeling of comfort. And it can also include all the features synonymous with being a designer garment - exquisite fabrics and trims, fashion forward design and sophisticated styling.

Whether you are pregnant or not, you need to be professionally fitted. Dedicate an hour or so to this - you will be delighted at the benefits! You may identify a maternity range that suits your style and your budget. Even so, there will be size variations within that range dependent on whether you wear a full cup designer nursing bra, a half cup, A-Frame or side sling support. Your weight fluctuations are more extreme during pregnancy, your moods more changeable. These are both reasons for your designer bra to be fitted more regularly, generally around three months and again at about seven months. If your bra is puckering, riding up, the straps are digging in or you have chafing of the skin or sensitive nipple area - get re-fitted straight away! And don't forget to choose a bra that makes you feel ravishing too!

Your nursing bra should not have an underwire. Because of the changes in breast size and shape you will experience during the exciting stages of your pregnancy, the fit changes more quickly than with a regular bra. Nursing bras with underwire can be the cause of blockages and infections - the too narrow wire presses on the milk ducts and can result in unnecessary complications to breastfeeding, which isn't always the easiest of things to master - believe me!

There are myths surrounding nursing bras and the idea that if they are in the designer category, they are for show only. Not so! Don't fall into the trap of purchasing a stretchy maternity bra that will "grow with you", or one with a loose band over your diaphragm for expansion. The inclusion of gorgeous fabrics, teamed with power elastene, wider straps and back adjustors for larger sizes, multiple rows of eyelets for expansion and sexy, sophisticated styling means that designer nursing bras are what every pregnant and breastfeeding woman is entitled to. This is your time!