After 12 years in the Maternity Industry you would think I would have a straightforward answer to this qusetion, given that is is one of the most asked questions after "How big will I get?" Oh what I wouldn't give for a crystal ball!
Firstly, forget about getting measured with a tape. This would be fine if all the brands and styles of bras followed the same rule book when it came to sizing, but they don't. You really do need to try the bras on so if possible, go into the store and don't buy online but if you must buy online, make sure the store will refund you if the size is not right. At Maternity Revolution we will post you out a selection of maternity bras at no cost for you to try and you only pay for what you keep.
As a general rule, woman will experience a growth spurt in the bust are around the 3-4 month mark of their pregnancy. From then on, the growth in the cup size is fairly gradual until the milk comes in. This is usually in the first few days after giving birth and for the next week or 2 you will be huge, engorged and sore but after this the breasts settle down and the size is usually about where you were at the end of your pregnancy.
The girth measurement is where there is often a lot of change during pregnancy, particularly if you are carrying high. For this reason, maternity bras have 6 adjustments. If you were being fitted for a bra at 3 months, you would want the bra to be comfortable on the tightest notch. This allows one notch per month for you to expand the bra as your girth gets wider. Once you have had your baby, the area under your bust will move back into place fairly quickly and you will need to be able to tighten the bra again.
If you are trying to buy a maternity bra right at the end of your pregnancy it can be hard because you are feeling a lot of pressure under your bust from your baby and everything will feel tight and uncomfortable. You therefore tend to want to buy a bra bigger than you actually need it. You will get a few weeks wear out of it and then once you've had your baby the bra will be too big. Better to use a bra extender in this case so that you know the bra will fit afterwards.
The exception to the rule is often seen in the smaller busted ladies. Sometimes these ladies spend their whole pregnancy waiting to experience a larger bust only to be disappointed. For some of these ladies all the growth happens when their milk comes in and for others, nothing much ever happens.
So to summarise all of this information you should look at buying a new maternity bra whenever your current bra becomes uncomfortable, remembering that a wire free maternity bra is best for the first trimester when growth is sudden and everything is tender. Some ladies make it through to 6 months before their bra becomes uncomfortable and although this is not recommended, I suppose it is personal choice.
Here are some good guidelines to follow:
- Choose a wire free maternity bra for the first 3 months or for the first few weeks after giving birth. Flexi wire is fine for all other times but avoid proper underwire.
- Allow yourself one notch of adjustment for each month you have left of pregnancy.
- Buy a bra extender if your bra gets too tight towards teh end of your pregnancy rather than going up a size.
- The cup should fit well but there should be a little bit of room for growth. You will normally fill up from the top of your bust.
- Don't buy a maternity bra too big and hope to grow into it. Better to have a bra you can wear for now and deal with the problem down the track if you grow out of it. You will probably get to wear the bra again next pregnancy or once your baby starts to drop feeds and your bust starts to decrease again.
- Make sure there is room to adjust the straps.
- Make sure that the bust is not spilling out the sides and that the bra is not too high up under your armpits.
- If this is your first baby, remember that although you may want to breastfeed, it doesn't work for everyone, so go easy with the number of maternity bras you buy. Start with one and make sure it is comfy, then buy a second so you have one on and one off. For hospital, buy a sleep bra or feeding cami and that should be heaps until you are sure that feeding is working well for you and then you can buy more if you need them.
- Another general rule, you will probably go up one size around your middle and about 2 cup sizes but because the cup in a 12D is bigger than the cup in a 10D you will have to take this into consideration. If you were a 10D to start with, you will probably end up a 12DD. Again, this is just a very general rule.
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