Maternity Bras & Underwear
It can be surprising how quickly your breasts know what is happening to your body, and seem to prepare themselves long before baby is due to be born. It is important to give your breasts adequate support during this time and you may find that under wires are no longer comfortable, Emma Jane have a range of bras designed for this prenatal period.
With your quickly changing shape you may find that your normal briefs are no longer comfortable. There is a wide range of briefs available that will comfortably fit over your growing tummy or are shaped to sit below. Maternity briefs are produced in styles similar to regular underwear including; standard style, g strings or beautiful cotton lace for those special evenings.
Tights are available in a range of colours and denier, shaped to accommodate your increasing shape these will stay up, so you can walk with confidence again.
Support Belts
For some ladies the constant extra weight of baby in the last trimester becomes very uncomfortable, quite often causing back pain. The Emma Jane support belt was designed by a midwife and is recommended by midwives can reduce this pain to a bearable level. The belt is made of a soft elasticated fabric that is adjusted and tightened using Velcro to an exact and comfortable fit below the baby. When fitted we find ladies are able to stand straight and feeling the difference, smile broadly and refuse to remove it.
Feeding & Nursing Bras
Bras designed for breast feeding allow you easy access to one breast at a time while still giving support to the other breast. Some are designed to be used during the day, others for night time or during sport.
Measuring for a Feeding Bra
From 36 weeks when baby has dropped slightly (you will notice that you can breath much easier at this point) it is possible to be measured for a feeding bra, the measurement is taken under the breasts with the tape as flat as possible, if the tape is lying on top of your bump, you will need to leave it another week and try again, once you have this measurement then measure over the breasts keeping the tape level and relaxing your arms, it is better to get someone to do this for you, it is difficult to do yourself. Once you have the measurement you can then refer to the charts produced by the manufactures, they do differ slightly from company to company.
When fitting before the babies birth, the bra needs to fit correctly on the outside hooks (loosest fitting) - this will give you spare hooks for when your ribcage contracts after the birth of baby, allowing a good amount of adjustment, this is needed to cope with the hourly/daily fluctuation in size of your breasts.
Night Time Wear
It is recommended that you wear a bra at night as it will support your breasts while they are at their heaviest. The bra you choose for night time should be soft, with as few seams as possible, a simple drop cup would be useful, but is not essential. You will probably need to wear breast pads at night.
Day Time Underwear
Your regular daytime bra should have adequate support as needed by your breast size, you will need at least two - one on and one in the wash. There are a number of fabrics to choose from, cotton was the main choice for a number of years and Emma Jane do carry a range with 100% cotton cups, but today there are new fabrics on the market that still allow your breast to 'breath', but do not go hard and stiff when breast milk leaks on to them, some are seamfree for a smooth line under clothing.
You will need to think of the clothing you are going to wear over the bra, many of today's bras are available in a range of colours - only a few years ago it was white or white.
Maternity Sports Bras
It is possible with care to get back to sport while breast feeding, but you will have to choose a good fitting bra with maximum support. You must protect your breasts not only for babies sake, but your breasts are much heavier while they are producing milk, and can, without support, develop stretch marks similar to those that occur on your tummy during pregnancy, these marks will fade with time but they will not go away completely.
