When To Start Wearing Maternity Bras

One of the earliest signs of pregnancy is changes to your breasts.

For this reason supportive and soft maternity bras are a pregnancy essential to help you stay comfortable day and night while you’re expecting.

It’s likely you will need to start wearing maternity bras by week 10 in the first trimester, when your breasts become tender and begin to swell.

There’s no exact science behind which week you may find your normal bras becoming less comfortable, however breast tenderness is one of the early signs of pregnancy.

You may experience the beginnings of changes in your breasts from weeks three to four, when they may start to feel tender. Breasts may then start to swell from weeks six to eight.

I started wearing my maternity bras in the first trimester with both of my pregnancies, long before I needed to switch to maternity jeans! I didn’t need those until around week 18.

I found myself needing a maternity bra earlier in my second pregnancy – as I felt the underwire of my usual bras was particularly uncomfortable early on.

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Why do you need a maternity bra

You need a maternity bra because your breasts will become tender and grow – as much as two cup sizes – over the course of your pregnancy.

A maternity bra is made from soft and stretchy fabric that provides decent coverage to give you comfort and firm support with elastic straps.

The changes in the first trimester mean your breasts may feel tender very early in the pregnancy. A supportive maternity bra provides full coverage of the skin there to help protect you from discomfort.

Your breasts change because of those fun pregnancy hormones – oestrogen and progesterone. https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/pregnant-breast

They help to prepare the breasts for breastfeeding – causing growth of breast duct cells as well as generating another hormone, prolactin, which stimulates breast enlargement and milk production.

Plus as you hit the second trimester you will find your rib cage begins to feel uncomfortable – as it expands to make way for your growing baby – from around week 23 of pregnancy.

Combine that with your breasts growing up to two cup sizes, and an underwire bra just isn’t going to feel very comfy!

Signs it’s time to switch to maternity bras

Your breasts feel tender.
Your bra feels more snug than usual.
There are deeper indentations where your band and straps were when you remove your normal bra.
Your breasts are spilling out of the bra cups.
You struggle to get comfortable for sleep at night due to tenderness in your breasts.

Key features of a great maternity bra

Even before pregnancy you’ll already be aware that a really great bra is important for your comfort.

During pregnancy the sort of fit and material you need is a little different, so that it can adapt to help with your changing body.

Maternity bras come in all sorts of different colours and styles, with features including:

Stretchy fabric. Designed to feel supportive, while also having so give for comfort. Also seam-free across the breast so it doesn’t irritate the skin.

Fit. A fit that is supportive but can also grow with you over the course of your pregnancy. This may mean extra hooks at the back so you can expand the band over time. To get the fit right head to a shop to see a fitter so you can get an accurate idea of your size. The maternity brand Seraphine suggests for sizing you go for one cup size up and one back size up.

Supportive straps. Maternity bras often have slightly thicker straps to provide better support.

Wire-free. Some women wear underwire bras throughout pregnancy without an issue. I personally found life much more comfortable without the underwire bras. The key is finding a maternity bra that provides good support in the cups and does not dig in anywhere. If you’re finding underwire is still comfortable, then go ahead and wear it!

You do not have to buy a maternity bra if your existing bras are still comfy.

You can buy bra extenders, which add extra hooks to your bra to increase the back size.

Should you wear a bra at night in pregnancy?

You may find it much easier to get comfortable to sleep if you are wearing a maternity bra that supports your breasts.

I personally could not sleep without my maternity bras on, as it prevented me from placing pressure on my breasts when laying on my side. When they were tender this could be really uncomfortable.

You could also wear a sports bra or a cropped supportive sports top in bed. It’s really whatever is most comfortable for you and helps you get that much needed sleep in pregnancy.

How many maternity bras to buy

It’s sensible to buy three maternity bras. This gives you one to wear, one to be in the wash and one spare at all times.

You could buy some nursing bras, which are built on the same principle of comfort and support as maternity bras but they also have clips that pull the cups down so you can nurse.

This is a good idea if you’re on a budget and want to save yourself buying new maternity bras and nursing bras just a few months later.

I have a whole post on how many nursing bras you need here.