damaged my milk ducts??? and bra fittings SORRY RANT ALERT

[Geordie&Bairn]

Ive only just found out why you should not wear an underwired bra.
And im freaking out as i really want to breast feed.
And i carried on wearing my underwires and im over 22 weeks now.
Im a very small breasted and always have padding.
Could i have effected my chances of breast feeding?????????????

Im already worried about not being adaquet enough to breast feed.
To be honest the more stories i hear about everyones boobs growing the SMALLER i feel.
Ive gone up only a little bit. ( a pathetic amount)
So thought whats the point in a maternity bra ive got nothing to put in the thing.

Also another question Im supposed to be a 34b normaly (not)
to anyone out there who is small like me (there has to be some one)
How hard did you find it to get the right maternity bra.
Ive had A NIGHTMARE
I went to mother care on sunday and they gave me a 38b YEAH RIGHT.
The Maternity bra is padded which is waht i need
I took them back today and a different lady said you defently our not a 38b (yeah like i know that thanks)
But she was sweet and we tried a 36B padded bra it fit so much better cup wise
But i have a wide circumference and even using the last hook it dug like mad into my boby.
I tried on a unpadded 36B and the cup fabric hung of me like fried eggs
She said i need a 36A oh My god i am flat chested
Ive always worn the wrong size I AM AN 'A'
God i am depressed and seriously FED UP.
The lady said they do not do a size A (well they wouldnt normal people have breasts at least in pregnancy)

She said an A is hard to find...... BRILLIANT
And i should try a sports bra
Im sorry to sound vain but bloody hell i'll look as flat as pancakes in one

Im sorry to rant
Ive never been to fussed about the size of my breast of course i wonted them bigger but it was never a big deal.
But i thought that at last being preggers id finaly get a least a reasonable amount of growth.
And now it does matter I DONT FEEL ALL WOMEN and a usless provider of life giving natural food for my Son.

GOD IM CRYING NOW HOW PATHETIC

 

[Tegala-7thMarch08]

my friend is a size AA an so are most of the women in her family and as far as i no most of them were able 2 breast feed... i really cudnt help u on the bra situation as i have the oppersite problem

just wanted to give u sum hugs

 

[*Cupcake*]

I had problems with mothercare bra fitting too. I was told I was a 40C When every other place for the last 2 years has told me 34 or 36 E. I really dont like the fit of their bras either. Im still wearing a wired bra at 28 weeks even though the cups are now getting far too small. I think Im going to try M&S as their fitting service is normally fantastic and spot on.

 

[kitten1102]

first of all, have some hugs!

i wore an underwired bra all the way through my pregnancy. I only had one maternity bra, and that was from mothercare, the rest of the time, I wore my nice underwear!!

I was a 34b then, and when I went to buy my nursing bras the week before Tim was due, I bought 34Fs, because my boobs had gotten much bigger in just a week (and bigger still after my milk came in, which luckily the woman in the shop knew would happen, so offered me a bra a cup size bigger than I needed at my fitting!)!!

most of the time, you will find that your back size increases... the seam on the side of the bra should be against your rib cage, NOT your boobs, as that is what will damage the ducts.

my advice would be to leave at few weeks, get measured again at somewhere like La Senza or M&S and then have a look on the net, or go to somewhere like Blooming Marvellous...

Hope I've helped a little... just remember, you're not the only one with little boobs. I always feel flat chested when I am with my best friend, hers are ENORMOUS!!

 

[*Cupcake*]

They may well of gotten your size wrong. Get a second opinion from a different store Hope you find what your looking for.

 

[leckershell]

Hi chick... here have some hugs. I'll hopefully reassure you. I breastfeed, my little boy is nearly 5 months. I wore underwire bras up until I left work (30 weeks) and then I wore sports bras because I thought maternity bras and nursing bras were the same thing so I never bothered getting any cos I thought they were for after the baby. So yes I just went to Primark and got a couple of sports bras.
Before I was pregnant I was a size 8 everywhere, 34a (even more flat than you!!). I bought a couple of size 8-10 sports bra tops which eventually got too small. Then I bought a couple of 10-12 sports bra tops which saw me through 3rd tri. Cos I went to Primark they were only like £2 each or something silly.
When I went to get measured after Ryan for nursing bras, once my milk had come in, I had gone up to a 38c or 36d, which were pretty common sizes, I got from mothercare.
Hope that helps a bit?
I was wearing sports bras and underwires through pregnancy and successfully breastfeed. Drop me a PM if you get stuck but don't feel ashamed of being flat chested at the moment. Believe me when you get further up through the trimesters, you will grow. Failing that, you definately will grow when your milk comes in and you'll be a midsize. A lot of ladies on here who are usually big really struggle with nursing bras because there size bumps up past "normal" sizes.

 

[drea b]

I've been wearing underwire bra's and will continue to do so. Can't remember where I read this but apparently as long as your bra fits (I've had to go up 2 sizes) it shouldn't have any effect on your milk. It's only misfitting bra's that cause the problem.

 

[Natural mamma]

I was always a 36C before babies...now when not pregnant and breast feeding (have fed 4 babies) i am a 34B... with empty milk sacs...or cambodian flaps for boobs they fold up in the bath i kid you not

I have a friend who is like a size 00 and a AA bra size ,a B cup when her milk came in...she breast fed for a year no worries and her boobs are still a B cup 6months down the line after feeding......Her baby is a really chubby thing so there was no shortage of milk

PLEASE DO NO WORRY.......WEAR A SPORTS BRA I WISH I COULD BUT I END UP WITH ONE BIG SAUSAGE BOOB

 

[sparky]

think of the positves hon, i've got big boobs and will probably end up polishing the floor with them in a few years, whilst yours will still be nice and pert.

(although my knees will be warmer )

 

[Melanie]

Bra size has nothing to do with your ability to breastfeed hun. I was small before Thea and now i've settled at a 34B which im happy enough with, and i've been feeding Thea for 15 months today! I also wore unwire bra's for as long as they fitted me and i wear them again now, its not hurt me or my ability to feed my baby.
I went up to a 38E at the end of my pregnancy and stayed like that until Thea was about 7 months old. I hated it, i always wanted big boobs but honestly im so glad i got my wee ones back!

 

[Squiglet]

I was a 36A before I had Tia... I always wore padding and underwire because I was just soooo small but very broad chested... When I got pregnant my cup size hovered between A/B... and I ended up wearing sports bras because I couldn't find Maternity bras to fit and when you get to the end of your pregnancy you just want to be comfy... you're fat and huge anyways, so being flat chested is just one of many things

Once I had Tia, and my milk came in my cup size went to a big size B which I loved... (its nice actually having boobs when you've spent all your life not having them )

I breast fed Tia until she was 9/10 months old and only stopped because she had a lactose intolerance. She was a big baby, 8lb9oz and she fed constantly... Although I did struggle to feed her at times, which was related to her unrelenting hunger, she never ever lost weight, only gained it and she never fell below the 91st centile until she got meningitis ... which kinda knocked her for 6. Even now she's ALWAYS hungry when she's growing so I know now my boob size has nothing to do with breast feeding.

On the up side... my boobs never went back to an A... they remained a B and now they've gone to a C cup...

 

[jendav81]

Hi hun,

I would get a second opinion as I am a 38 E and they measured me as a 40DD in mothercare and the bra was riding up my back all day. Maybe try M&S or Frasers?

I also found this ref small breasts and breastfeeding, hope it helps xx

http://www.babycenter.ca/baby/breastfee ... stsexpert/

 

[clarey]

I dont really rate Mothercare for bra fitting either, I would get another measuring from M&S or department store lingerie depts are usually good.

I bought 2 maternity bras in Mothercare a few months ago - same bra but in 2 colours and one was just huge in the back even though they were supposed to be the same size!!? So I wont getting my nursing bras from there....

 

[Geordie&Bairn]

Thank you every one for your kind words and brilliant advice.
You our all fantastic i love you
I will try M&S at the weekend
I went to the high street on my lunch break today and tried on sports bras in Peacocks
34B 34C 36B 36C 36D in 3 diffrent styles
All where to tight under the bust
The 36C fitted the best on the bust and i was mesured
as a 36 on the bust.
But sports bras start much lower down then normal bras so all where to tight on top of bump.
I am not going to let it get to me, ive though ive spent the last 2 days braless.
Agian thank you
im sure i'll find one to fit me the end

 

[*Cupcake*]

Bit random but what about one of those jml stick on bras. Theres nothing to dig in on those. My friend swears by hers.

 

[NIE]

Just wanted to let you know that I wore underwire bras throughout my pregnancy as I was more comfortable in them.

I really wanted to give breast feeding a try, but unfortunatley I couldn't as I never produced any milk or fluid at all.

I am not sure what the reason for this was and no one could answer me.

Pre pregnancy I was a 36C and increased to a 38DD. I now seem to have got smaller than a 36C (not exactly sure as need to get measured again) but I am still carrying 2 stone of pregnancy weight.

 

[Suzie and Faith]

So is it the fitting under the boobs that is too tight? You can get bra 'extenders'
http://www.lasenza.co.uk/level3.asp?style=207&s=2&category=7&se=Bra Extenders
which make the back a better size, maybe you could try them? I'll email you in case you don't see this.
And for your naff day bra shopping

xxxx

 

[kalia]

As bras go up a back size, they go down a cup size. So the cups on a 36B would be about the same as those on a 38A.

Don't worry about your breast size Your baby won't care what size they are and you can wear a padded bra for going out if you want, though it will already be padded with breast pads

Don't worry though. I would very much recommend that you don't trust the fitting in M and S - they are sales people, not fitters. They sold me bras that did not fit, I went back and they still insisted they were right- they were riding up my back and weren't quite big enough on the cup I can rant about them for a long time but hopefully you get the picture.

Also, in the same way that a size 12 is different from shop to shop and from one tshirt to the next, the same seems to be true of bras. In theory they are all the same, but in practice that is far from the truth. Also, like with trousers where different styles fit different people better, the same is true with bras.

I think the thing about underwire is that you can block the milk ducts at the side, almost under your arm. But I would have thought that would manifest as problems for you, pain or inflamation. You have loads of milk ducts, you definately will still be able to breast feed. OK, so I'm not a medic, this is just my opinion, but I'm fairly sure this is true.