Maternity Sports Bras: 
What are they and when do I need one?

Oh the joys of pregnancy. Our hips grow, our belly grows, our feet even grow and of course our boobs grow ( A LOT!!).

Women who were skipping through life with cute little A & B cups suddenly find themselves thrust into the wonderful (insert eye roll) world of trying to juggle C, D, and DD jugs. 

And us women who were blessed by the breast fairy  BEFORE pregnancy are suddenly staring down the barrel of "EFFin'G" cups! (which can be terrifying)

My point is, fortunately (or unfortunately) pretty much all women can benefit from bigbustsupport.com at some point in their life (at least that's my goal!)  

So welcome to all my Big Busted Pregnant Sisters!  If you haven't already, take a minute to read my Breast Changes During Pregnancy page. Then come right back here to learn about Maternity sports bras.

Let's Talk Maternity Sports Bras Shall We?

There are basically 2 types of maternity sports bras that you'll need. One to wear while you're pregnant, and if you're nursing, a sports bra to wear after the baby's born that accommodates nursing. (If you decide not to nurse you can probably get away with the same type of bra pre and post baby.)

First Up: Pregnancy Sports Bras

This type of maternity sports bra will need to 'grow' with you as your pregnancy progresses. It's important you choose a sports bra that's not too tight and some women find that underwire bras can cause pain to their chest and belly area as they both expand. 

So, look for these characteristics in sports bra while pregnant. It might be hard to find a bra with all these characteristics, just do the best you can.

• wireless: Some pregnant women can tolerate underwire sports bras just fine, but a majority will need the comfort that wireless bras afford.
• breathable: Let's face it, pregnancy makes us hot all the time, let alone when we're exercising.
• comfortable
• supportive
• seamless: This will help with sensitivity in the breast and nipple area
• arched center panel (this will help keep your bra from rubbing on your belly, see an example below of an arched center panel below)
• experiment to see if you like compression or encapsulation type sports bras the best. Some women might find that the compression hurts their chest, others might like it because it 'holds the girls tight' and reduces movement. It's just a personal preference thing. 

Here are a few sports bras I found that I believe will work well for you before your delivery. (Heads up: These are affiliate links, and if you decide to purchase, I will receive a small commission.)

All of these are wireless, most are seamless. The first one is the only one I could find with an arched center panel that is also wireless. It looks like a good one to try.

2nd Type: Nursing Maternity Sports Bra

If you decide to bottle feed your baby, you can probably just wear your pregnancy sports bra. However, if you decide to nurse your baby it will be super helpful to get a maternity sports bra that is specially designed to accommodate nursing. 

Working out while nursing presents some unique challenges, but it's not impossible and it has a whole host positive benefits for new moms.

Here's a couple of Sports Bra tips when you're nursing.

1. It's really important to have a wireless bra (sports bra) when nursing, especially when your milk first comes in. You don't want wires pinching or pressing on your milk ducts.
2. Have atleast 2 nursing bras. Leaks happen frequently, and sweat + sour milk = stinky! So, have a couple of sports bras on hand when one is in the wash.
3. A low impact sports bra is fine when you're walking, doing yoga etc, but when you move into more intense workouts (running, jogging etc) you're going to need a high impact sports bra. Your breasts are going to be extra heavy due to the milk. It's important to keep your boobies supported. This will help reduce stretch marks and possible breast pain.

When you're looking for a nursing sports bra, you'll want to look for a bra with the same sort of characteristics I mentioned above.

Comfortable, supportive, wireless, and seamless. Also, of course a handy feature of nursing bras is that 'easy access' unhook panel. 

If you need some ideas, here are some good ones to check out. I really really wish these sports bras would have been available when I was pregnant with my girls. 

The Juno Sports Bra

The Juno Sports Bra is a sports bra you might want to consider if you're nursing.

It's not a 'designated' nursing bra, but the straps are velcro and attach at the cups which makes it super easy to open it up for baby.

It's worth trying out! It's a great bra if you're pregnant, not pregnant, nursing, whatever. 

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Enjoy your pregnancy and new baby!! I award you 50,000 bonus mommy points for working out during this crazy time! You're awesome! The only working out I did while pregnant and nursing was trying to work out how to fit in 6 naps during the day. ;) 

Hope these sports bra tips helped! Visit often for tons of 'big bust' needs! 

Hello!