Your belly isn’t the only thing growing and changing during your pregnancy. Time for some new bras ready to support your newly enhanced cleavage! A great maternity or pregnancy bra is your best defense against an achy back. Here is all the information you will need to keep your girls happy and supported without any of the work. The research is done and you can relax while you wait for your new bras to arrive.
Best Bras for Pregnancy
When comparing comfort and coverage, which is extremely important when you are carting around fuller breasts, the Gratlin Racerback Sports Maternity Bra provides both while the iloveSIA Maternity Bra, though comfy, lacks a bit with padding which makes coverage a little challenging.
Gratlin Racerback Seamless Maternity Bra
The Gratlin Racerback Support Seamless Maternity Bra might not win any awards in the sexy or pretty department but will win awards in comfort and shape. You need a dependable bra to keep your girls up without the discomfort of underwire digging in because pregnancy is no joke and you are already extremely uncomfortable in your own skin.
What I Love
Design: This racerback bra has three hooks and adjustable straps, plus full coverage to avoid spillage as your breast grow as well as spandex to allow your ta-tas some room. The front unhooks to allow access for nursing.
Comfort: Not pretty, but certainly not your grandmother’s bra. The bra offers some definition between your girls and a wide band for comfort with no wire. Seamless and none padded to avoid irritating your nipples or showing through t-shirts.
Price: The prices of bras have reduced greatly over the years and this comfy one is no exception.
Quality: This bra will survive your pregnancy and take you right into nursing your newborn!
What I Do Not Love
Support: No surprise, a bra with no wire will only keep young breasts in line. Maybe wear around the house or have a stern talk with your girls about location.
Size: This tends to run on the small side.
iLoveSIA Seamless Maternity Bra
The iLoveSia Seamless Maternity Bra is that go-to bra that you actually won’t mind wearing. No underwire and no tight or itchy fabric of any kind. Plus, since it comes in an affordable 3 pack, it’s great for having one to wear, one to wash, and an extra to change into.
What I Love
Comfort: Featuring 4-way stretch fabric, soft straps, molded cups with removable inserts, a U-shaped back, 4 back hook choices, and center shirring, this bra is built to love and support the ladies. And let’s face it, they need some extra love during pregnancy!
Easy-to-Use: The clip-down cups hit that sweet spot of being easy to do with one hand while still being able to stay closed when you want it to. This doesn’t matter during pregnancy, but when baby comes, you’ll love that you can still wear your bra and nurse with no problems.
Price: These bras are ringing in at around $10 each, give or take a couple of bucks. You seriously can’t beat that! And it’s not like they are cheap, nasty bras. They are still really, really nice!
Colors: Some people like brightly colored underthings, while others gotta have a neutral choice. This gives you the ability to pick whatever you want! 3 black bras? Yup. A nude and a colored and a dark one? Yes.
What I Do Not Love
Support: If you think the padding will give you some extra support, think again. It’s pretty thin and it likes to move around. It’s mostly for nipple coverage, nothing more.
Sizing: Since these come in letter sizes, ranging from S to 2XL, you have to play the “let’s figure out what size I might wear game” and hope you win.
Bravado! Designs Maternity Bra
The Bravado! Designs Maternity Seamless Nursing Bra will become your boobs’ best friend with its seamless design, four-way stretch fabric, and removable foam insert (for misbehaving nipples).
What I Love
Design: The design is a simple seamless bra with a wide band and drop-down sides for future nursing and hook and closer in the back. A bit of spandex allows room for growth. Plus, tons of colors to choose from.
Comfort: This bra will disappear under your shirt while keeping your girls in line.
Bonus: If you plan to pump breastmilk, this bra comes with an award-winning attachment to pump easier.
What I Do Not Love
Size: Girls on the larger side of their cup size may need to go up for a bit of extra support.
Price: The price is kind of expensive compared to some bras, but you are paying for the brand name.
Quality: Previous bras by Bravado (you know the ones no longer made because you liked them during your last pregnancy) were of higher quality than this new addition to the collection. It’s all those newfangled fabrics.
You can also check out the best nursing bras, some of which would be great during pregnancy.
Kindred Bravely Maternity Bra
The Kindred Bravely Bra allows busty ladies a little support while lounging in sweats (because your normal clothes no longer fit but you aren’t mentally prepared to buy maternity clothes). Grab a bowl of popcorn and relax your prego body with some Netflix and this comfy bra.
What I Love
Design: This bra comes with the typical design and simple nude color (or you can pick from a few fun colors). The cups drop down, and the wider back band will add some extra support without wires. Padding provides some discretion.
Comfort: Think of this bra as sweatpants for your boobs. A bit of built-in separation will help prevent uni-boob but grow with your pregnancy.
Size: This bra comes in the typical size of small through extra-large, but also has busty options for each size. This is nice because pregnancy may add a full cup size or you may just be well-endowed, to begin with.
Price: The mid-range price won’t break the bank.
Quality: This sturdy bra will get you through pregnancy and nursing. You may want to wear it after the pregnancy. Don’t worry, we won’t tell.
What I Do Not Love
Size: While listed for larger breasts, you may need to go up a size still, especially with pregnancy growth.
Support: Spandex is necessary for comfort but neither nylon or Spanx will hold up full water balloons.
Motherhood Maternity Plus Size Bra
Full-bodied ladies can enjoy the Motherhood Maternity Plus Size Lightly Wireless bra for comfort and wireless support during their entire pregnancy and during nursing. This bra isn’t quite full coverage but will give some beautiful cleavage while hiding nipples behind a light layer of padding.
What I Love
Design: Unlike the other bras with less definition between the boobs, this bra understands that there are two breasts. The design is a simple bra with drop-down cups and four hook closures in the back.
Comfort: No wire means your boobs can relax without being poked and prodded.
Price: The price won’t hurt your wallet especially since it will last for over a year.
Size: Options start at 40D and go all the way up to 46G.
What I Do Not Love
Quality: Your new bra will start to sag after use and nursing because that’s what spandex does.
Bravado! Belle Maternity Bra
The Bravado! Designs Belle Maternity Bra will keep your girls in check with a little wire while still offering drop-down cups for easy nursing after the pregnancy. With high ratings and larger cup sizes available, this bra will take you out of the house in style!
What I Love
Design: A wired bra with full drop-down cups and the benefit of space giving spandex. The wire was specially designed to move with moms while supporting the breasts. Comes in three colors: beige, black, or amethyst.
Comfort: Underwire might not always be comfortable, but some women are more concerned about keeping the breast closer to the neck than the belly button, those ladies will love this bra. If the wire does bother, tuck a bit of fabric between the skin and the bra for more comfort and to catch sweat.
Price: The price is decent but may limit how many you can buy.
Size: The sizes start at 32B and go all the way to 42DDD. Ladies in harder-to-find sizes like 34G will be happy to find a simple t-shirt bra in their size!
What I Do Not Love
Size: Breasts already change shape and size with pregnancy so be prepared with this bra to try a few different sizes.
Fit: Denser breast may find this bra gives an elongated fit or could spill out of the bra. Also, some women found the underwire can stab in the armpit area. This is normal for many bras and can be fixed with medical tape for long-lasting comfort. The straps could be wider since it is meant to hold up heavy ta-tas.
Hot Milk Luminous Maternity and Nursing Bra
The Hot Milk Luminous Bra is the prettiest most comfortable bra that offers support without wire.
What I Love
Design: This bra was made by a woman for women. Each of your girls is cupped individually and the band, it wide to give more support along with fully adjustable straps and it’s so pretty! Also, gotta love the drop-down cups for easy breastfeeding.
Comfort: This bra offers enough support to keep your back from aching without poking wires to cramp your style.
Appearance: It’s so pretty!!! Lace and a cute bow with a sparkle for charm will make you feel beautiful!
Price: The price heads towards the nosebleed section, but it’s well worth the cost.
Size: From 32C to 42D, this bra also comes in larger sizes, including 32H and 34GG, to accommodate many sizes and shapes.
What I Do Not Love
Fit: This bra is not a great fit for everyone and the armpit area may be uncomfortable. The sizes are a little off, so try it on before you wash.
Pair this with a gorgeous pair of maternity underwear and you’ll be on your way, feeling like you could take on the world. After a nap.
Best Maternity Sports Bra
Cake Lingerie High Impact Sports Maternity Bra
The Cake Lingerie Sports Bra gives pregnant ladies the ability to go to the gym with happy boobs instead of angry boobs trapped in compression chambers of torture. Cake’s bra even has drop-down cups for nursing and full coverage so no wayward cleavage can escape.
What I Love
Design: This bra is a work of art with wide straps that can be hooked together in the back for more support, five hook closure, and extra fabric for modesty. Simple gray color with teal and lime green looks attractive without drawing attention. Drop-down cups allow new moms to nurse even at the gym. Underwire and a wide-bands ofter support so you can even run without hitting your chin!
What I Do Not Love
Design: The cups are shallow for compression but may not be deep enough and you may have to go up a size. The straps are only partially adjustable. Finally, the hooks make a clicking noise.
Price: The bra is pricey and may make your wallet cry. Maybe put this on your registry, or call your mom.
Best Bralette for Pregnancy
Motherhood Maternity Lace Racerback Bralette
There’s a reason that women have so many different bras. We need comfy ones, workout ones, supportive ones, and of course, pretty ones. The Motherhood Maternity Lace Racerback Nursing Bralette checks a few of those boxes! It has a gorgeous, lightweight lace design that is really pretty. It has a good stretch, so you can wear it around the house or even sleep in. And while it looks cute peeking out from under a flowy tank top, it can also work for nursing.
What I Love
Comfort: 87% nylon and 13% spandex make up this bra. That means it has good hold and good stretch. The back band of the bra is lined with a cozy jersey knit. And since it’s a surplice fit with no wires, it won’t be digging into you all day.
Appearance: Bralettes are very on-trend right now, and it’s so nice to be able to wear something trendy and cute when you are preggo. The lace is cute and feminine without being too delicate and prone to holes. And the racerback has a nice shape, too.
Price: This bra is seriously inexpensive. This is nice, considering how pricey some of the maternity bras out there can be!
What I Do Not Love
Fit: This is definitely geared towards chests that don’t need a ton of help in the lift and support departments. If you have a larger bust, it might let your ladies pop out instead of stay put.
Thin: This bra doesn’t have a lot of padding and it’s a bit on the thin side. This is a bummer when you start nursing because you’ll be able to see nipples or nursing pads through the thin fabric.
Size: This Motherhood bra comes in letter sizing, which can be a pain to figure out, especially if you have a small rib cage and larger bust or vice versa.
Best Maternity Sleep Bra
Gratlin Maternity Nursing Sleep Bra
Gratlin has earned another spot on this list as the new ringleader of maternity bras with their Maternity Nursing Sleep Bra. The simple crossover and racerback design offer support and comfort through your pregnancy before assisting with nursing in the wee hours of the night.
What I Love
Design: This bra has a simple crossover design with wide straps leading to full back coverage. The band is wide and wireless, perfect for comfort. Also, there are several color choices to choose from. The cups move to the side to allow easy access for nighttime feedings.
Comfort: No wires, a little bit of spandex for growth, and wides straps are the recipe for a pleasant bra.
Price: When you see the price you just might buy one for every day of the week.
Support: This bra will offer the right amount of support and ease during long nights.
What I Do Not Love
Fit: The crossover makes nursing easy, but miss behaving boobs may pop out the middle, especially for side sleepers.
Quality: As with all bras that use spandex for growth, this bra will lose its shape and sag with use.
Busty Alternative – Kindred Bravely
The Kindred brand makes the Bravely racerback bra for busty ladies who want a simple crossover sleep bra for nights and nursing. This will work much better than the Gratlin sleep bra if you have a bigger chest!
Comparing the Best Bras for Pregnancy
The table below compares only the recommended products on this page. A low or high Price means it is low or high compared to the other products listed. The Popularity Score reflects how often readers click on and buy the product. The Quality Score is our assessment of the overall performance and satisfaction with the product compared to others in the table.
| Cake Lingerie High Impact Sports Maternity Bra | 9.2 | 8.0 | 72.00 |
| Kindred Bravely Maternity Bra | 9.9 | 8.6 | 47.99 |
| Busty Alternative - Kindred Bravely | 9.9 | 8.4 | 35.99 |
| iLoveSIA Seamless Maternity Bra | 9.9 | 9.0 | 29.99 |
| Bravado! Belle Maternity Bra | 9.0 | 9.4 | 29.99 |
| Bravado! Designs Maternity Bra | 9.9 | 8.8 | 29.40 |
| Motherhood Maternity Lace Racerback Bralette | 9.7 | 8.4 | 20.95 |
| What I Love | 9.9 | 8.6 | 19.99 |
| Hot Milk Luminous Maternity and Nursing Bra | 3.9 | 7.4 | - |
| Gratlin Racerback Seamless Maternity Bra | - | 8.8 | - |
| Gratlin Maternity Nursing Sleep Bra | - | 7.0 | - |
| Motherhood Maternity Plus Size Bra | 7.7 | 7.8 | - |
Guide to Selecting a Maternity Bra
You don’t want to have regular bras, plus pregnancy bras, then nursing bras, then bras for after nursing when the girls need a boost. That’s a lot of money and storage space! That’s why most maternity bras are made to transition into nursing bras.
The best maternity bras also give your breasts room to grow, which means spandex and no wire. You’ll actually want to wear it!
Room to Grow
Spandex is a necessary evil, one that gives space but not forever. The best thing to do is look for a bra that has less than 10% spandex, so you get the space you need but slow the wear-out process down. Think of your favorite stretchy jeans, some have too much spandex and you spend the day pulling up your pants around your waist, but your favorites give you room to breathe without falling down.
No Wire
Some outfits, heck some breasts, need the support of wire to maintain their correct position. If possible avoid underwire when pregnant or nursing. Underwire can be uncomfortable on your ribs as your belly grows and later, an underwire can cause milk ducts to clog.
Soft Cups or Seamless Cups
All the hormones raging through your prego body cause your nipples and breasts to be sensitive to touch. Seams that land on the nipple will drive you crazy in just a matter of minutes. Find a seamless or soft cup that will not annoy your nipples. Padded bras can be helpful as a barrier, but each woman is different. Try both and see which works for you.
Shoulder Straps and Waist Band
As breasts grow, they cause more strain on your back and shoulders. Try to find a wider waistband to give extra support. Look for more hook closures in the back for more support. Avoid skinny, spaghetti strap bras, as they will dig into your shoulders.
Comfort
If you read the reviews of each of the bras above, you saw the word comfort a lot! Comfort is the most important aspect of a maternity bra, right after support. A bra that is not comfortable could ruin your whole day, especially with all those hormones- you might find yourself crying in the bathroom yelling at the bra. Try a few on and see what works for you.
To get more comfort for the girls while you sleep, maternity pillows work wonders.
Proper Fit
If your breasts spill out of a bra or it does not stay where it belongs, chances are the fit is not correct. An ill-fitting bra will be neither supportive nor comfortable. If you find a bra you like, but it’s not comfortable or supportive, try a different size as breasts can change in shape and size just a few weeks into the pregnancy.
Coverage
As your body changes you may find yourself shy about showing parts you didn’t mind displaying before. A full-coverage bra will not only take the girls of the spotlight but also provide more comfort and support.
FAQs – Bras for Pregnancy
How many maternity bras do I need?
You will need 2-4 bras during your pregnancy. Buy more if you like to wash them often or prefer a variety. A good rule of thumb would be to purchase 1 lounge bra to wear around the house, 1 work bra, and 1 sleep bra, plus 1 more so the others can be washed.
When should I buy maternity bras?
Buy your first bra or two once your normal bras are no longer comfortable. This will be different for every woman, but basically, buy as you need. Otherwise, you could end up with the wrong size, as your breasts could grow along with your belly. Also, buy for the size you are now during your pregnancy. If your bras last into nursing, that’s great, but many women put on a size or two with pregnancy and another size or two when their milk comes in.
How should I wash my pregnancy bras?
Toss your bras in the washing machine on low spin with cold water. Never, EVER put bras in the dryer, as dryers tend to ruin bras and ruin the shape. Even if you have one of those fancy bra bags for the dryer, the heat will affect the fabric. Better to be safe and never put any bra in the dryer.
Why can’t I wear my pre-pregnancy bras?
If you are one of the few women whose breasts do not grow with pregnancy, then wear your old bras all the way through. Once you are nursing, you will want to avoid underwire, as stated above.
How much should I spend on a good maternity bra?
That is totally up to you, however, there are so many choices of maternity bras right now that allows finding a good bra in your price range much easier. But do not feel bad about investing a little money into a decent bra that will be comfortable and provide good coverage that you can wear during pregnancy and after pregnancy. It will take awhile for the girls to get back to normal, even if you aren’t nursing.
Do I need to get measured for a good fit?
Getting measured is always a good idea. The better the fit, the better the comfort and support. You’ll especially want to get measured after you have your baby and are done breastfeeding, cuz those kinds of ta-tas need their own bras for after nursing.
Do I need drop cups on my maternity bras?
No. Many moms like that they can wear a drop cup bra through their pregnancy and nursing without having to shop again. Most maternity bras have cups for once you are ready to nurse.
