Nursing Bra Controversy: Wire-Free or Underwire?

Nursing Bra Controversy: Wire-Free or Underwire?

Since 2000 we have been in the business of making maternity bras for expecting women and nursing bras for breastfeeding moms,  the first question usually is Wire or No Wire.

First off, this is just personal experience, not simply medical advice.  If you are having issues with clogged ducts, and pain, especially fever ---  quickly find a local Lactation Consultant.  It is worth the money!

In 15 years, I have had no more than 5 customers raise concern about our bras causing a clogged duct for them.  One woman was local, she came into our shop -- she had on a Wirefree bra....but the fit was way too tight! 

We have successfully offered our patented Flexywire  and Wirefree bras for almost 15 years now, and it seems to come down to a few things to be aware of in this realm.  I realize that most doctors still don't recommend and underwire, but I bet it has more to do with caution because of a worst case scenario, than the success women have had breastfeeding with underwire nursing bras for years.

Our breastfeeding model Audrey 

1. Bra Fit

If the fit of the bra is too tight and constricting, this can easily cause the clogged ducts.  A key location is the bra cup seam - notice if it is digging in, especially if that seam is on top of breast tissue.  It should be supporting tissue, not cutting it off.  Also, loose saggy bras can be a culprit too!  If your breast tissue is not supported well enough, gravity can be working against your milk flow.

2. Genetics

Some women are pre-disposed to getting clogged ducts, or worse - mastitis.  If you know this about yourself, personally I recommend not to play Russian Roulette - just go tp a good bra fitter (usually a local lingerie boutique or a customer service focused department store like Nordstrom) and get a wirefree nursing bra.  I highly recommend our Smooth Cup Wirefree bra especially if you are an E-H cup, also our Mesh Plunge or Anytime Bras are good wirefree alternatives.

3. Low tech 

If you are not pre-disposed to mastitis in a severe way, I personally found if there was a sore spot on my breast I would rub it firmly.  Usually I would be able to find the duct which was a little clogged (on all different spots) and like a cramp, you can gently massage it. It seemed to work for me, but again this is not medical advice - just my personal experience.  

4. Heal after birth - grow into breastfeeding

You just birthed a baby (vaginally or surgically it is traumatic on your body) give yourself time to recover and heal.  Even though I am a fan of the underwire - I needed a couple of weeks to get used to breastfeeding, feeling comfortable and in a good rhythem with my baby boy.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions - we have helped thousands of women over these years.

Toll Free: 1-888-700-8438 (10am - 3pm PST)

Email: order@bellamaterna.com

Chat on our website: www.BellaMaterna.com 

 Here is another resource for Breastfeeding-Problems.com

Take care - get plenty of rest and water, 

Anne

Bella Materna|President|Mom

Keep breastfeeding, it is tough sometimes - but so valuable!

Here is an important scientific article from the Science Daily.com taken from Brown University research, on the value of keeping up with breastfeeding even when things get tough!

I do want to put in a support line here for - any breastfeeding is better than none at all.  

Even if you cannot produce enough, and need to supplement (use Organic!) every drop helps your baby develop!

We are here to support you!  Let us know how we can!

Thank you,

Anne 

Bella Materna

MRI study: Breastfeeding boosts babies' brain growth

MRI images, taken while children were asleep, showed that infants who were exclusively breastfed for at least three months had enhanced development in key parts of the brain compared to children who were fed formula or a combination of formula and breastmilk. Images show development of myelization by age, left to right. (Credit: Baby Imaging Lab/Brown University)

June 6, 2013 — A study using brain images from "quiet" MRI machines adds to the growing body of evidence that breastfeeding improves brain development in infants. Breastfeeding alone produced better brain development than a combination of breastfeeding and formula, which produced better development than formula alone.

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A new study by researchers from Brown University finds more evidence that breastfeeding is good for babies' brains.

The study made use of specialized, baby-friendly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to look at the brain growth in a sample of children under the age of 4. The research found that by age 2, babies who had been breastfed exclusively for at least three months had enhanced development in key parts of the brain compared to children who were fed formula exclusively or who were fed a combination of formula and breastmilk. The extra growth was most pronounced in parts of the brain associated with language, emotional function, and cognition, the research showed.

This isn't the first study to suggest that breastfeeding aids babies' brain development. Behavioral studies have previously associated breastfeeding with better cognitive outcomes in older adolescents and adults. But this is the first imaging study that looked for differences associated with breastfeeding in the brains of very young and healthy children, said Sean Deoni, assistant professor of engineering at Brown and the study's lead author.

"We wanted to see how early these changes in brain development actually occur," Deoni said. "We show that they're there almost right off the bat."

The findings are in press in the journal NeuroImage and available now online.

Deoni leads Brown's Advanced Baby Imaging Lab. He and his colleagues use quiet MRI machines that image babies' brains as they sleep. The MRI technique Deoni has developed looks at the microstructure of the brain's white matter, the tissue that contains long nerve fibers and helps different parts of the brain communicate with each other. Specifically, the technique looks for amounts of myelin, the fatty material that insulates nerve fibers and speeds electrical signals as they zip around the brain.

Deoni and his team looked at 133 babies ranging in ages from 10 months to four years. All of the babies had normal gestation times, and all came from families with similar socioeconomic statuses. The researchers split the babies into three groups: those whose mothers reported they exclusively breastfed for at least three months, those fed a combination of breastmilk and formula, and those fed formula alone. The researchers compared the older kids to the younger kids to establish growth trajectories in white matter for each group.

The study showed that the exclusively breastfed group had the fastest growth in myelinated white matter of the three groups, with the increase in white matter volume becoming substantial by age 2. The group fed both breastmilk and formula had more growth than the exclusively formula-fed group, but less than the breastmilk-only group.

"We're finding the difference [in white matter growth] is on the order of 20 to 30 percent, comparing the breastfed and the non-breastfed kids," said Deoni. "I think it's astounding that you could have that much difference so early."

Deoni and his team then backed up their imaging data with a set of basic cognitive tests on the older children. Those tests found increased language performance, visual reception, and motor control performance in the breastfed group.

The study also looked at the effects of the duration of breastfeeding. The researchers compared babies who were breastfed for more than a year with those breastfed less than a year, and found significantly enhanced brain growth in the babies who were breastfed longer -- especially in areas of the brain dealing with motor function.

Deoni says the findings add to a substantial body of research that finds positive associations between breastfeeding and children's brain health.

"I think I would argue that combined with all the other evidence, it seems like breastfeeding is absolutely beneficial," he said.

Other authors on the study were Douglas Dean, Irene Piryatinsky, Jonathan O'Muircheartaigh, Lindsay Walker, Nicole Waskiewicz, Katie Lehman, Michelle Han and Holly Dirks, who all work with Deoni in the Baby Imaging Lab. The work was funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided byBrown University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Sean C.L. Deoni, Douglas C. Dean, Irene Piryatinksy, Jonathan O'Muircheartaigh, Nicole Waskiewicz, Katie Lehman, Michelle Han, Holly Dirks. Breastfeeding and early white matter development: A cross-sectional study. NeuroImage, 2013; DOI:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.05.090

Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the following formats:

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Brown University (2013, June 6). MRI study: Breastfeeding boosts babies' brain growth.ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 24, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­/releases/2013/06/130606141048.htm

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

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