Hi All
Been a while since I have been on here. After giving up hope with the hospital, and well known bra manufacturers to us Mastectomy victims, I thought I would speak to those who may actually understand my problem.
I am 2 years in remission. After being told before and after Cancer I couldn’t have children I am now 37 weeks pregnant. I have having issues trying to find a nursing bra. I had my right brest removed and I was and am more so a busty 36 E and growing!! Those of you in the know will know that Prosthesis are large and heavy, and Nursing bra’s do not’ come in underwired varieties… I need underwire to support my prosthesis, but understand it can affect frest feeding…
Is there anyone else is the same situ??
I have considered adapting bras that I already have.
Or to avoid the stress of it all should I just express?
Not sure what the cost would be but have you thought of having a bra (well at least 2) made specially (rigby and peller) not cheap i know but maybe you could get a grant from macmillan
First of all, congratulations! I hope you and the expected little one are doing well.
The only suggestion I can think of is to buy an underwired bra and remove the wire on the feeding side, or to take a wire from another bra/s and sew it into a nursing bra on the prosthesis side, perhaps covering it with a bit of ribbon. If you leave the ribbon open at one end, you could slide the same wire from one bra to another.
If you can breastfeed, do. It’s good for you as well as for the baby, but expect to be absolutely enormous. (I had mastitis in one breast with my youngest and had to feed her from one side only while it cleared up. It’s do-able. Get any advice and help you can for the first few weeks.)
I like the idea of getting a Nursing bra and putting an underwire on my prosthesis side or removing wire from a normal bra and making it so it comes open… not that I’m planning on feeding in pubic for obvious reasons, but i’d hate for my prosthesis to fall on the floor in a cafe.
Never heared of Rigby and Peller, but will certainly have a look in to that option too…
Just frustrates me that shops a) do not cater for large busted women who are younger who do not want to wear just Black white or beige and B) no one has considered that people who have had Mastectomy’s can actually get pregnant.
I have thought about having a go at prototyping something while I’m on mat leave and earn a fortune!! Seeing as though the shops haven’t thought about it yet!!
HI Mandy - Rigby and Peller are great but pricey as Rhian says. I’m wearing triaction sports bras and have recently swopped to a lighter prosthesis as I was srtuggling with full weight one at 38D…the combo now works, but not sure if the bra would work for feeding…never done that bit myself!
Enjoy the lovely baby, and congratulations, Nicola
Rigby & peller are a london based shop and they sell off the peg and make bras to order, when i first had my WLE before i had the reduction on the other breast I had a bra made to order as i was a 38G and went down to a C cup and family chipped in as a christmas pressie, they have a web site.
i know you are posting because of a problem you’re having, but its still lovely to hear your news and thanks for sharing it! Have you tried bravissimo? They are a specialist bra shop for d cups and above, i got grwat feeding bras from them. I bet they’d let you talk to someone in their management team about your particular circumstances, i seem to recall they support bcc or another bc charity. Also, jane72 from this forum has recently breast fed her newborn for a few weeks begore chemo so maybe message her for advice. She isnt on the forums much at present but does check in intermittently. I hope she is getting on with her life! Finally, maybe give the helpline here a call, if they dont know themselves they may have a mentor they cld put u in touch with who does.
All the very very best, please come back and tell us about ypur baby
Yes i think you should have a go at a prototype if you get enough ideas and come up with something.
Also there is another Scotish bra company similar to Bravasimo who may be approachable i will have a hunt and see if I can find the name. I would definately approach these companies if you have the time and energy
When feeding, expect your breast to change by several cup sizes anyhow in between feeds. I have pictures taken over the course of day when I was feeding my littlest (we were on a day out) and you could tell from the photos which side she’d just eaten from!
I also had a right mastectomy and am also pregnant- already struggling because, as with last time (I have a three year old son, who I breast fed for a year and was then diagnosed when he was 17 months) my breast is growing daily and I have to keep going back to hospital for a new prothesis plus my bra size is constantly growing!
I am wondering what to do about feeding bras, etc, so when I find anything out, will let you know. The Rigby and Peller suggestion is a good idea. I was thinking about buying feeding bras from bravisimo or elsewhere and sewing a pocket in for my prothesis. It is rubbish that no mastectamy bra companies have thought to cater for us! I have been thinking of setting up my own company for a while
I’m also planning on taking out massive sarongs for feeding, as I found last time my son fed so much in the early days that it was impossible not to feed in public (would have meant missing out on lots of fun and staying in the whole time) but a big wrap will hide everything if my prothesis decides to make a break for freedom!
I think expressing would be pretty difficult in the early days as it is so slow, and the baby eats a lot, really a last resort for when you are hitting the town, not something I found I could do very often!
Let me know how you get on- it’s good to know there is someone else out there experiencing hte same things, along side the excitement and happiness of expecting a baby xxx
Firstly: Congrats on your pregnancy - Wonderful news.
Secondly: Don’t let BC take away breastfeeding from you, it’s a wonderful experience.
Thirdly: Can your breast care nurse help? I only mention this as my hospital put pockets in bras for free and if you manage to find the right bra then perhaps this would help solve one of the problems you’re having.
Hi mandy - have found an underwired nursing bra on uppercup.com it is titled Elomi underwired moulded nursing bra. this may be suitable. The whole site may be worth a look. Good luck and congratulations. Marli
Thank you for all your help and comments. My absence as you may have guessed means that I am now a Mummy… I had a little boy 10 weeks ago, called Ethan. He is just adoreable!!
As for feeding. Sadly he is soley bottle fed now, but not through lack of trying. The hospital put me under immense pressure. First off Ethan would not latch, the hospital helped me, or should I say forced my baby to latch, so after the first 24 hours I was sore as you like with obviously no other breast to work with. One nurse even asked if I tried him on the other side!!! Not impressed!!! Ethan was starving, I was not offered a bottle, they would not send me home until he had latched. Eventually he did enough to send me home. It was always my intention to breastfeed and bottle feed, to give myself a break more than anything. He still would not latch at home, so I expressed. He did not get much, but something was better than nothing, until I gave myself a blood blister and had to stop. I then produced even less and then I gave up.
The bra situation made it virtually impossible to feed in public so this was an impractical option for me, could not wear a nursing bra as my prosthesis would fall out (as it did in hospital - but I had a curtain there), or I would have to wear a normal bra and have to strip from the waste up… like I did at home. I was too late in adapting bras to suit me.
I think its disgusting that they haven’t thought that people with mastectomy’s, despite what doctors may say, CAN actually have babies, and should be given the dignity to do what every other woman should be able to do. (sorry slight rant there).
Many congratulations to you on the birth of baby Ethan! It’s wonderful news that you proved the medics wrong and now have a new life in your family. Well done!
As for breastfeeding, I have some idea how you feel. I was lucky enough to have fed my first daughter before I had a mx and with the second baby it was definitely easier. Still, I was only able to feed her from one side for 4 weeks, which wasn’t enough for me
I wish I’d seen your post back in April (I’d just finished treatment and was having a cancer-break!) because I just used a softie in my nursing bra, and it worked just fine. Ok the shape wasn’t great, but I wasn’t wearing anything revealing anyway.
Well done for doing all your could to feed baby Ethan. I know from experience it’s really hard feeding from one side.
Congratulations, Mandy! It’s too bad you haven’t been able to breast feed as you wanted, but I hope you can relax and enjoy your wonderful baby boy. (I know, I know, babies are hard work as well.)
Let’s hope those nurses learned something from your experience. As treatment continues, there should be more women who have babies after BC and treatment.
Congratulations Mandy and welcome baby Ethan - I’ve only just read your post and I know this is too late for you but may help others - check out Anita website for nursing bras ( also mastectomy bras) - it will then direct you to retailers in your area - their bras are excellent quality and very comfortable.
