13 Best Nursing Bras, According to Real Moms and Experts

Our consumer testers were clear: They like multipurpose nursing bras, and this one from the popular brand Kindred Bravely can be used as a regular nursing bra, a sleep bra (it's that comfortable!) and a hands-free pumping bra. "I prefer a bra like this with a third layer so it covers the nipple entirely," a mom told us. "Nursing-friendly, pumping-friendly and full coverage!"

This style pulls on over your head and there are no clips to undo to open up the bra for a nursing session — you just move fabric out of the way and encourage your baby to latch on. (Or you latch on your pump; one of our testers exclusively pumped and said this bra "held it all together." Any size pump flange should work.) The brand recommends hand-washing the bra as it's a bit delicate for a washing machine.

This fan-favorite nursing bra is many women's choice for everyday, around-the-house wear and it has nearly 85% five-star ratings on Target's web site. It's stretchy, so if your size keeps changing — totally normal in the breastfeeding journey — this can expand and shrink a bit with you. Accordingly, the sizing is XS to XL, not by band size or cup size.

This affordable style hooks in the back like a regular bra but does not have an underwire, which keeps it comfy if you need to wear it 24/7. However, it's not built to be a hands-free pumping bra, but it's great for breastfeeding or to use with any wearable breast pump or traditional breast pump. You simply snap the sides down and up.

Not only is this bra a best seller on Amazon with over 29,500 five-star reviews, it's also a total steal when you consider it comes out to $10 per bra. We especially love its versatility: The stretchy fabric adjusts as your body changes, its foam cups are removable, and it comes with both bra extenders to increase the band width and strap clips that convert it to a racerback.

This one works well with a wearable breast pump, such as the Elvie or Willow. A main complaint from Amazon reviewers is that the front clasps you must unbuckle when it's time to nurse can break over time. It's also not the best choice for large breasts as the cup sizes are only sized A-D.

Natori is one of our top-tested bra brands for comfort, fit, support and stay-in-place capabilities. Fortunately for nursing moms everywhere, the brand makes several styles with clip-down access for breastfeeding. This one's a plunge so you can wear it under low-cut tops or dresses if you have an event to attend, but it still provides good coverage with padded cups. It looks cute and feels just like a regular bra so you can even continue to wear it after your breastfeeding days are over (and you can start wearing it while you're still pregnant).

This bra has 18 size options but not that many band sizes to pick from; 32 through 38 are your choices, and DDD is the largest cup size. If you're looking to avoid underwire, the brand also offers a wireless nursing style. And since it is lacy, delicate and expensive, we recommend hand-washing it.

This one’s great to wear while hanging out at home during those early newborn days – i.e. when you need light support and some place to tuck your nursing pads but can’t be bothered to put on a real bra. The cotton-blend fabric, pull-over racerback style (with no metal hooks), and cup-free and wire-free design make it extra comfy and stretchy. It's also available in a full cup style for larger busts, and you can get a hands-free insert to help with pumping.

You just unclip a side as needed. Because this bra is fairly thin and provides minimal lift, it may not be the best choice to wear under going-out clothes, so most women keep this for lounging and sleeping.

This winner from our latest Parenting Awards gets high marks for being easy to use for both breastfeeding and pumping. In fact, one consumer tester told us she would simultaneously nurse her baby on one side and pump on the other with the help of this Simple Wishes bra. It is supportive enough to hold a breast pump in place, even as the bottle fills with milk.

This T-shirt bra with fixed padding and smooth nylon/spandex material looks sleek under regular clothes, even close-fitting shirts and work clothes, making this a great nursing bra to own if you'll be pumping at your workplace. To nurse or pump, you simply unhook one or both sides. It comes in a wide range of sizes, but the sizes are very specific; many Amazon reviewers mention needing to try a few sizes in order to find the perfect fit.

Freya bras are designed specifically for larger cup sizes and have always performed well in our tests of bras for large busts. There are several other nursing styles to choose from, but this one has cute lace details along with padding and underwire for support. It comes in cup sizes up to K and like others, has clips on either side for quick and easy breastfeeding access.

Similar to other styles with very specific cup and band sizes, it can take a few tries to get the perfect fit for you — especially as breasts change during pregnancy and nursing. Also, this bra is designed to space your breasts apart, and according to the lactation consultant we spoke with and this bra's Amazon reviews, not everyone ends up being a fan of that separated look — it's an individual choice and you may want to try it for yourself.

Lots of women try the hack of using a regular sports bra as a nursing bra, but you really need something that clips down for easy breastfeeding. This sports bra from Sweat + Milk offers the kind of compressive fit some women crave along with easy-access clips for nursing. It wicked away moisture quickly in our Lab tests, making it ideal for sweat sessions. Sometimes you need to fit your workout between nursing sessions, and this can help! It's also great for Mommy-and-me yoga.

This was a past winner of one of our Parenting Awards. Our textile pros like that its racerback design offers a good range of motion, and testers say it proves supportive. It has four rows of hook and eye closures in the back and is another bra that's great for using with a wearable breast pump that you tuck inside. You can find more colors and many more reviews on the brand site but the same style may cost more. There, reviews are mostly positive, but a few say it runs a bit small and that, depending on the size of your breasts, might not offer enough support for high-impact activities.

For smaller busts that don't need as much padding and support, a more minimal bralette style might be most comfortable. This one's ideal for A and B cups and can also work with C cups. The brand's size guide shows some D cup options but online reviewers say this bra may be too small for D or larger.

A wire-free wide band on the bottom helps it stay in place and it fastens in back with hook and eye closures. Strap adjustments are conveniently accessible in the front instead of the back. The soft cups drop down from front clips when it's time to nurse, though the brand bills this primarily as a maternity bra.

Designed specifically for band sizes 36 to 46, this full-figure style is constructed with a unique foam fabric in the cups that flexes as your breast size changes. The material is also designed to keep a mom cool. This hook-and-eye closure bra is wireless, but Playtex also makes an underwire version using the same flexible foam but with more separation and support.

"When I tell pregnant women that their breasts will get larger during pregnancy and after they have the baby, they initially don't believe me," says Sheila Dukas-Janakos, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and CEO of Healthy Horizons. But it happens to everyone, and having a bra that can expand with you can actually be vital to your health, Dukas-Janakos says, because it can help prevent issues such as clogged ducts.

If you prefer the feel of natural fibers, this nursing bra uses Pima cotton with some spandex for stretch. It's tagless so you won't have a tag scratching you either. It also comes in a wide range of sizes to fit a variety of body types. The brand offers free shipping both ways (so you can try on multiple sizes at home) and lets you return for any reason within 60 days.

For breastfeeding, you unhook clips in the front. If you're a little reluctant to spend the money on this style, Dukas-Janakos says she finds nursing bras like this one, in the $40-to-$70 range, to generally be the highest quality, so you'll ultimately buy fewer of them. Sure enough, many of the reviewers on the brand's site mention the quality and our experts are also impressed.

Comfortable from pregnancy through breastfeeding and even for sleep, this new bra has fantastic stretch and a strong, generous band to support large breasts (up to size G) without resorting to an underwire. (The under-breast band is nearly an inch wide on size L and XL.) There's no added padding but the thick material does a good job of keeping you looking smooth and the closure secures in back with traditional hooks and loops. When it's time to breastfeed, unhook a front clip from either side.

If this bra works well for you, Bodily also makes a stretchy pumping bra. However, its bras come in limited colors.

This is lactation expert Dukas-Janakos' go-to brand. Cake is a maternity and nursing-focused company from Australia and the Rocky Candy style is their sort of "everywoman" bra designed with generous stretch. It's high enough quality to last you many months, Dukas-Janakos says, making it well worth the mid-priced cost. It has a supportive band instead of an underwire and a traditional hook and loop closure in back. The foam inserts in the cup are conveniently removable if you prefer how it looks and feels without them.

Like with so many other nursing bras, there are front hooks to unclasp when it's time to breastfeed. If you're looking for a small band size with a large cup size, Dukas-Janakos likes the Cake Croissant. And if you need a larger size all around, up to cup size K, she points customers to the brand's Sugar Candy brand including the Popping Candy bra.