Nursing bra

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Although the concept of constraining a women's breasts dates back hundreds of years, Mary Phelps Jacob was granted the first U.S. patent for the brassiere (nr 1,115,674), in 1913. Her invention is most widely recognized as the predecessor to the modern bra and consequently nursing bra. Taking a cue from Jacob's design, Ida Rosenthal and Enid Bisset, co-founders of Maidenform were the first to make modern bras. Maidenform, known as the leader in design and advancement in women's bras, is responsible for the invention of adjustable straps, maternity bras, nursing bras and standardized cup sizes. The company, founded in 1922, provided the basic design that many bra manufacturers work from today. Maternity and nursing bras are no exception. Additional innovations, often made by nursing mothers themselves, aimed at more fashionable and functional nursing options are being patented on a fairly regular basis.

With more women in the workforce, women are seeking convenient ways to nurse and pump breast milk for their babies. Nursing bra manufacturers have taken note of these developments and have responded to these new market demands. Savvy manufacturers have answered these needs with a variety of new products, including nursing tank tops, camisoles and various types of nursing bras that allow mom's additional coverage, convenience and mobility. Additional innovations, often made by nursing mothers themselves, aimed at more fashionable and functional nursing options are being patented.

Several nursing bra patents are pending, or have been granted for various innovations and improvements. Mary Sanchez received a patent in 1991 (nr 5,024,628) for a very popular nursing bra feature; the one-handed fastening method and variable adjustment of cup size. More recently, a 2004 patent was granted to nursing mom Line Rothman for the nursing bra tank (nr 20,040,143,885) designed for Glamourmom®, offering the convenience of the added coverage of a mother's mid-section.

Realizing that expectant and nursing mothers are also interested in keeping their personal style and femininity, other manufactures, such as Eve Alexander (www.evealexander.com) have created a line of sexy maternity and nursing bras that are functional and beautiful. This line features maternity lingerie in assorted materials and colors to help expectant and nursing mothers wear a nursing bra while still feeling good about themselves and their bodies – feelings that sometimes can be overlooked in a busy new mother's life.

While form is becoming more important, most moms rate the functionality of the nursing bra as the top priority. Design enhancements have been made in this area, which in the early stages of nursing, can be a formidable obstacle for some mothers and their babies.

In less than 100 years since the first U.S. patent was granted for the traditional brassiere, the ancient practice of breastfeeding has seen many innovations and design advances in nursing bras that provide nursing mothers with more options for the convenient, stylish and most importantly, continued nursing of their children.

adopted from www.nursing-bras.com