It pays to choose your nursing bras carefully: they need to be robust, comfortable and quick to open – looks are irrelevant

The day I bought my first maternity bra, a colleague had been shopping for underwear too. She held up her purchase for the office to admire: a dinky grey Hanro ensemble with delicate white trim.

I extracted my new nursing bra from its box. Was there some kind of optical illusion going on? It looked enormous draped across my desk – no room for my PC. No wonder my colleagues snorted.

Gravity defiance
Yet such a garment is essential if you're planning to breastfeed. The pre-baby bra was merely required to hoik up and (possibly) titillate; the maternity model has a far more demanding job description.

We want a bra that's not constricting when we wake up brimming with milk – yet offers snug support as we slowly deflate during the day. We want room to slip in a breast pad, but not so much excess space that the pad drops out from the bottom of a T-shirt just when the in-laws call round.

The feeding aspect
Babies aren't the most patient of creatures. We want to extract a breast without fumbling like some cack-handed teenage boy with his first girlfriend. A three-month-old infant won't be palmed off with a 'hang on a minute – the zip's jammed'.

When feeding, we'd rather the bra allowed us to be discreet, not flop out acres of boob. As for looks, we want an attractive style that's not too eye-popping – especially when baby's snacking in the park.

Practicality over glamour
Beverley, mother to Rory, three and Calum, 20 months, says, 'My best-looking bra came from the Jojomaman catalogue. But the most practical – which stood by me through feeding each of my sons for a year – was a sturdy Triumph.

'Friends kept telling me about ads on the Internet for sexy maternity bras in leopard and zebra print. Frankly, you're unlikely to feel like a sex bomb when your breasts are bigger than your baby's head. So I went for a simple style in plain white that I could wear under anything.'

According to Beverley, top priority is being able to undo clips with one hand so you don't drop the baby. For Joanna, mother to Toby, seven months, discretion is important: 'I tried a zippy one but kept catching a nipple in the teeth.

'A friend lent me one that unhooked at the front but I felt that my overripe boobs were tumbling out. For the last few months I've had a Mothercare 40F – I was 36C in the dim and distant past – with plastic clip fasteners on the cups. It's comfy and easy to do up if the doorbell rings.'

On the next page: 'You can smell a bit cheesy...'

Avoid zips that nip the skin
Sarahjanen – breastfeeding her five month-old son – is less concerned with covering up. 'I regretted buying a bra with zips as I was always nipping my skin, and opening them just wasn't fast enough when Thomas was yelling for a feed.

'After trying a couple of different styles – which offered no support at all – I've gone back to the old faithful bra which supported me through my pregnancy. It's a jogging bra that I whip up over my boobs. It's not discreet but I've lost any hope of being able to coyly breastfeed al fresco.'

Surviving the washing machine
According to Marina, who is weaning her five-month-old daughter from breast to bottle in preparation for returning to work, washability is top priority. 'No matter how thorough you are with your personal hygiene, you're often damp around the boob region.

'In the early weeks I was changing my bra twice a day, despite wearing pads and those little plastic cups to collect milk. I bought two Bravado bras, which have stood up to loads of washing. If you find the perfect maternity bra, I'd advise you to buy a couple as one's always drying on the radiator. And matching knickers are good for self esteem.'

Softness is a thing called...
Comfort-wise, most women appear to prefer a cotton/spandex blend – offering support and breathability (a bonus in the summer months, when, as one woman puts it, 'You can smell a bit cheesy'). Snaps must be easy to open and close, and a sports-style back seems to offer the best support.

Marina adds, 'The quality of your bra becomes more important as the months wear on. In the first few weeks, the flaps of your bra are permanently down anyway. It's only later, when feeding has settled into a pattern and you're more confident about whipping out a breast in public, that you're aware of whether your bra is up to the job.'

On the next page: 'The right equipment makes any job easier.'

Hooked on finding the perfect bra
As for my own first nursing bra: our relationship has been a slow-burner. After being mocked by colleagues I rejected the whole concept of a feeding bra, insisting I could get by with my pre-pregnancy number.

One afternoon, my breastfeeding counsellor popped by and witnessed the unhappy spectacle of me juggling twin babies, breasts and an ill-fitting black lace bra. She said, "The right equipment makes any job easier."

I even added a sleep bra to my collection (to save that waking-up-in-a-reservoir feeling). Mothercare do a good soft-cotton sleeping bra that slips over your head and comforts the sorest and most swollen boobs.

After feeding baby number three, I intended to chuck out the greying nursing bras and celebrate with a foxy ensemble without clips, zips or poppers. I treated myself to black velvet goodies from Agent Provocateur.

As for binning my old faithful "Mamabel" – it still has its uses. What better way to amuse myself than dangling it under my partner's nose with the words, "Do you think I'll ever need this again?"'