The 9 Best Hands-Free Pumping Bras for Multi-Tasking Moms

Whether you’re returning to work, traveling, exclusively pumping, or just need a convenient way to pump on occasion, a good pumping bra can be a real life and time-saver. Unlike nursing bras, a pumping bra has cutouts to slip the pump flanges for a supportive, hands-free experience. When you consider the 15 to 30 minutes many moms are pumping multiple times a day (some around-the-clock), having your hands available to do, really, anything else you need to do — whether it’s feeding the baby or scrolling your phone and catching up on messages — is a game-changer.

Finding the best pumping bra fit isn’t as easy as just ordering your pre-pregnancy bra size. As new moms wait for their milk supply to regulate, their breast size can fluctuate greatly in those early months. "The best time to be fitted for a nursing bra is roughly three to four months postpartum," says board-certified lactation consultant Brandi Jordan. However, knowing many people want to have something on hand before the baby arrives, Jordan suggests waiting until you’re 8 months pregnant.

"Your body will have already made many changes that would be similar to how your breast size might be by 8 weeks postpartum once you’ve regulated," she says.

How we chose the best pumping bras

Like regular bras, finding the best bra for breast pumps is not a one-size-fits-all experience. To help narrow down our selection from dozens of pumping bras, I spoke to International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) Brandi Jordan and Demi Lucas for their advice on the most important features to look for and product recommendations. With this information in mind, all of the selections share the following features:

• Made without underwire, which can cause plugged ducts
• Supportive enough to be completely hands-free once the pump is attached
• Designed with soft, comfortable fabrics
• Doubles as a nursing bra

Even with these criteria, there were still more than 20 pumping bras to consider, so to narrow down our picks, I spoke to currently pumping moms and scoured hundreds of reviews from the What to Expect community and each brand’s site to see which pumping bras everyone was raving about.

Finally, I drew upon my personal experience as a longtime parenting editor and mom who’s pumped for a full year with each of my three kids. At the end of the day, the best pumping bra is the one that fits your postpartum breast the most comfortably, while being supportive enough to hold your breast pump flanges and may require a little real-life trial-and-error on your part, but these nine options below will be a good place to start your search.