How to choose a nursing pillow

In the last few years, nursing pillows options have really expanded, and it’s sometimes difficult to know which one to choose. Especially if you’re choosing on-line, it’s difficult to compare pillows. Here are some thoughts to help you make your decision.

Traditional maternity and breastfeeding pillows

Most nursing pillows (although not the one that we carry) have a fat snake-like shape and are principally maternity pillows to make pregnant women more comfortable, but can also be used for breastfeeding. Several brands exist (Corpomed, Red Castle, etc.). The advantage of these pillows is their versatility: pregnancy, breastfeeding, and later, a support to help baby sit up. But their disadvantage is this same versatility: they’re above all maternity pillows that happen to be adapted to breastfeeding, but they weren’t made with breastfeeding in mind. Some mothers are happy with them, while others find them too bulky for breastfeeding, and above all, not stable enough (unless you’re seated on a couch, it’s hard to properly position this kind of pillow around you for breastfeeding).

You’ll see on the Internet that the price of this type of pillow varies enormously, and it’s sometimes tempting to take an imitation (less costly) rather than the original (more costly), but watch out: if you take the least expensive option you might find yourself with a pillow stuffed with foam, which is harder to adapt to your body than the tiny beads used to stuff pillows that might cost more. Make sure to read the product description, or to try this kind of pillow out in a store. Watch out also for covers that don’t come off—not all of them do.

A pillow just for nursing: the My Brest Friend™

The other type of nursing pillow, which is the one that we carry, is specially made for breastfeeding. It’s not versatile: like any specialized tool, it does just one thing, but it does it better than anything else! Its shape is quite different (smaller and more maneuverable), it goes completely around you for more stability, and its two principal goals are to perfectly position baby at breast and to allow you to relax your neck, shoulders, and arms while nursing. The model that we carry is called the My Brest Friend™. It’s THE nursing pillow in the United States, where it was invented, and we’re its exclusive importer in France. It’s available not only at mamaNANA, but also now at certain stores in the Aubert chain. Click here for more information about the My Brest Friend™ nursing pillow.