Best Pillows for Nursing: Comfort Positioning for Mom and Baby

Whether you are a new mother, or well-versed in breastfeeding position and comfort, a nursing pillow can be a way to provide a soft surface for both mom and baby to rest against. The best nursing pillow is one that fits the mother’s body type, baby positioning, and latch, as well as personal preferences surrounding material construction.

A mother’s body undergoes many changes as she nurses, and a good pillow should provide certain adaptability features to help make these transitions easy and unnoticeable. The following pillows are some of the best taken from current nursing pillow reviews. They highlight some of the most popular styles and materials in use and provide a good overview of what choices you have available for comfort and effective nursing positions.

Best Pillows for Nursing: Comfort Positioning for Mom and Baby

You may want to check out: Best Nursing Pajamas

What is a Nursing Pillow?

A nursing pillow, otherwise known as a breastfeeding pillow, is a specially designed pillow to aide in a mother’s comfort while nursing her child. Unlike a regular bed pillow, they come in a few different specific shapes made to help with holding the baby, allowing a relaxation of the mother, and aiding in the baby’s breast latch. They can be especially helpful when nursing twins in tandem, or providing security and support to both mothers and fathers who are bottle feeding.

Although the use of a nursing pillow is a completely personal choice, as your choice to use a pregnancy pillow may have been, there are many studies on using them as a feeding aide. The decision to use one should be based on what the mother prefers, and her comfort level with them. It is entirely possible as well to use a pillow for only part of the process as both mother and baby’s bodies will be changing through the time the mother decides to breastfeed.

Luckily, these types of pillows are usually multi-purposeful as well. So even if they do not work out well for feedings, both from the breast or bottle, or have been put aside for this particular purpose, they may help in baby tummy time, and other various support positions as the child grow.

Popular Nursing Pillow Shapes

As with any type of product, there are many styles and specific shapes to choose from to better meet the needs of various body types, nursing needs, and preferences. Poly fiber and foam fillings are the most commonly found to help give shape to the pillows and provide contouring, cradling support. Hand in hand with fill variances are the overall construction and shape that provides the choices we are reviewing today.

• Crescent Roll

Crescent roll style is exactly like it sounds: these pillows are made in various forms of a crescent roll which falls short of being a full C-shape. These may look slightly more like an “L”, have variances in the thickness of the arms- as some may taper, or even look like a bit like a crescent moon with a thickened middle.

• O-Shaped

The O-shaped style is called such because it literally wraps around the entire body. Almost all of these have an adjustable strap to help secure the pillow around the mother’s body. These have a few different design features as some may have a full pillow to wrap around, while others may be more of an elongated c-shape or crescent shape with an included strap.

• C-Shaped

C-shaped pillows look like the letter ‘C’ and are amongst the most popular, and affordable nursing pillow styles. These are easy to travel with as well and are useful for helping to support baby as they learn to sit.

• Other

There are other various shapes that occasionally make their way into the market with the rise of technology and changes in materials. Pillows made specifically for arm support, for example, is one such pillow, as it allows a place to prop your arm while feeding to reduce fatigue. This can be especially helpful for mothers recovering after c-section.

How to Use a Breastfeeding Pillow

There are actually multiple ways to position your baby during feedings. New mothers will have to experiment a little to discover what hold works best for them and their child. Breastfeeding pillows can help secure the baby or create a more comfortable support for mom to help encourage the best position.

All pillows have their own ways to be used, and manufacturers supply directions both with the purchase of their product, as well as online. There are also many breastfeeding support groups that can provide suggestions for pillow use. The basic concept behind each, however, is to place the widest part to the side and front of the mother upon which the child is placed and supported to feed.

Functions of a Breastfeeding Pillow

As mentioned, there are multiple functions to use your product for. Supportive posture and a peaceful, comfortable environment are often what most people buy their pillow for. But it also has many more benefits to consider if you have decided to use a nursing pillow of any type. For starters, it securely holds the babies body, allowing the mother to relieve the tension of the back, arms, neck, and shoulders. It also frees up the arms to a certain degree in order to reach for an item when needed without worry of dropping the child or shifting the baby off of the breast.

Shifting the baby during long feedings, nursing twins, or trying out new holds, such as a football hold, can be managed without feeling as if a third arm is needed to balance all you have going on. They are convenient for traveling, can be used for baby support as they begin to become more independent in their movements, and can even be used well into toddler years as an aide along the edge of a bed.

What to Consider When Choosing a Nursing Pillow

All mothers want the best for their baby, and choosing products for mother and baby use is like any other choice- one wrote with indecisiveness in the face of the many choices you are faced with. To help keep you focused on your purchase, and guide you in finding the best pillow for you and your child, you may want to consider a few of the following questions.

— What is the pillow made out of?

Like most products made for babies, the materials used in their constructions are typically soft and gentle on bare skin. Organic cotton, hypoallergenic blends, and contouring fills are often listed in the fabric construction. Also, you may want to consider those that have removable covers for washing, or material construction that allows for machine washing if the entire pillow.

— Are you considered a petite mom, plus size, or have small breasts?

If you have fallen in love with a particular pillow style, you may want to first consider your own body type in relation to how it should be ‘worn’. Post-baby weight and breast size should be considered, especially if your body changed drastically through pregnancy and you are facing many body changes still. Pillows that allow for some adjustability may come in handy during these times.

— What shape pillow are you most comfortable with?

There is nothing wrong with disliking a certain shape or style. As with most things, sometimes you may be surprised at the comfort lent by a particular product- but if you spend time reading up on breastfeeding pillow reviews, and apply them to your own needs you can generally narrow down your choices.

— How do you prefer to hold your baby?

If you have nursed in the past, or have already discovered your preferred baby hold, then look for those pillows that allow you to continue with what is most comfortable for you and baby. Some babies will latch better in a specific hold over another as well which may not be your preferred method. Pillows can help make this more comfortable for you so you aren’t sacrificing your strength at each feeding.

Conclusion

Your choice of nursing pillow should be for your personal comfort style, as well as your specific needs concerning the babies latch, as well as support for you both. Not all people prefer a pillow to aid in feeding, nor do they always stick with one even if they start with one. Growing babies and changing mother’s bodies can create new comfort situations which can influence the need for new positioning, or even the want for a pillow if one has not been used before.

Each of the pillows presented above is different from one another in overall design and material use. All provide support, and each is unique in the ways they can be used. Your choice of pillow for breastfeeding use is personal, and hopefully, this list allows you to see the multiple styles available that could be helpful for this purpose. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.