What Did Women Wear to Breastfeed BEFORE Nursing Clothes?
- Roberta
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
I’ve always been drawn to the story behind things, not just how they work, but where they come from.
And this is something I keep thinking about: What did women wear before nursing clothes even existed?
When they were pregnant, breastfeeding… doing both at the same time?
I mean, at some point we were probably just… naked 😅 which honestly sounds a lot simpler.
What I find even more interesting isn’t the wealthy women with wardrobes and options, but the everyday women. The ones working, living in the countryside, owning maybe just a few garments for years.They weren’t updating their closet every season.They weren’t buying “maternity wear.”And they were having more children.
So it would only make sense that their clothes had to already work for all of it, pregnancy, breastfeeding, daily life. And in many ways, they did.
Imagine this for a second...
Imagine you’re a woman called Elsbeth.
You live somewhere in the countryside in the late Middle Ages. Your days are full, taking care of your home, your children, your work.
You’re pregnant again. Your fourth baby.
Your youngest is still breastfeeding. The others are running around you, needing things, pulling at your skirt.
You don’t have a special wardrobe for this phase of your life. You don’t even have the concept of it.
You have your dress. An apron. Something to keep you warm. Something to protect your clothes while you work.
And somehow it all has to work.
Lucas Cranach the Younger, Christ blessing the children. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Clothes that adapted to life
Before “maternity” or “nursing wear” existed as categories, clothing simply had to work for different stages of life.
In early medieval times, this wasn’t even a question. Women owned very few garments, sometimes just one or two dresses that had to last for years.
Making a single tunic could take hundreds of hours. So instead of creating specialized clothing, garments were made to adapt. Loose shapes. Simple cuts. Layers.
And most importantly: they had to allow access to the breast, again and again, every day.
In a way, everyday clothing was already maternity and nursing wear.
Layers, veils, and moving fabric
If you look at medieval paintings of mothers and babies, you’ll often notice soft fabric falling over the head and chest.
It might look a bit like a headscarf today, but it wasn’t a fixed garment.
These were simple pieces of cloth: linen veils or head coverings worn daily by many women.
From right to left: https://historicenterprises.com/
Maestro della Leggenda della Maddalena
They weren’t mainly religious. They were practical.
They helped keep the hair clean and in place, especially since it wasn’t washed as frequently as today. For many women, especially once married, covering the hair was also a matter of modesty and social norms.
Worn loosely and adjusted throughout the day, these fabrics could easily be moved when needed, sometimes falling over the chest or being used to cover it.
Not designed for breastfeeding. But naturally allowing it.
How clothing actually worked
Clothing wasn’t just “loose”, it had specific features that made it adaptable:
Openings and slits
Necklines or chest openings could be pulled apart or loosened, allowing access without undressing.
Brooches and fastenings
Garments were often held together with brooches or pins.Unfastening them could open the entire front.
Lacing and adjustable seams
Some garments could be loosened or tightened depending on the body.
Layering
Women wore multiple layers: underdress, overdress, apron. Each layer could be moved independently.
Simple tunics
Long tunic-style garments made from rectangles of fabric allowed space for the body to change.
From top botom: sonsofvikings.com
Volume, layers, and practical solutions
Later, in the Baroque period, looser garments became common during pregnancy. Dresses like the Adrienne had no defined waist and lots of volume. It was the first recorded maternity design in the history of Western fashion, emerging around the late 1600s to early 1700s
Before this time, women would simply loosen or unpick the seams of their everyday clothing to adapt it to pregnancy, or rely on adjustable bodices, expandable underlayers, or aprons.
Aprons, especially, were doing a lot more than we give them credit for. They covered what didn’t close anymore, protected the fabric, and added a layer of privacy.
A simple piece, but incredibly functional.
When clothing worked for breastfeeding too
By the Georgian and Regency periods, many dresses were designed in a way that made both pregnancy and breastfeeding easier, without being labeled as such.
Empire waist dresses, for example, sat under the bust and allowed easy access. Some had front openings or panels that could be moved aside.
These weren’t “nursing clothes.” They were just… clothes that made sense.
And since most women had fewer garments, they needed pieces that could last through different phases, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and everything in between.
From right to left:
janeausten.co.uk
historycollection.com
yesterdaysthimble.com
Not every mother breastfed her own baby
Something important to point out is the fact that not every mother breastfed her own baby.
In many parts of Europe, especially among wealthier families, wet nurses were common.
And for them, breastfeeding wasn’t occasional, it was constant.
Which meant their clothing had to work even more efficiently:quick access, repeated use, simple adjustments.
Again, not specialized clothing, just garments that allowed it.
A different rhythm of motherhood
Women often breastfed while pregnant again.
There was no pause between stages, everything overlapped.
Which meant their clothing had to work for all of it, at the same time.
Then things changed...
Around the mid-19th century, something shifted.
Pregnancy became more hidden. More private.
In the early 20th century, something shifted again. For the first time, maternity clothing became its own category. A designer in New York, Lane Bryant, is often credited with creating one of the first modern maternity dresses around 1904, followed by ready-to-wear pieces a few years later.
And breastfeeding became less visible during this time, especially in public. Clothes were designed to conceal the body, not to allow easy access.
This shift was influenced in part by the rise of infant formula, which made it possible to feed babies without breastfeeding. But it wasn’t just that. At the same time, ideas around modesty and public behavior were changing. The female body, especially during pregnancy and breastfeeding, became something more private, something to be hidden rather than integrated into daily life.
Where we are now?
Now it often feels like you need “the right clothes” to breastfeed.
But maybe that’s not entirely true.
Because if you look back, the real solution was never about replacing your wardrobe. It was about flexibility.
And you don’t necessarily need more.
Sometimes, you just need your everyday clothes to work a little differently.
To stay in place. To open easily. To adapt to your body and your baby.
Everyday Breastfeeding-friendly clothes
I’ve gathered a few examples of everyday pieces that are naturally breastfeeding-friendly. And if you’re planning to buy something new, it makes sense to choose items you can keep wearing long after this stage too.
Left to right: Baethelabel Tezenis
Clothes like button-down shirts and lightweight cardigans work really well for both breastfeeding and pregnancy. They’re easy to open, easy to adjust, and don’t require anything complicated.
Stretchy tops are another simple option. Worn underneath, they can help cover your belly during pregnancy, and later make breastfeeding more comfortable while still giving you a bit of coverage.
For bottoms, skirts and pants made from stretchy fabrics are ideal. They adapt to your body as it changes, without needing constant adjustments.
One of the advantages of living today is that fabric technology has evolved in a way that allows clothing to be both comfortable and flexible
I’ll share more everyday, breastfeeding-friendly pieces in a separate post ;)
I hope you enjoyed this post! :)
Roberta
All images and links were shared without any sponsorship.
Sources
Sagy, Notes on Early Medieval Women’s Dress https://sagy.vikingove.cz/en/notes-on-early-medieval-womens-dress/
Semler, Hill, Bonner — A History of Maternity Wear (2023)
Hilary Davidson — Dress in the Age of Jane Austen
Historical research on “Madonna Lactans” iconography
General historical context on wet nurses and breastfeeding practices in Europe (17th–19th century)
Krause, Amanda —20 photos that show how maternity fashion has changed over the years https://www.businessinsider.com/how-maternity-fashion-has-changed-2019-3#maternity-fashion-hadnt-changed-much-by-the-1940s-5
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