I, too, have worked with many moms who are very large breasted.   What I mean
by large is not DD, it is breast is supported by pillow, someone else holds
baby large.  Even moms with "only" a G cup find even a supportive nursing bra
just doesn't cut it for helping to hold the weight of the breast.  Once you
open those flaps the support is pretty much nil.  Yes, cutting a good support
bra is the option that works for many of them.  They cut out a large enough
portion to reveal enough of the breast for a good latch and then a little
more so baby is not up against the material.  They then sew the opening so it
does not unravel and/or become scratchy.  Sometimes they use nursing pads
over the openings or a t-shirt under their clothes if the idea of nipples
protruding through their clothing is not acceptable to them.  By the way, the
size of aerola is irrelevent in this case, because if they are very large the
baby does not "take in the whole aerola"--the thought of which terrifies
those moms.  Imagine their relief when you say, no in that picture the mom
has a quarter sized aerola, yours is not going to all fit in there.

Kindly,
Pam MazzellaDiBosco, IBCLC   FL,USA

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