Can A Bra Promote Wellness?

In my mind, the big question is: can a bra influence wellness? Dr Marla Lander says it can.

Lander, a breast imaging and cancer specialist, is convinced. She designed the Dr Marla’s Wellness Bra, a sports bra which claims that comfort and control can be packaged together. Her inspiration was her own desire to have a bra that provided her better support for her active lifestyle and yet stayed comfortable.

You might remember recently that there was a big stink concerning bras - and whether they could be linked to breast cancer. While that hypothesis has been refuted by many, Lander’s background in breast imaging and cancer gives her some impressive credentials that should help women feel better about wearing the bra.

The Wellness Bra claims a number of interesting features:

1. Rigid (but comfortable) shoulder straps for vertical lift. (While this sounds counterintuitive to the rule of getting the majority of the lift from the band of the bra, testimonials indicate that the bra remains comfortable.)
2. A triangular open frame which surrounds each breast individually for support. It also appears to provide support in 360 degrees, right around the breast.
3. A crescent shaped sling for “gentle but unyielding” support underneath the breasts.
4. A unique variable cup height adjustment, which helps women dealing with breasts of two different sizes, but also provides support beneath and lateral to the breast.

As a result, it appears that this bra manages to provide support in all directions, yet avoids the dreaded “uniboob” look. As an added benefit for nursing mothers, you can feed your little one without removing your bra - the cup simply drops away as it does in a traditional nursing bra - so this garment actually be used by any woman at any stage of her life.

Because the bra does not depend on compression for support, Lander also says that breathing is easier! Given that the band is not the main mechanism of support, the rib cage can move more freely and that sense of chest constriction (typical of a compression style bra) is gone.

The Wellness Bra will be hitting the market in October, which is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You can buy in the US through JC Penney. In Canada, you’ll be able to get this bra at Rexall Drug Stores. Ten per cent of profits from this bra will be donated to breast cancer research.

Given the good reviews by full busted women, I’ll be trying one out.

Sources: Marketwire; Women Supporting Women