Garment for selectively supporting shields for expressing milk

A breast support article comprising:

• means for supporting and substantially covering a mother's breast including means for maintaining a pumping funnel tightly against the mother's breast and allowing a milk transfer cylinder extending from the pumping funnel to extend through the means for supporting;
• means for providing padded coverage and support to the mother's breast over the means for supporting and substantially covering the mother's breast when the breast support article is in a first configuration;
• means for providing a continuous exterior surface substantially covering the means for providing padded coverage and support when the breast support article is in the first configuration;
• means for selectively securing a top of each of the means for providing padded coverage and support and the means for providing the continuous exterior surface to a top of the means for supporting and substantially covering to secure the breast support article in the first configuration.

A method of supporting a breast shield on a breast, the method comprising:

• positioning a garment on a woman having breasts, the garment including:
• a first layer directly adjacent the breasts and having an opening extending therethrough,
• a second layer positioned adjacent the first layer opposite the breasts, and
• a third layer extending over the second layer opposite the first layer to cover the second layer, wherein tops of the second layer and the third layer are selectively secured to a top of the first layer such that the second layer and the third layer substantially cover the first layer in a normal wear position and are selectively unsecured from the top of the first layer to substantially expose the first layer in a nursing position;
• folding the second layer and the third layer down from the top of the first layer to the nursing position exposing the opening of the first layer;
• and
• inserting a breast shield between one of the breasts and the first layer of the garment including positioning a milk transfer cylinder extending from the breast shield to extend through the opening in the first layer such that the breast shield is maintained in sufficient contact with the one of the breasts by the first layer to allow for sufficient suction for expressing milk without use of the mother's hands.