I have found over the years of breastfeeding both of my son's is a good breast pad is essential. This is especially true in the early days as you often become engorged as your milk comes in. However even after this I still regularly wear them as often the let-down reflex for me is triggered in the other breast to which he is feeding from and also occasionally if he has slept longer than my body thinks he should have done and is ready for a feed I will have some leakage too. I bought these Boots extra absorbent pads recently to try as they were cheaper than my regular brand Johnsons and I wanted to see how they compared. A breast pad for me has several essential criteria: one to stay in place, two to be absorbent, and finally to be comfortable to wear.

The box that the pads come in is cardboard and displays all the relevant information to the packet and contain 40 pads.

To stay in place the pads have a single adhesive strip, this unlike a lot of pads I have tried is a thin strip that runs the entire diameter of the pad in the centre rad than just at one strip on one side of a pad. I actually like this design and it holds the pad in place very well even when lowering my bra top to feed my son and remains in place all day

The absorption of these is claimed to be extra absorbent and the design on the pad seems to be honeycombed to cope with this. I have found that they do actually live up to these claims very well and cope with a engorgement and leaking very well without any embarrassing leaks coming through to my top during the day even when I was leaking a lot in the early days.

Comfort wise I have to admit I am torn on how I find them. The pad is contorted to shape around the breast in a similar way to my favourite brand and this I find makes them very comfortable to wear. The indentation for the nipple is great as this allows my nipple to not feel squashed into shape as a flat pad tends to do. There is a fine mesh at the front of the pad and I do find at times that this can get stuck to my nipple if I have leaked which can then be uncomfortable to remove and potentially if you have sore nipples could be very uncomfortable and damage the sensitive skin further. I am at present a double D cup and the pads cover very easily my nipple area without engulfing the whole breast and this means it is nice and comfortable to wear even on hot days. The downside of the pad for me is that they rustle hugely when they are inserted and whenever I am near them in my bra for example winding my son his wriggles cause them to rustle or if I am lowering my bra to feed they again rustle making discreet feeding harder. The breathable aspects are good with the pad and I never feel as if my breast is getting hot and sweating.

Overall I personally have mixed feelings about these breast pads. I find that they stay in place, are hugely absorbent, generally comfortable to wear bar the odd sticking issue, but they rustle hugely and for this reason I will not be buying them again. However if you don't mind the odd rustle at £3.59 for a box of 40 at Boots they are a reasonable buy 3 stars from me.