How the Latch Score works
Every piece on The Latch Edit carries a Latch Score, a rating from 1 to 10 of how easy it is to nurse or pump in. This page shows you exactly where that number comes from, because a score you can't audit is just marketing.
What the score measures
The Latch Score answers one question. When your baby is hungry or your pump session starts, how easily does this garment get you there? That covers how much access it gives, whether you can manage it with one hand, how discreet it stays in public, and whether the garment recovers afterward.
The score does not measure style, quality, or value. The brand's own reviews cover those, and you already know whether a Boden print is your taste. We stay in our lane.
Every piece starts with a baseline
Construction determines most of a garment's nursing ease before anyone puts it on, so every piece enters the Edit with an editor score based on how it opens.
| Construction | Baseline | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wrap | 9.5 | Opens fully, adjusts with a tie, and drapes back into place on its own. |
| Zip-front | 8.5 | The fastest one-handed access there is, awake or half asleep. |
| Buttons | 8.0 | Excellent access, but buttons usually want two hands and can gape. |
| Loose | 7.0 | Lifting from the hem works well, though it usually needs a tank underneath. |
| Stretch neck | 6.0 | It gets the job done, but you are stretching out the shirt every time. |
Stretch necklines sit last on purpose. Pulling a neckline down eight times a day is hard on fabric, and we would rather send you toward a closure that opens than a collar that endures. And you will notice there is no entry for tight-fitting pieces with no access. Those score a zero, and a zero does not get listed.
Execution moves the baseline
Two zip-front dresses are not equal if one zipper opens to the waist and the other stops four inches down. So our editors adjust each baseline by up to a point in either direction for how well the construction is actually executed. A full-length functional placket earns more than the buttons baseline, a shallow half-zip earns less than the zipper baseline, and a flimsy ribbed knit drops below an already modest stretch score.
Then moms take over
An item shows "Editor's score" until the first community rating arrives. From there, every mom who has worn a piece can rate it from 1 to 10, where 1 means nearly impossible and 10 means effortless with one hand.
Community ratings blend with the baseline rather than replacing it. The editor score carries the weight of five ratings, so a single harsh review cannot sink a well-constructed dress, and a single glowing one cannot rescue a bad zipper. Once real ratings pile up, they outweigh the rubric entirely, which is exactly how it should be. We know construction, but you know what happened at the restaurant.
Why we publish the rubric
Most "nursing-friendly" labels ask you to trust a marketing department. We would rather show our math and let you argue with it. If you think wraps are overrated or your half-zip deserves better, rate the piece, add a note, and move the score. The rubric starts the conversation, and your experience finishes it.