Best Nursing Chairs UK 2026 Tested for Comfort, Support and Durability
Six nursing chairs reviewed from £139 to £450 — honest verdicts on back support, arm height, fabric durability and how useful they are beyond the newborn stage.
Planning the full nursery budget?
Our Baby Budget Calculator shows how a nursing chair fits into your full first-year spend alongside every other major purchase.
What to Know Before You Buy
A nursing chair is used for every feed in the first months — typically 8–12 times per day in the newborn stage. That is a significant amount of time in a single position, often at 3am with poor posture. The right chair makes a material difference to back pain, feeding comfort, and the likelihood of actually settling a baby back to sleep without disturbing your own. A poorly chosen chair is one of the most common nursery regrets.
What actually matters in a nursing chair
Three things determine whether a nursing chair works in practice: lumbar support (the chair must support the lower back without you having to hold yourself upright), arm height (arms too low mean your arms bear the baby’s weight rather than the chair; too high means raised shoulders and neck strain), and seat depth (too deep and your feet cannot rest flat on the floor, causing poor posture). These three factors matter more than aesthetics, rocking mechanism, or price.
Rocking vs gliding vs static
Rocking chairs move on curved rockers — satisfying but can tip if you lean forward to put a baby down. Glider chairs move on a forward-and-back track — smoother, more controlled, and less likely to tip. Static chairs with good padding are often perfectly adequate and may be the right choice if you plan to repurpose the chair as a reading chair after the nursing stage. For a nursery layout that works around whichever style you choose, use our Nursery Planning Tool.
Fabric and cleaning
Nursing chairs get covered in milk, food, and various other substances. Before buying, confirm whether the fabric cover is removable and machine washable. Velvet and bouclé fabrics look beautiful but are significantly harder to clean than performance fabrics or leather alternatives. If your nursery colour scheme matters, check our Nursery Planning Tool to see how the chair fits with other furniture choices before ordering.
① Best Overall
The Tutti Bambini Sienna earns its top position through the consistency of its lumbar support and arm height — both of which are noticeably more considered than most nursery-specific chairs at this price. The padding density is excellent: soft enough to be comfortable but firm enough to maintain posture over a long feed. The wide, padded arms reduce arm and shoulder fatigue during extended holds. The removable cover is machine washable. A matching footstool is available separately and is worth buying — having your feet supported prevents the lower back strain that often builds over weeks of feeding without foot support. Well-suited to most body types and genuinely comfortable for tall parents.
② Best Mid-Range
The Kub Chatsworth is the best mid-range nursing chair in the UK market. The glider mechanism is smooth and silent — important for not disturbing a settling baby. A matching footstool glider is included in most configurations, which immediately solves the foot support problem that many chairs require an additional purchase to address. The removable cover is machine washable at 40°C. Arm height is well-judged and the lumbar support is solid. Available in several fabric options including a practical, wipe-clean performance fabric that is a sensible choice for the early months. This is the chair we would recommend to most parents who are buying on merit rather than aesthetics.
③ Best Value
The Obaby Eloise delivers the core nursing chair requirements — adequate lumbar support, padded arms, removable washable cover, and gentle rocking — at a price that is £80–£150 below most dedicated nursing chairs. The padding is less dense than the Tutti Bambini or Kub but sufficient for the early months. For parents who are conscious of budget across the full nursery spend — which our Baby Budget Calculator can help you model — or who are less certain whether they will use a nursing chair beyond the first few months, this is a sensible starting point. Available in multiple neutral colourways that suit most nursery colour schemes.
④ Best Premium
The Mamas & Papas Chloe is the most beautiful nursing chair in this guide and also the most honest about what it is: a premium armchair that happens to work well for nursing. The velvet upholstery and wide seat create a genuinely luxurious feeding environment. Back and arm support are both excellent. The fixed upholstery is a practical compromise — velvet is not machine washable, which requires spot cleaning discipline from day one. This is the chair for parents who want something that earns a place in the living room as a permanent piece of furniture after the nursing stage, and who are willing to maintain the fabric carefully. If you are building a coordinated nursery, check how it fits in your nursery layout before ordering as it is larger than most nursing chairs.
⑤ Best Recliner
The CuddleCo Ada is the only fully reclining chair in this guide, and it earns its place for one specific use case: the parent who plans to nurse or bottle-feed in the semi-reclined position, which many parents find more comfortable than fully upright for newborns. The footstool is included and rises to meet the chair when reclined. The upholstery is a durable performance fabric in a range of neutral tones. Back support throughout the recline range is consistent and good. This is also a genuinely useful chair for the fourth trimester — recovery from a c-section or difficult birth sometimes makes a fully upright position painful, and the recline option makes feeding possible when it otherwise would not be. See our hospital bag checklist for other fourth-trimester essentials.
⑥ Best Budget
The IKEA Poäng is not marketed as a nursing chair but functions as one more effectively than many chairs that are. The bentwood spring provides a gentle bouncing motion that works well for settling a baby. The high back supports the neck and head as well as the lumbar region. The seat cushion cover is removable and machine washable. The arm height is acceptable for most parents. Most importantly, at £139 — or around £220 with the matching footstool — it is the cheapest option in this guide by a significant margin. The Poäng is available in numerous fabric options including a practical, wipe-clean Bomstad covering. For families who are uncertain whether they will use a nursing chair frequently, or who want to allocate budget elsewhere in the first-year spend, this is a sensible choice. Compare costs in our Baby Budget Calculator.
Full Comparison 2026
| Chair | Price | Style | Footstool | Washable cover | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tutti Bambini Sienna | £350 | Rocker | Separate | ✔ | Overall best |
| Kub Chatsworth | £280 | Glider | ✔ Included | ✔ | Mid-range |
| Obaby Eloise | £200 | Rocker | Separate | ✔ | Best value |
| Mamas & Papas Chloe | £450 | Static | Separate | Spot clean | Premium / design |
| CuddleCo Ada | £380 | Recliner | ✔ Included | ✔ | Reclining |
| IKEA Poäng | £139 | Sprung | Separate | ✔ | Budget |
Buying Guide
Do I actually need a nursing chair?
No — plenty of parents feed successfully on a sofa, in bed, or in any comfortable chair they already own. A dedicated nursing chair earns its place if you plan to feed in a separate room (particularly during night feeds where you do not want to disturb a partner), if you have back problems that make feeding in a standard chair uncomfortable, or if you value having a dedicated space that you associate with feeding and settling. It is not an essential purchase. If budget is a concern, run the numbers against your other nursery priorities in our Baby Budget Calculator.
When should I order?
No later than 34–36 weeks. Nursing chairs — particularly from specialist nursery brands — can have 4–8 week lead times. You want the chair assembled and positioned in the nursery before your due date. Use our Due Date Buying Timeline to sequence the order correctly alongside your other major purchases.
Do I need a footstool?
Yes, if you are shorter than average or if the chair seat height means your feet do not rest flat on the floor. Unsupported feet pull on the lower back over long feeds and contribute significantly to the back pain many parents experience in the early months. If the footstool is not included, budget for it — it is worth the addition.
Can I buy a nursing chair second-hand?
Yes — nursing chairs are a good second-hand purchase provided the frame is structurally sound and the cushion covers are either washable or replaceable. Check for any damage to the rocking or gliding mechanism. See our second-hand baby gear guide for the full inspection checklist. The Tutti Bambini and Kub chairs in particular hold their structural quality well over time.
Which nursing chair should you buy?
For most parents the Kub Chatsworth is the right answer — it includes the footstool, has a machine-washable cover, and its glider mechanism is among the smoothest and quietest we tested. The £280 price is fair for what it delivers. If budget is the primary concern, the IKEA Poäng at £139 functions effectively as a nursing chair and the money saved is significant across the full nursery spend.
The Mamas & Papas Chloe is worth considering only if you have a specific plan for where the chair will live after the nursing stage and are confident about maintaining velvet upholstery with a newborn. It is beautiful, but a machine-washable cover is not a trivial convenience when you are dealing with milk and feeds multiple times a day in the early months.
