Your Bump and You
You 've made it through the morning sickness and you 're beginning to bloom. You should be feeling great but your trendy tee is stretched to the max and you 're concerned that your pregnant tummy isn 't very fashion friendly.For the first three months you managed to hang on to your favourite jeans by surreptitiously undoing the top button, but it 's time to admit that your growing baby needs more space!
Don 't despair - maternity style has moved on since you were born and you 're not destined for five months of smock dresses and dodgy dungarees. It 's important that your maternity clothes are as comfortable as they possibly can be, but that doesn 't mean you have to sacrifice glamour - even when the weather is very hot or cold. And you don 't have to spend a fortune.
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Unless you 've got lots of cash to splash take advantage of friends offering to give, or lend, clothes to you. After that, stick to the high street where maternity clothes are, on the whole, fashionable and good value.
The internet is a fantastic place to look for maternity styles particularly in warmer weather when traipsing around town with a heavy bump might not be your idea of fun. Order clothes in your usual, non-pregnant size and if they don't fit or you don't like them you can always pop them back in the post.
The other great thing about the internet is that it gives you the opportunity to consider loads of different brands and styles, plus some of the websites have advice pages - invaluable if you 're not sure what you need.
Take a look at FunMum.com, which offers casual styles and work-wear with simple, fuss-free lines. It's also great value for money.
If it's simplicity you want then you could do worse than to buy one of several capsule collections. Bump Box, available from www.fromheretomaternity.co.uk, is £90 and comes complete with a long-sleeved top, trousers, a cami-top and a-line skirt. The four pieces in this capsule collection will provide a brilliant base on which to build your maternity wear. They'll also still look good in the weeks after the birth when you've yet to get back into your usual clothes.
Whichever maternity clothes you go for, cotton rich styles with a hint of lycra are excellent for a comfortable fit. Don 't dismiss maternity underwear. Ok, so it may not make you feel like a million dollars, but it 's fit and comfort that count for now. Well-fitting maternity bras (look to some of the bigger department stores for excellent ranges and trained fitters to help you) are a pre-requisite. They will support your growing chest without putting pressure on the delicate milk ducts. And do consider large maternity knickers - they may look more like something your great granny might wear but trust us - the comfort is worth the sartorial sacrifice!
London mum Maria Dinallo, 43, is mum to one-year-old Alex. She says she kept her maternity wardrobe small with a few well-chosen pieces suitable for work and casual wear. She says: "I had a black, stretchy skirt from Isabella Oliver, which was really comfortable and I could dress up or down. I also had a couple of tops from the same place - they were also really comfortable and grew with my bump. The only real disappointment was a pair of jeans from one of the high street stores. They looked great on and the blue stretchy panel at the top was comfortable across my bump, but once I'd passed the five-month mark the jeans felt like they were about to fall down. I found myself hitching them up all the time."
It's not just your clothes that have to stretch as your baby grows. Your skin needs a little extra TLC too. Treat it gently throughout your pregnancy to help keep it healthy.
Higher hormone levels and the stretching of your skin may cause it to become more sensitive and delicate during pregnancy. Wash your clothes in a non-bio washing powder, such as Persil Non-Bio, and try to use fabric conditioner that is formulated for sensitive skin such as Comfort Pure. Its skincare research is supported by the British Skin Foundation.
Don 't ' forget to moisturise your skin regularly. It won 't prevent stretch marks but it will help to keep your skin supple. Midwife Sharon Trotter says: "Stretch marks are caused by damage to your deep layers of skin and no product can penetrate this far. The best advice is not to eat for two and to try to avoid gaining more than two stones in weight over the whole pregnancy. This will help your skin to stretch gradually."
Sharon adds that edible, plant based oils such as olive, sunflower, sweet almond and grape seed are suitable for all over body use. They will help to keep skin comfortable and soft to touch.
Some women develop brown patches of pigmentation on the forehead, cheeks and neck called Chloasma. It 's nothing to worry about but can persist for some time after delivery. It should eventually go away. On darker skinned women it appears as lighter patches.
You might also notice a dark vertical line running down the middle of your tummy from just below your navel. This is called Linea Nigra and tends to appear around the second trimester. It should fade within a few weeks of delivery. It sometimes remains visible on dark-haired women.
OK, so you 're armed with the facts and all set - now it 's time to sit back and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy.
For more information on soft, comfortable clothes visit Comfort Pure
Find out more about the work of the British Skin Foundation here.
Sharon Trotter, RN, RM, BSc is a midwife, breastfeeding consultant and neonatal skincare advisor. She is also the author of Breastfeeding: The Essential Guide.
Lisa Moore |
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