A Guide For A Healthy Pregnancy

Maternity Clothes

Finding the maternity clothes to suit you can be quite difficult. You have to find the right size and make sure that it’s comfortable and it’s the correct type of clothing. To find comfort in your clothes, avoid materials with man-made fibres. These include: polyester and acrylic, as can be extremely irritant.

The best style for maternity clothes is stretchy fabrics like cotton. Cotton is also made from soft, natural fibres which will make it comfortable to wear. These are great because if you buy it when your bump is just starting to show, you can use it for most of your pregnancy; until you are coming to the end of your pregnancy.  In most pregnant women, you will find that maternity clothes aren’t really needed till the second trimester; around the three to four month stage. Another good type of clothing to wear is clothing that will stretch as the pregnancy progresses but will also shrink back after your pregnancy.

As you reach the three to four month mark of your pregnancy, you will find your breasts may have grown a bit. After you have realised this, you should get measures/fitted as you will need the correct sized bra to increase your comfort during pregnancy. However, your bra size could change up to four times during your pregnancy, so don’t go out buying loads of bras to fit your ‘new’ size as it may be a different size in the next couple of months. There are many types of bras for you to try. Nursing bras should be worn if you plan on breastfeeding. The wider the strap on the bra, the more support the bra offers.

 Maternity support bands will be needed as you your bump is clearly visible and onwards. They   do exactly what the name says; support you. The basic idea is that your baby bump will need to be supported and you can’t hold your bump up all day, so the support band does it for you. They are strapped around your bump and help relieve the strain pregnancy takes on your back, especially your lower back. You wear them under your clothes but the best way to wear it is with a wrap top.

When looking for clothes, make sure, if they are bottoms, they have an adjustable waist. Also, maternity trousers often have panels on them. There are different types of panels that offer different amounts of support for the baby bump. The larger the panel, the more support for your baby bump.

Towards the end of your pregnancy, it’ll be easiest to wear wrap tops. You can also have vest tops with built in bras. However, make sure the bra type is correct. By wearing vest tops etc, you are helping yourself cool down; especially on hot, summer days/nights.

The best shoes are ballet flats. You may prefer shoes with open toes. However, the best suited shoes are ballet flats as they balance your weight out. They also allow your feet to breathe and keep cool.

Top Tips:

· Don’t buy all your maternity clothes at once as you can never know the rate at which you, as an individual, will grow. It is best to buy every few weeks through-out the pregnancy.

· You could also try borrowing clothes from your friends and family who are a similar size to you and have pregnancy clothes.

· Don’t wear under-wired bras as they can interfere with developing milk ducts.

· Don’t wear bottoms that aren’t designed for pregnancy as they won’t give you the support you need around your waist.

 · Do take pregnancy as an opportunity to try different styles and types of clothing suitable for maternity clothes as it may come in handy if you get pregnant in the future.