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Your pregnancy products
Pregnancy can do strange things to your self esteem, swinging your mood from glowing pride to shy self-consciousness. Looking good and feeling good about yourself help no end, and clothes that are attractive and comfortable will make all the difference. Some women are lucky enough to go well into pregnancy before even having to think about buying maternity clothing. For others the bump begins to swell right from the start and anything that constricts is uncomfortable. There are plenty of companies producing clothes designed for maternity. Check out the specialist mother and baby shops and department stores, but also look for general high street retailers who sell a maternity range. Another great source is the home shopping catalogues. Several of the bigger mail order catalogues offer stylish maternity ranges and there are also a number of catalogues aimed specifically at pregnant mothers. If you're looking for an outfit for a special occasion such as a wedding, you might consider hiring rather than buying. Check your local yellow pages for shops that hire maternity wear. To begin with, you may be able to manage simply going up a size, but as your bump grows and your proportions change, you will probably feel more comfortable in specially designed maternity wear. The good news is that maternity wear designers now make ranges of clothing where style is just as important as comfort. You’ll find smart suits and dresses, glamorous evening wear, stylish trousers, jeans and dungarees, all kinds of tops, shorts and swimwear, bras, underwear, tights and nightwear. • Choose natural fabrics that won’t itch near your skin - during pregnancy it’s common for skin to become sensitive, resulting in hot scratchy rashes which can be irritated by man-made fabrics • Make sure waistbands have plenty of room for expansion. You don’t want to buy maternity clothes only to find you’ve outgrown them a few months later • Look for plenty of stretch, and panels of stretchy fabric inserted where your bump is going to swell • Buy bras with the right support for your growing bust. If you've never been professionally measured before, this is the time to start. Don’t buy nursing bras until a few weeks before the birth or you may find they are too small once your milk comes in • You may need to continue wearing some of your maternity clothes after the birth, until your body starts to get back into shape, so if you're planning to breastfeed, choose styles that will also be practical for feeding. For example, tops that undo or are easy to pull up, or maternity clothes designed with special breastfeeding features. Where to next?
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