How to Dress During Pregnancy

How to Dress During Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a time of emotional upheaval- while you may be overjoyed at the prospect of a little baby’s arrival in your life, you’ll also be scared about all the responsibilities motherhood brings. Couple that with your raging hormones and ever changing body and whaddaya have? A stressful time. Among all the solicited and unsolicited advice you get, a few things get left out. Things that you ultimately figure out on your own but have a harrowing time in the process. Again, nobody talks to you about beauty, right? I mean who has time for vanity when they are pregnant, right? Wrong! At the time when your body is bloating up, you need something to assure you about your beauty; if only people would understand that… sigh! In this post, I’ll share my learnings. Maybe some of you will benefit from it…

1. Pregnancy Glow is highly overrated! Trust me, the glow does not come from just being pregnant. If you change over to a better diet and avoid fried, fast, fatty food, the skin improves. That will happen to a non pregnant woman too. But some women like me, grow to a tired looking sullen skin, and that is because I stopped using all cosmetic products on my face. Reason is someone told me that all chemicals can be absorbed by the placenta through the skin. So, your baby gets the lotions and the creams you use. I was advised to stop using perfumes and deos too! ( which I did not by the way) But you get the point, right? I used just oil to moisturize my face. That turned out to be a big disaster. Much later, I realized I could have gone and used kitchen skin care like besan, malai, milk, curd, orange, papaya etc.  If you are planning on having a baby, try some herbal / natural products before you conceive and stick to them. Do not try any new product during pregnancy. Allergies will be very bad for your baby.

2. Maternity Clothes are not overrated! Overpriced, yes but not overrated. If you are an office going girl, you need those maternity pants. However, A BIG CAUTION here. Do not buy them before your belly starts to show. I did that mistake and got very little use out of my maternity pants. I already have a visible belly and so I thought my bulge will be huge. Hence I brought the pants in a size larger than my regular pants very early on in the pregnancy (read month 2). Strangely enough, my bulge did not show very prominently till about 6 months! I was wearing my regular pants till 5 months. Lycra tights and flowy kurtas suited me just fine. They were trendy, comfy and hid my bulge very well. In fact, ppl at work didn’t know I was pregnant till I told them. Anyway, the point is that your shape will change differently than anyone else. So wait till your belly starts to get a visible bulge and then go to the maternity store. You can make do with one or two trousers and one pair of jeans. Also look out for a regular stretch jeans. If you find that I would advise using that instead of maternity jeans. I wore mine till the eighth month.

stretch jeans pregnancy

These are typical belly support jeans. You’d have something similar in pants too. I found these more comfortable as compared to underbump options. Those sit really low and if you are carrying the baby low, will be very uncomfortable. But if you are carrying the baby high, those can be used. Another reason to not rush into maternity wear shopping!

high bump pregnancy

middle bump pregnancy

The first pic is high and last is a low bump. The second is somewhere in between.

3. Empire and baby doll tops are your best friends! Most women experience an enhanced bust during this time. These styles will flatter your bust line and the loose underbust area will be comfortable. Do ensure that these tops are long and fall at your upper thigh or mid thigh. Personally I found tops that fell halfway through my bulge very unflattering. Straight cut shirts will look awkward over the bulge. Ruched tops are a big no-no! You can opt for maternity tops if you foresee feeding in public places like a train/ airport journey / family car ride etc. Something like this is likely to come up in the six month period of breast feeding (the min recommended period) and a nursing top with discreet nursing provision is a great help. A saree would also do the job well here. I have used both and felt more comfortable in a saree. But then, for the rest of the time, a saree is a pain to carry na?

empire dress pregnancy

baby doll top pregnancy

4. If you wear dresses, buy lots of them in jersey material. Even if you don’t wear them, get them for home use. They give you the same comfort as a nightgown without the sloppy feeling of wearing one. Dresses look very feminine and at a time you could be self conscious about your body, dresses will help boost the confidence. Slip into a dress, pull your hair back into a pony tail, apply a bit of gloss, some kajal and see the difference it makes!

skirt pregnancy

5. You must not skip the Nursing Bra! Even if people tell you to make do with old loose bras, go get yourself a nursing bra. Your breasts will feel heavy with milk and need enhanced support. Old bras will cause them to sag, doing irreparable damage. Buy the bras toward the end of your last trimester to know what size to get. I bought a size larger and that feels comfortable enough. Nursing bras will also help if you need to feed the baby in company. Not just that they have a double cloth lining over the milk to take care of minor leaks. You’ll need that if you don’t want the front of your clothes soaked up. Oh and incase you start leaking milk during your pregnancy, add an absorbent material pad in your cup. That will help.

Well, that’s it for now…  hope all you expecting ladies enjoy your pregnancy and motherhood. This will be worth it all!

daughter's feet

My daughter’s little feet

Also Read:

How To Get Pregnant
Pregnancy- Myths, Diet and Abortion
Yoga Exercises During Pregnancy
Beauty Regimen After Pregnancy
A-Z Guide to Pregnancy Weeks
Pregnancy : Best Delivery Option
14 Ways To Confirm Pregnancy without Pregnancy Kit

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46 thoughts on “How to Dress During Pregnancy

  1. oh this is such a thoughtful and useful article! really, it’s because of articles like these that we feel so close knit. it’s like we ladies are sitting together one afternoon, sipping tea and chit-chatting!

    1. I agree..this article looks really useful for all the would-be mummas!! :toothygrin: :toothygrin: :toothygrin: :toothygrin: :toothygrin: Amazing article anks!! :waytogo: :waytogo: :waytogo: :waytogo: :waytogo: :waytogo:

  2. am so glad that indian fashion industry has recognized the need for preg wear……great article anks…. :yes: :yes: :yes:

    1. Thanks Priya….

      But i dont quite agree… the maternity wear is still very western…. i didn’t find any ethnic wear… guess we all settle for loose flowy suits etc. But well fitted tops with discreet nursing options or salwars with belly support should be made available in the indian market too….

      1. oh i agree on that part completely…except when i compare 6 yrs back when i was preg it was worse scenario !!!! so there is change and i like that….

          1. when my daug was born..mothercare opened its first shop 🙁 me managed with Cotton World and Fab india ….they are all loose and have drawstrings…so helped ….. :joker: :joker:

  3. I loved the article , Anks. It’s very very useful seriously. I saw these maternity pants at Zara the other day and I was so relieved to see them. he eh e

    Bookmarking it for future.. :toothygrin: :toothygrin:

    And mwwaah to Kuhu :-*

    1. 🙂 Thanks…!

      You looking at maternity wear already???? ?:) ?:) ?:)

      When did your pregnancy announcement go out? I missed it!!!
      :yelo: :yelo: :yelo:

      guys, rati chking out maternity wear :secret2:

      1. he he no no I was looking for a jeans for myself and there was a stand where all these maternity jeans were kept. I saw them and i was wondering whey they have that soft soft clothing attached around the waist.. I checked the tags and it said for would be mothers or something like that. i got all excited because now I know where to shop a few years down the line. .. :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

        I love wearing jeans. i mean I more or less live in them. I was excited because i would still be able to wear my type of clothes even when I’ll be all golu molu mommy -to- be. 😀

  4. really good article. All tips are so true and very practical. Now a days good fashionable maternity clothing are easily availaible in india.

  5. hi anks…..lovely piece of info……
    and yes i agree……….RATI SEEKING MATERNITY WEAR…….lemme shout it frm the roof top……ladoo kab khila rahi ho bahuria…… :yahoo:

  6. Really a good one,it will help all the upcoming mothers.One thing Anks,i think by this time one sud be very careful while she walks,i mean the footwear she wears,footwear sud be very very comfortable n one sud not go for pointed heels,right!
    Anyways thanx a lot for your article,lovely one.

  7. such a cutie pie article .. :shy: :shy: :shy: :shy: i love pregant women tottering around in dungarees and frocks,so cute .. :jiggy1: :jiggy1: :jiggy1: :jiggy1:

    anks, very well written :-*

  8. very useful article Anks. I guess this generation is so lucky to have more options than what our moms did! I hope more maternity wear comes in the Indian market.

  9. Hi Anks,

    such an informative article…. 🙂
    I passed the link to a preggie friend of mine and she was all praises for IMBB. Infact, can anyone do a piece on preggie skin care and hair care too pls. She needs it…
    :beauty: :beauty: :beauty: :beauty: :beauty: :beauty: :beauty: :beauty: :beauty: :beauty: :beauty: :beauty: :beauty: :beauty: :beauty: :beauty:

    1. Aww Tarannum, that was sweet of you!

      please tell your friend to stick to her tried and tested products and use kitchen ingredients as much as possible… all the best to her 🙂

  10. Hey Anks,

    First of all your daughters feet is soooooooo cute 🙂 Lovely…

    I agree with the first point.. the change in diet will give tht glow to anyone 🙂 I did all makeup as I was becoming dull towards the end 🙁 I was using perfumes as well 😉

    Even I did the same mistake by getting the maternity pants well before thinking my belly would grow really big.. but it didn’t.. so ended up using the expensive pant just five times 🙁 n my hubby was grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

    1. thanks aarthi… 🙂

      i was using deos too… but not much makeup, just kajal and gloss / balm… in fact, i did proper makeup only for my babyshower and my nephew’s first bday… 🙂

      u did that too? aww bad…. guess it was the excitement to shop 😉

      but i used mine afterward too. Did you try that?

    1. 40 minutes!

      5 mins — lakme fruit blast

      15 mins — Himalaya Fruit Pack

      15 mins — Himalaya Neem Pack

      5 mins — washing and re appling packs!

      🙂

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