Underwear when pregnant....

[oldermama2021]

Hi,
I am nearly 23 weeks pregnant and have noticed that my high leg pants seem to be rolling down a bit under the bump which can get a bit uncomfy as I sit a lot at work during the day. Also some of my bras are beginning to get a bit tight. I have read that you are not supposed to wear under wire bras when pregnant - is this true? What underwear do you recommend - do you just buy normal pants in bigger size? Sorry..might seem like a silly question... Thank you for your help.

I normally wear low rise underwear but further in my pregnancy I found them a bit small 😳 . I just sized up . I bought a pack from John Lewis so not glamorous at all but whatever lol. I also bought a few “maternity”underwear from Gap. Literally a waste of money . They are low rise anyway so I have no idea what makes them maternity . They are nicer than the John Lewis ones with some stretch so maybe not a complete waste but definitely not necessary in my opinion .

As for bras , from about 20 weeks onwards I wore soft nursing bras . I figured I would get use out of them after baby arrives anyway so it wasn’t a waste of money !

I just bought a size up in underwear from Primark, normally a 10/12 but gone up to 14/16 and use their mini briefs which is under the bump for me. Something cheap and cheerful!
I struggled with bras! Because you can't try them on atm and you can't get fitted, I kept on getting either too big cups or just not fastening.
Just now I'm wearing the marks and Spencer non wired bra with a strap extenders at the back (get a pack of 3 from Primark). They're really comfy! I still occasionally wear my wired bra if the other one is in the wash, but I'm now 38 weeks so not too fussed at bras at this stage!

I really struggled with this too and found it so uncomfortable, even if I went a few sizes up. I bought some full leg underwear from M&S and they were brilliant. I had an unplanned C-section too (all during lockdown) so was so glad I had the big underwear too.

Life changing:

INNERSY Maternity Knickers Womens... www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07VGGY76P?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

I got few over the bump underwear pants from Seraphine. Glamorous they are not by any stretch of imagination, but they are very comfortable. Or if you don't like over the bump aspect, perhaps try seamless pants in a size up.
With bras, I just switched to soft breastfeeding bras mid second trimester.

Thank you all for your help. I will have a look at all your suggestions - thank you so much. Are maternity bras non-wired or can you wear normal bras but maybe need to get size re-checked?

I usually prefer high legs but had the same issue so I switched to minis. I just got a couple of cheap multipacks from George but I did have to go 2 sizes up from my usual trouser size because I'm wide hipped (hence why I'm not usually a fan of minis!)

My boobs grew quite a bit in the first trimester so I just got a couple of my usual style in a bigger size (ordered a few different sizes online and returned the rest). I'm not sure when to buy nursing bras as I've heard they can get bigger after birth when your milk comes in?

@HumbleCrumble I had to buy a couple new nursing bras after birth but after a few months my boobs reduced in size and I was neck in my maternity soft nursing bras .

I loved maternity pants. No elastic, no digging in, tons of stretch and so comfy. Maternity bras are a waste of time of you plan to breastfeed- go straight for the nursing bras. If you don't intend to breastfeed, you can wear normal bras as far as I know.

Figleaves have some good information about the different types of maternity and nursing bras

I wore underwire throughout and had underwired nursing bras, no mastitis or clots in over two years.
I wore my own underwear throughout, so I’d guess it’s about the cut. You could try low waistbands one size up.

I bought a three pack of maternity pants from H and M that I’m still wearing post-birth, they have a bit of a higher waist than I normally go for. I also bought a size up of my usual style from M&S - black low rise shorts - which got me through the final months of pregnancy and were good for holding maternity pads after.

Bras, as a pp said my breast grew early in pregnancy so I bought some soft sports bras and maternity bras and wore those in pregnancy. They grew again when my milk came in, but not hugely and I am making do as have heard they will settle down again (will buy some more bras in a month whatever happens). H&M also do 2 packs of nursing vest tops with hidden support which I wear most days (am about a 30D) instead of a bra.

Thank you all - definitely going to research all these suggestions online. I don't think I will be breastfeeding which is why I wasn't sure about buying a specific nursing bra. Thank you for your help.