Where can I buy maternity sportswear - you know, 'proper' kit, not loungewear or prancy yoga pants?

[saltyseadog]

Having emerged from the 1st trimester relatively unscathed (apart from putting on 1/2 st - eek!) I've decided it's about time to do some exercise. However, my normal running shorts are now splitting at the seams = where can I buy decent maternity sportswear please?

Does it actually exist?

In my experience - no it doesn't exist. I found one website that had some half decent stuff but they didn't ship outside the USA. You can get decent swimwear tho which is good low impact exercise. Good luck.

There are a few sites if you google maternity sportswear. There is some decent stuff ot there but you do have to look through pages of fashion sportswear (iykwim)I ended up not needing any as managed to get away with pushing my shorts down below my bump when I ran and my support belt covered the gap! Those big outsize tshirts they give out at some races come into their own too at this time!

I looked for maternity tennis stuff, but there was really nothing. In the end, I bought extra large tennis dresses, fitted under the bust instead of the waist and shortened the straps. And wore shorts under the bump. I play tennis 2-3 times a week, so those dresses have been a real godsend.

So if you can't find anything specific, I suggest getting bigger sizes of stuff that is really stretchy and avoiding anything with elastic at the waist unless its comfortable to wear it under the bump. Not a great answer I know, but I tried and failed to find things too...

There is a website called sporty bump. I have used the cycle shorts and they have been great I also ordered some leggings in size small but these were just too big so have sat in the cupboard unopened and have also never used the cross over top also size s I was just about to put them on the classified for £25 posted if you are interested. Pics on the website here www.sportybump.co.uk/shop/index.php

What sort of sport are you thinking of, Salty? I cycled till 38 weeks in my last pregnancy and found that one of my normal pairs of (yes, lycra) cycling leggings fitted to the bitter end. They are slightly long on me so I am able to have the elastic over or under the bump. On the top I just wore a t-shirt.