Many women love some good corsets and shapewear and it is perfect understanding: besides modeling the body, they also offer different types of benefits. Certain types of shapewear improve posture and consequently help with some other issues (relieving lower back pain, for example).
However, there are many doubts that surround corsets. The situations and occasions that allow (or don’t allow) corsets to be worn are one of the most common hesitations. Among all the situations, there is the question of using a corset during pregnancy – after all, is it possible and safe?
If you are expecting a baby and still want to wear shapewear, we will clarify your doubts: get to know if it is possible to wear a corset while pregnant!
What is shapewear?
Shapewear is an undergarment that helps to enhance the body’s curves, resulting in a more defined silhouette. There are many available options of shapewear in the market, with different designs, materials, and structures.
What is a corset?
All corsets are shapewear – but not all shapewear are corsets. Corsets are a type of garment that can be worn over or underneath clothes. It is designed to significantly reduce the size of the waist, and for that it counts with stiff busks.
Can I wear a corset while pregnant?
Absolutely not. The corset’s structure (with rigid busks) creates too much pressure and this is potentially harmful for the child, besides being an extremely uncomfortable experience.
However, like we’ve mentioned, shapewear is not only restricted to the corset’s category. There are many types of shapewear and some of them can be worn during pregnancy – some of them are even specially made to be worn during pregnancy: they’re famously called maternity shapewear.
Maternity shapewear
Even though maternity shapewear has some similarities with regular shapewear, it also has many differences – and these differences are crucial to making this category safe for moms. The main one is that maternity shapewear is more forgiving in the belly than the regular versions.
Plus, while regular shapewear offers compression in the belly region, maternity shapewear offers compression around the legs, hips, and bottom. Around the belly they are more gentle, leaving this region freer and providing delicate support.
Benefits of maternity shapewear
You may ask yourself, what is the point of wearing shapewear during pregnancy – after all, most pregnant women don’t want to reduce belly measurements (on the contrary, women tend to be proud of their growth).
But the objective of this shapewear is not to make compression to hide this part of the body: actually, it is meant to relieve some uncomfortable issues moms are susceptible to. Thigh chafing and excessive sweating are some examples of discomforts that maternity shapewear helps to prevent.
Besides shapewear for the body, some compression clothing must be necessary in this case to prevent deep vein thrombosis. It is a blood clot that usually happens in the lower legs, but can move to the lungs. In these cases, compression socks or leggings are necessary – but it must be prescribed and diagnosed by a doctor.
When not to wear maternity shapewear
Since this kind of garment is made especially for pregnancy, it is not risky to use it. You just have to stop wearing it in case you feel too hot or too uncomfortable – which is perfectly normal while the baby grows. You can still look for lighter fabrics and looser-fitting options if you want to.
We hope you enjoyed this article and have a great pregnancy.
If you are looking for shapewear, visit Metro Brazil’s website: we have many special options, including specific maternity shapewear.
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