I'm going to sit next to you Jewel and wait to hear the answers to this. I know that some of loose fitting maternity clothes were ugly but this new look ...whew...it's smutty to me.Who would have ever thought that a pregnant woman could look smutty instead of beautiful. I don't get it. :::sitting next to you::::

Well I am not going to sit down on this one. This is a question that has been floating through my mind often since I have viewed so many pregnant women in violation of a dress code. Wifebeaters,pants that don't snap or zip, midriffs and the such are not maternity clothes. A sloppy dressed pregnant woman takes away from the true glory of a woman expanding a new life. And yes, Demi Moore and Badu exposed their bellies when they were pregnant, however, I don't want to see your pregnant belly in halter tops and tight fitting tops put on some maternity clothes PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I couldn't wait to get home and comment on this topic because you know I got horror stories. With a Wal-Mart, Target and Godwill store on every other corner, affordability IS NOT the reason uncovered pregnant bellies and bulging breasts are all the rave. I believe it is just plain laziness. My all time favorite outfit was a woman close to her due date in a sequined blue halter with a white sports bra underneath, daisy duke booty shorts that were unzipped and ratty pink houseshoes. Talk about a distraction...I could barely get my exam done with all of that "fashion" going on.
Wait...maybe it's not laziness. Maybe all these fashion mavens have the same funhouse mirror. Perhaps there's a free giveaway of funhouse mirrors with each refill of prenatal vitamins.

Gonna sit with Kat and Jewelz on this one too. But I guess some women think it's cute (I'm not one of them). Heck what's her name was singing her "Swagger" song in that disgusting half nude tight outfit on looking like she was about to drop her baby any minute.....she did have the baby the next day too, hahahaa guess she swaggered it out hahahaa

I had this same conversation with my daughter last year as her belly grew
with my grandson inside. Not only would she not put on maternity tops, she
refused to wear the pants. HOW CAN YOU NOT? I watched as her jeans got too
tight for her to put them on, she then searched the internet and bought
what they called a maternity belt extender for your jeans. Amazing because
this was not going to give you more room around the zipper area, which she
soon found out.
Maternity clothes do not have to be ugly or unfashionable, but they do have
to be roomie in order for your baby to grow properly. (My sister and I
feel this is one reason babies are at low birth rates now days, 5 - 6 pd
babies are the norm now or even lower).
I believe all this came from when the celebrities started showing their
belly's in pictures stating how beautiful they are pregnant. I agree with
this, but the tight clothes gotta go, it is not becoming, but to each their
own I suppose. ME, I loved my roomie maternity clothes, and I was cute! lol

I guess I was a "contemporary pregnant woman" so I should definitely comment. For me personally being pregnant was the biggest change mentally and especially physically that I have ever encountered in my life. So with that being said, lets talk about these clothes.

Maternity clothes are not made for each unique pregnant woman, not even for 5 unique pregnant women. There seems to be one idea of a pregnant woman's body shape. Unfortunately for me I didn't fit that body type. Maternity pants NEVER fit me because for the first 6 to 7 months of my pregnancy (and my baby came a month early) I only gained weight in my stomach so these pants that were extra wide in the waist and thighs, tried to make up for that by having a thicker elastic band around the tummy didn't work for me.

What I did was I wore my tops and jeans that were too big before, after a while I no longer could button my jeans but my tops were always long enough to cover that. I invested in a B-Buckle (which I don't really suggest) but it basically was a piece of fabric that connected to the front 2 belt loops and covered up the button in the middle. I bought tops that were larger than what I would usually wear and eventually I started to buy maternity tops (when I was showing forreal).

What it really is, pregnancy already had me feeling fat and unattractive, and the maternity clothes just add to that because they are not flattering. They fit like sheets for "comfort" but they do not take into consideration fashion. Most maternity clothes make women look further along in their pregnancy than they actually are, and who wants to hear that they look fatter than what they are supposed to be at that stage? It's not a secret that I'm pregnant so why try to hide my stomach with sheet-like tops?

Just to be clear tho, I was not the pregnant woman with my stomach hanging out the bottom of my shirts or my breasts popping out of the top. I simply wanted to make myself feel and look better by wearing clothes in my age-group. Maternity clothing companies indirectly design clothes for older women because they are still stuck in this mindset that women don't get pregnant until their late 20s or early 30s, sometimes later than that. So the clothes aren't designed for young women, and I am only 22 and 21 at the time of my pregnancy! I refuse to dress any older for any circumstance!

i'm chiming in on the what were they thinking group! i was so excited to be pregnant and i couldn't wait to wear maternity clothes.

And yes back then some of them were ugly but some were so cute i wished i could still wear them after the pregnancy.

Personally they look so darn uncomfortable. I still don't like clothes that are to snug and when i don't feel comfortable in what i am wearing i get cranky.

Frankly, i wish all fashion would get back into a more respectable mode, i'm tired of seeing boobs and stomachs and the asses of both men and women

Perhaps it's generational, economical or maybe it is simply a difference in style... but pregnant woman should be able to dress how they please in whatever makes them comfortable without judgement from other women(unless you are rocking the sequenced tube top with a wifebeater under it during the day... because that is a mess no matter if you are pregnant or not).

A slightly exposed belly below a shirt doesn't contribute to lowbirth rates and a snug tshirt doesn't harm the baby. The difference in clothing can also be attributed to Today's pregnant women having more options in clothing which may not have been available 15 plus years ago. Why should women hide behind baggy clothes when comfort is not comprimised? A mother's belly is nothing to be ashamed of and it should be celebrated!

I have never been pregnant and I'm not a fan of stretch tops never was at any age. I've always disliked tight clothes at any age, my skin feels like it can't breath. However, that is a personal preference. So if I had been pregnant I probably would have loved maternity clothes.