Why are maternity costumes so nasty? Proper Nasty. Low back, low front, frills and generally all black. This is a time when you need chest support but swimwear brands are not bothering and worse still, making the front even lower than normal. Why??
We don’t want anything different to what we wanted beforehand. We just want it to support us where it needs to support us and grow with us. We never wanted frills, boob spillage, boring costumes beforehand so we definitely don’t want them during a time where we might be struggling to feel ourselves.
It comes as no surprise that amongst us and our friends, none of us have gone down the maternity costume route. Instead we have all looked to our favourite brands and just worked what they have in the normal range to suit our changing bodies. Some worked, some didn’t.
Before we get into the costumes we tried, if anyone has tried this one please let us know!
http://www.boohoo.com/maternity-ava-mermaid-off-duty-swimsuit/BZZ49723.html
Manda:
Speedo – the cheap one. I went 2 sizes up in one of their cheaper costumes. A cheap one on the basis of I didn’t know how long it was going to last me so I didn’t want to spend a fortune but actually the cheaper non-chlorine resistant fabric was great as it happily stretched over bump whilst the remaining fabric remained secure around the chest and bum.
Current version on sale by speedo: http://www.speedo.com/uk/en/powerback-swimsuit/806187A589.html
Cost: £20
Good for bigger boobs pre and post-natal: YES and NO. It fit my smaller chest but I was subject to flattening.
Grows with bump: YES
Post-Natal: NO – it was too saggy in stomach area and as not chlorine resistant material it had already started to thin.
Funkita 2 piece. I went up a size in both parts of this and that happily suited me right up until 40 weeks. I then wore it all of last summer at the lido whilst I was breastfeeding and the weight was still peeling off.
Current version on sale by Funkita: https://www.simplyswim.com/products/Funkita/LoveFunkitaSportTwoPiece.aspx
Cost: £40
Good for bigger boobs pre and post-natal: NO – I didn’t go up many cup sizes but still found that there was a lot of leakage until I was back to pre-baby/post-breastfeeding size.
Grows with bump: YES as no bump coverage
Post-Natal: YES
Speedo. I choose this one as it had a higher neck but it still offered the support at the back. Unfortunately it was expensive and the material at the front was not flexible as hoped so I grew out of it in a matter of weeks.
Current version on sale by speedo: http://www.speedo.com/uk/en/speedo-fit-splice-xback-swimsuit/810830B348.html
Cost: £50
Good for bigger boobs pre and post-natal: YES due to high neck but might be super squashed depending on size.
Grows with bump: NO due to restrictive material
Post-Natal: YES
Katie:
Similar to Manda I struggled to find maternity costumes that were sufficiently functional to allow for freestyle and tumble turning.
Speedo – the cheap one. I took myself down to my local Sports Direct and purchased a couple of cheap costumes from there. I went for ones that weren’t endurance material so that the material was more stretchy and therefore lasted me through my pregnancy.
Cost: £20
Good for bigger boobs pre and post-natal: NO
Grows with bump: YES
Speedo – post natal. Once I had had the baby I invested in two speedo costumes with an inbuilt bra as I felt that I needed some extra support while breastfeeding.
Current version by Speedo: https://www.bravissimo.com/products/premiere-ultimate-swimsuit-blackteal-so105btl/
We have also asked Laura (who was pregnant when wrote this!) and Lisa, who is now 30+ weeks pregnant. Both continued to swim through their pregnancy.
Laura:
A super keen swimmer friend of mine opened my eyes to Dolphin Uglies. These swim costumes a few years back and I love them because they have a thick liner that stops all chances of see-throughness. Plus you can find them on SportsDirect for super cheap (under £10) if you aren’t too picky about the pattern.
Annoyingly I was already close to the largest size available for these costumes (tall problems) so I ordered 2 sizes up (their largest option) and that fit up to about 6-7 months of pregnancy.
Current Version: http://www.sportsdirect.com/uglies-dolfin-exclusive-swimsuit-ladies-354069?colcode=35406992
Cost: £10 – £30
Grows with bump: Sort of, the double thickness gave me a few extra weeks of stretch I’m sure and it the nice wide straps never made it too uncomfortable.
Eventually though I went to H&M and bought a cheap pair of bikini bottoms and wore those with a Oiselle sports bra for the rest of my pregnancy. Two piece bikinis just became more comfortable. I would have spent more money on a proper sporty maternity swim costume if there was one. The options aren’t just limited, they’re non-existent!
Lisa:
Natatio Swimwear – Two Piece. My chest had gone from a C to a FF and it had been impossible to find anything that was fitting everything into place without anything falling out and that had some style to train in without feeling frumpy – unlike all the other two pieces I’d tried this one fitted my top perfectly without any bits falling out anywhere. It’s really comfy and supportive and I love the style of the back of the top, the material also feels really soft on the skin.
Current Version: https://natatioswimwear.com/
Cost: £40 for the bottoms and £45 for the top.
Good for bigger boobs pre and post-natal: This two piece will work for both pre and post natal training and swimming – definitely supportive for the bigger boobs and they definitely don’t spill out anywhere! A great thing is that you can buy different size top and bottoms.
Grows with bump: I bought the regular bottoms rather than the high ones and as my bump has got bigger they are still comfortable to wear.
Post-Natal: Can’t currently comment on this but can’t see that they would be a problem post but will still be comfy.
Funkita. I went up a size on the funkita two pieces and although the bottoms fit fine and bump feels fine with them the tops just don’t support a FF chest size (they also only go up to a size 14 and you have to buy the same size bottoms and tops) – I feel like I’m auditioning for a new swim porn movie in them (they are very low and definitely don’t cater for bigger chested ladies) so they are on hold for post natal when the boobs get back to normal! None of my One pieces are viable for bump and big pregnancy boobs!
Zoggs. I have a old zoggs costume which I’ve had for years and once I stopped being able to wear any of my old Swimwear I tried this one on one day and amazingly it fits both my bump and boobs although not sure it will fit right to the end of my pregnancy but has been a great costume to get into for now.
TEAM Mermaids 