Being 11 weeks pregnant this week and getting a little rounder in the stomach I decided it was time to start looking for maternity clothes. All I wanted was some black under the bump trousers for work as mine are getting that little bit uncomfortable now.
I remembered seeing maternity clothes in Asda a good while back so me and another pregnant friend headed straight there only to be told they only do it online now. After that we went to Matalan who did have some maternity clothes but very little to choose from and in a horrible selection of sizes. We also went to Next and again, only available online. New Look told us no but you can get it online however I think this was just one particular shop that didn’t stock anything as I’m pretty sure another in the city does. Mothercare obviously did have some maternity clothes but not much selection and very few sizes to choose from and no different leg lengths at all.
After looking at all of these shops, coming home with nothing and feeling very disheartened I looked a bit more online at maternity ranges. Yes, high street shops do sell maternity clothes but it seems like the majority are online only and if a shop does happen to stock anything the range is horrible.
Now, now only am I pregnant but I am also a size 20 which provides new problems. The few shops on the high street that stock maternity wear do not have generous sizes. H&M for example have both a plus size range and a maternity range, but not both combined. If I thought it was hard to even find any maternity clothes while actually out shopping then finding anything that will fit me seems absolutely impossible.
Being someone who is pregnant with their first child I have no idea how maternity clothes fit. I want to be able to try something on in a real shop and figure out what is comfortable for me. I don’t want to have to order a million different things online, have the money come out of my bank account only to then have to send everything back because nothing fits. I’m sure any parent or parents to be will know that money does not go far when you’re expecting and if you’re on a budget like I am, that missing money means a hell of a lot when you could be spending it on something else.
When did the British High Street become so anti-pregnancy?