7 Clothes To Wear Postpartum

When looking for postpartum clothes, it might be tempting to focus on the comfortable sweats in the back of your closet. After giving birth, it can be easy to put your self-care on the back burner. However, taking your style to the next level might help you gain a bit of confidence. Picking out an outfit that makes you feel amazing can be a simple way to show yourself love. When developing your postpartum wardrobe, consider the best options for necessities, postpartum clothing, and postpartum shapewear.

1. Supportive Footwear

Because the birthing process takes a major toll on your emotional and physical well-being, every part of your body deserves support. This is especially true for the area of your body that holds everything up: your feet. As your body becomes a home for your baby, changes like weight gain impact the way your feet feel. As your feet bear the additional weight, it’s not uncommon for swelling to occur. With the weight gain and hormonal changes, there’s added pressure that’s placed on the joints. When you’re able to wear supportive shoes during your postpartum journey, it’s much easier for the feet to experience relief and recovery.

Since you’ll spend a lot of time on your feet caring for and carrying your baby, it’s advisable to invest in supportive indoor and outdoor shoes. Look for options that offer insole support, cushioning and more. Slides are excellent for when you’re walking around the house. If you have a lot of hard flooring in your home, make sure the slides have insoles and support. Don’t neglect the width of your feet. Sometimes, the width changes after a pregnancy. By looking for wider options, you can provide relief as well.

As you care for your baby, don’t forget that your comfort is essential as well. When your feet feel supported, you’ll reduce the chances of experiencing joint pain, discomfort or issues like plantar fasciitis.

Shop Our Postpartum Shapewear

2. Button-Down Blouses

When you have a baby via cesarean section, it’s not uncommon to experience a great deal of pain in the abdominal area. As you recover from a cesarean delivery, button-down shirts tend to be ideal because they allow you to maintain a comfortable yet polished appearance. The buttons make it easy to adjust the blouse for the desired look.

When you’re shopping for button-down blouses, it’s better to lean on options with a looser fit. When paired with comfortable high-waisted jeans, sleek maternity leggings or a high-waisted flowing shirt, a good-quality button-down blouse can help you feel pulled together and stylish in those first few months after birth.

Lastly, button-down blouses are dynamic choices for mothers who choose to breastfeed or need to pump. It’s easy to quickly yet discreetly unbutton the blouse and gain access without completely removing your entire shirt. When you’re in public and you want to maintain a sense of privacy, these blouses make breastfeeding and pumping a lot easier to manage and conceal.

3. Comfortable Leggings

Especially within those first few months of postpartum, most women long to feel a sense of comfort, normalcy and ease as they adjust and bond with their new baby. Because a newborn baby’s sleeping schedule can be so sporadic, a mother’s schedule is often erratic. Consequently, this time can be tough on the spirit of a new mother. When you can put on comfortable attire and move around without much fuss, this makes the experience a little easier on your overall psyche. This is where maternity leggings come in to play.

Not only will maternity leggings help you feel more comfortable, but there’s an abundance of stylish maternity leggings to choose from. You can easily find maternity leggings that don’t look like leggings (jeggings, etc.). There are many options for maternity leggings that are as stylish as they are comfortable. You can pair these leggings with button-down shirts, oversized sweaters or graphic tees to elevate your outfit while staying comfortable.

Whether you’re gaining or losing a bit of weight during this time, it’s great to have leggings that can shift with the changes while still providing comfort and support. Additionally, maternity leggings tend to be gentle and are crafted with the understanding that women are in the middle of their healing process after giving birth.

4. Support Undergarments

Because childbirth is such a demanding process for a woman’s body to endure, there are a few areas that can experience the most pain. The pelvic area, the back and the abdominal area are typically the ones that tend to need the most support when a woman is in the postpartum period.

Typically, women can use postpartum garments to help with the recovery experience. With postpartum shapewear, the compression is gentle and sensitive to a woman’s postpartum body. A little bit of gentle compression is essential because it encourages proper circulation. It also helps decrease potential inflammation or swelling of the limbs.

Lower back pain can feel like an all-consuming experience. In addition to massages and other physical therapeutic practices, investing in postpartum support garments can help ease lower back pain. The right garments make it much easier to move around and feel supported enough to sit and stand upright. When purchasing your postpartum shapewear, read the size guidelines to ensure you are purchasing the correct size so it offers the most benefits.

5. Nursing Bras

Nursing is one of the most critical processes during the postpartum journey. This is an opportunity for the mother and baby to bond the most. However, nursing isn’t the most comfortable for all women. While many can do the process with ease, a significant number of women still experience a great deal of discomfort and pain. Bras for breastfeeding are created with the understanding that women need and deserve comfort and support as they feed their babies.

Nursing bras are created with different features, such as drop-down cups. Drop-down cups provide easier access for a woman to feed her baby. Because women tend to be larger in the chest during the postpartum journey, it’s helpful to have stretchy and adjustable nursing bras so you don’t need to buy a new bra for every season of your postpartum journey.

Adjustable straps are also necessary for a nursing bra because they offer support while your breasts undergo changes during the postpartum process. When you invest in nursing bras, you’re investing in a piece of attire cultivated specifically for the postpartum journey.

Pick Up a Bra for Breastfeeding

6. Flowy Dresses

Maxi dresses are staples for women especially during the summer months. However, they can be ideal for women who want to feel and look good as they lounge around the house with their baby. Maxi dresses are perfect because they’re comfortable, yet they provide elegance without a lot of fuss. These dresses can help a woman feel confident and beautiful while maintaining easy access to her body.

If you’re going in for your baby’s first appointment or your own personal appointment, convenient and easy access to various parts of your body helps. The process becomes a little more stress-free if you don’t have to unzip or untie a bunch of compartments. Even when you need to apply ointments or topical treatments, the loose fit of a maxi dress helps maintain breathable comfort as your body heals.

Ultimately, maxi dresses are very practical. They allow you to access your body without a lot of fuss. If you need to breastfeed your child, it’s easy to adjust when you’re in public or at home. Plus, as your body changes and shifts in terms of your weight, it’s nice when you can put on a flowing dress and still feel pulled together and polished.

7. Robes, Kimonos and Cardigans

When you have your baby, robes, kimonos and cardigans are great additions to your postpartum wardrobe. They’re versatile because they can be worn on top of outfits or on their own. These pieces are great for layers if you want to feel warm. If you’re only wearing a pair of leggings and a nursing bra, you can easily throw on a chic kimono robe and look fashionably dressed as you head out the door with your baby.

Robes, kimonos and cardigans are typically loose, free-flowing options that women can consider because they give room for their bodies to adjust to their new size and shape. These outerwear items are very comfortable, and they can look really beautiful. Keep an eye out for fabrics that are breathable and comfortable when you’re shopping for robes, kimonos and cardigans. Cotton, jersey and bamboo fabrics are a few options to prioritize. Elastane and rayon are excellent choices as well. You can look for options that feature buttons or waist ties and adjust them to your liking.

As you go through your postpartum process, it’s not uncommon for your body temperature to change and shift at times. Postpartum night sweats, hot flashes and chills are reflective of the body’s hormonal fluctuations. Whether you’re feeling extremely cold or hot, layers are convenient to pack or keep around any time. If you’re working in an office, you can easily throw on a cardigan. If you’re out to dinner with friends, you can throw on or take off a kimono with great ease. These are dynamic layering pieces that offer sophistication and versatility while remaining practical for your body’s postpartum needs.

Image Credits

chainarong06/Shutterstock.com