Pantyhose mom outfit

fashion tights skirt dress high heels

Is it OK to wear tights during pregnancy?

You are safe to wear tights and pantyhose throughout your pregnancy. Although you may find it uncomfortable if they are too tight or you find it hard to get ones that fit you well. 

Sometimes wearing pantyhose or tights can aggravate conditions like thrush or varicose veins. If you are prone to thrush you may find wearing pantyhose or tights everyday makes this worse. Synthetic fabrics can make you sweat more and being hot and damp can encourage thrush. Choose pantyhose or tights with plenty of cotton content, or avoid them for a few days and wear cotton underwear. Avoid wearing pantyhose or tights under trousers as this can make you very hot and sweaty.

If you have varicose veins wearing pantyhose or tights that are very restricting can make the varicose veins feel worse.

Wear pantyhose or tights as long as you are comfortable. It's worth finding a good brand of maternity pantyhose that fit well and are comfortable.

These tights, A Pea in the Pod Sueded Opaque Tights are ultra thick so they are definitely warm and won’t tear easily. The fit was fine but there was no contouring around the stomach so there was a little material gap from the top of my legs to the bottom of my belly. The fabric is tight enough so it doesn’t slip throughout the day, but because of the lack of contour, I didn’t feel fully supported and I wasn’t crazy about the bottom of my bare stomach touching my bare thighs when I sat.

On the plus side, they come in a variety of great colors including black, espresso, gray, deep plum and Moroccan blue.

These tights, Motherhood Maternity Lyra Opaque ($8), were much thinner than the Pea in the Pod ones and although they did not tear the day I wore them, I can definitely see them having trouble surviving the next few weeks. The material didn’t seem like it offered a lot of stretch and I could see them losing their elasticity fast. The tights were particularly thin over my belly and I am not carrying that big so I think women carrying larger might have issues. FYI— I got a size medium even though I was at the very beginning of the medium size chart and they still felt a little small.

That all being said, they are less than half the price of the other options and if you are not going to wearing them every day, they should be just fine. Just be prepared to pull them up and readjust throughout the day.

Spanx are the same price, $18, as the Pea in the Pod tights but with the added addition of a pregnancy panel that cradles your baby bump, it’s a much better deal. There was no gap between my upper thighs and my stomach, the panel allowed the tights to stay in place all day and they still felt like they had room for my baby to grow. The package claims they are the “first-ever supportive maternity tights that hold their shape (and yours)” and after one wear, I am a believer. They even have a little control top action on the upper thighs.