Postpartum, your body will be sensitive and sore, so anything you wear will need to be flexible and work with your body to provide support without being uncomfortable. You will likely find it useful to have a combination of soft and loose outer layers, snug undergarments and supportive compression garments and shapewear.
Postpartum Clothes
When choosing the right postpartum clothes, remember that over the next 8 weeks or so, your body will be recovering and adjusting to the significant changes after giving birth. These changes will be incremental so don't expect to be able to get back into your pre-maternity clothes for some time.
What To Wear In The First Few Weeks Post Birth
If you are breastfeeding, look for tops that are easy to open. You can find maternity clothes with built-in sections to make this simple, or look for clothes with zips or poppers down the front, or which are loose enough to lift up. Oversized tops can also work, allowing you to lift up your top and access your maternity bra.
Leggings with good elastic waists will be ideal during this time, helping you to feel supported as you move about. Choose leggings in breathable fabrics, such as cotton, to ensure maximum comfort.
What To Wear In The Next Few Months Post Birth
Once your body has started to recover from birth, you can start to include more of your pre-maternity wardrobe. Depending on how you gave birth, you may need to choose clothes that allow you to wear compression garments or shapewear underneath – macom's compression garments are all suitable to wear under most clothes.
Once you feel able to wear more snug tops, combining spaghetti straps and vests can make it easy to breastfeed, if you are doing so. If you are not breastfeeding, you will likely be able to return to your pre-maternity wardrobe at this point.
Elastic or loose waist trousers are still going to be the most comfortable option, alongside leggings, in the first 6 months post-birth. Remember that recovery isn't over after that initial 6 or 8 week period, particularly if you have had a difficult birth or a C-section, which is major surgery.
What To Wear With Postpartum Clothes To Aid Recovery
To make your recovery as fast as possible and to give your body the kind of support that ensures everything stays where it is, we would recommend looking at stomach and abdomen supporting compression garments and postpartum shapewear.
Best Postpartum Compression Garments & Shapewear
Postpartum shapewear and compression garments can be worn under your regular clothes, with maternity wear, and some can be worn at night too.
Our range of postpartum compression garments are medical-grade and have been created to ensure great support, without feeling tight or applying too much pressure.
What support garments are recommended postpartum will depend slightly on how you gave birth, be it a natural birth or a C-section, as you will have different needs when it comes to recovery support.
Postpartum Support Garments For After A Natural Birth
If you have had a natural birth (vaginal birth), we would recommend using the WAISTSCULPTOR corset. Compression is helpful to your body while it repairs, though you should listen to your body and only wear it for as long as you feel comfortable. We recommend starting with 1-3 hours at most immediately after birth, increasing the time after the first 1.5-2 weeks.
From 6 weeks after birth, you can start wearing the macom® shaping girdle. Body shaping and slimming, it provides supporting compression across the torso and stomach. It has detachable straps, making it easy to wear with a variety of tops, and a fastening gusset.
Postpartum Support Garments For After A C-Section
From 3 days after a caesarean birth, we would recommend using our abdominal and upper back compression garment. It can be worn with a memory foam insert, which sits underneath and against the skin over your abdomen. This helps with lymphatic drainage, the transport of fluid out of your body, and improves blood microcirculation.
Another garment we'd recommend is our 3-panel binder. This can be worn alone, or with our abdominal and upper back compression garment. This binder is flexible, using elasticised thread, and adjustable, with velcro fastening, allowing you to adjust the fit to suit your comfort.
Later in your postpartum recovery, if you still feel you would like extra support, try our high-waisted compression knickers. They have a stylish lace finish so look great, but have the additional frontal reinforcement to allow you to feel confident post-birth.
More Recommended Products
If you are interested in more postpartum products, check out our C-section compression garments and postpartum shapewear sections.
