Maternity clothing
During the 1990s in the U.S., relaxed laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, helped to protect the jobs of pregnant women, and served as a form of liberation that afforded women the freedom to wear fashionable maternity styles that emphasised their pregnancy.
The Empire, a style which has a fitted bodice ending just below the bust and a loosely gathered skirt, was made popular by Napoleon's first wife Empress Joséphine.
[1] During the Victorian era, women spent more time in pregnancy compared to the 21st century, giving birth to an average of eight children with five making it through infancy.
[3][4] High-waisted gowns remained in style until about 1830 but when waists returned to normal levels maternity wardrobe planning became more difficult.
[4] Their clothing, usually a slim skirt with a wide smock top, became fashionable during the 1950s[4] after Lucille Ball popularized the style in the first TV episode to show a pregnant woman in 1952.
[13] As a result, pregnant women are no longer trying to hide or disguise their "baby bumps", instead choosing to wear garments which closely fit their new shape, often emphasising the bust and abdominal area.
Fashion bloggers have caught on to the shift in perception and began to regularly discuss new styles and fabrics designed with the pregnant form in mind.
[17] Culturally in the US today, a few popular clothing brands have made everyday wear for pregnant women both fashionable and accessible.
As the body is changing shape and therefore levels of comfort, most maternity clothing is made with Lycra and elastic for stretch and growth.
Depending on style and activity, tops often billow out to leave room for the belly and are made of varying cottons and elastic materials.
However, in the late 1970s it was decided that in order to keep women in an all-volunteer armed forces the military needed to change its policy regarding pregnancy.
Following complaints that pregnant women dressed in civilian clothing undermined morale, between 1978 and 1980 the armed forces began to issue military maternity outfits.
Tucker Carlson, speaking on Fox News, showed a photo of an Air Force officer wearing an artificial pregnancy bump to demonstrate the design changes that made for the new Maternity Flight Duty Uniform and commented "So, we've got new hairstyles and maternity flight suits.
His comments also drew numerous social media responses from both male and female enlisted service members, some of whom noted that Tucker has never served.
Army veteran Senator Tammy Duckworth, who lost both her legs during a deployment in Iraq and notably the first sitting senator to give birth while in office, responded to Carlson with a tweet referencing his brief appearance on Dancing with the Stars: "While he was practicing his two-step, America's female warriors were hunting down Al Qaeda and proving the strength of America's women.
"[20] Pregnancy fashions took a dramatic turn in the 1990s with the introduction of tight-fitted maternity wear intended to emphasize rather than hide a pregnant woman's baby bump.
Many magazine articles began to discuss stylish mothers-to-be wearing figure hugging clothing that emphasized their growing waistline.
[4] Maternity clothing is generally worn only during the second and third trimesters, and possibly for several weeks or months after the birth of the baby while a woman regains her pre-pregnancy size.
