Are Maternity Tights Safe?

Undergoing the wild emotional and physical changes that pregnancy brings can be overwhelming. Your body is changing rapidly, and your wardrobe is changing right along with it. Feeling uncomfortable in what you're wearing can be a real struggle while you're creating another human life inside of you, especially when you're concerned that too-tight clothing might be unsafe for your unborn child. Take for example maternity tights — are maternity tights safe?

The answer is yes, maternity tights are perfectly safe to wear while pregnant. In fact, wearing maternity tights that contain gradient compression in their hosiery can actually benefit you while pregnant. Wearing compression leggings during pregnancy can help you combat the uncomfortable side effect of varicose veins.

"As a pregnancy advances, the body needs to produce hormones that make tissues and ligaments relax, so that, later on, the baby can pass through the birth canal," Hive Health Media wrote. "These hormones also affect leg veins they cause the vein wall muscles to unwind. This makes the vein naturally expand, which augments the risk of them becoming varicose." Aside from being uncomfortable, varicose veins can also become a serious concern during pregnancy, as they sometimes lead to phlebitis and skin damage.

That's where compression tights come in handy. Compression tights can ease the discomfort and combat the swelling of varicose veins while pregnant.

Although compression leggings can help with varicose veins, some women are concerned that wearing tight clothing during pregnancy can effect their child negatively. Wearing tight clothing, including compression leggings, maternity tights, and more, won't harm your baby. They can however, have a few adverse effects on you. Livestrong reported that the California Pacific Medical Center's Women & Infants Center found that wearing tight fitting clothing could lead to heartburn and acid reflux during pregnancy. It can also lead to reduced blood circulation, and in early pregnancy that can contribute to experiencing low blood pressure.

The most important thing to take into consideration? Your comfort. If you're comfortable in your leggings, tights, or Spanx — then feel free to wear them whenever you please. Your baby won't mind.