Not being able to wear your favorite clothing can often be one of the hardest parts of being pregnant. Understandably, many women attempt to wear the clothing that they are familiar with and are comfortable in for as long as possible. And when you’re already uncomfortable because of a pregnancy, the comfort of a t-shirt can be very important.

When you first become pregnant, there is a phenomenon called bowel distention that can make a difference in your appearance very quickly. Within just a couple of weeks, the internal organs start to rearrange themselves to prepare for the baby that will be coming. This can result in the lower part of the stomach being pushed out before the baby has grown very much. This first push outward of the stomach can make a T-shirt that was very tight before the pregnancy into one that is simply too tight to wear any longer.  This early phenomenon is much more noticeable on thin women, and it may make more of an impact on women of that size.

For most women, how long they can wear a T-shirt during their pregnancy depends on two things: how big T-shirt is and how large their baby is. Otherwise, a T-shirt that is slightly roomy or over-sized might be worn for most of the pregnancy if the baby is relatively small. For babies that are particularly large, the T-shirt may not fit past about the seventh month.

A T-shirt that was tight or well fitted before will probably fit up until about the fourth or fifth month in most cases. The fourth month is generally when women began to show their pregnancy. If the T-shirt was large on the woman’s pre-pregnancy figure; however, this time period can be increased by a couple of months in most cases. Many women like to wear large, blowsy T-shirts that are comfortable and can be worn with anything.  A large T-shirt like this will probably accommodate most pregnancies of average size babies. But, there are some exceptions.

Twins and triplets are becoming increasingly common in our society, and these pregnancies understandably produce a much larger pregnant stomach. Anyone pregnant with twins or triplets will likely not be able to wear a pre-pregnancy T-shirt for very long.  For women who are carrying twins, unless a T-shirt is very large to begin with, they will probably not be able to wear it much past the third month. Even a very large T-shirt may not make it through one of these pregnancies.

Because it is impossible early in the pregnancy to know how large the baby will be and how much weight will be gained, it’s often best to simply buy larger T-shirts during pregnancy. This keeps the expectant mother from worrying about outgrowing her clothes and not having a comfortable T-shirt to wear while she is pregnant. Maternity T-shirts may be cut better for many pregnant women, but a T-shirt that is simply a larger size will also work for most women.