Activewear proven to reduce pregnancy ‘bump bounce’
New research has found that the ubiquitous activewear has real benefits when it comes to managing baby bumps.
Reducing bump bounce by half
Researchers at the University of Portsmouth in the UK found that activewear does expectant mums huge favours when it comes to bump comfort, but it’s a specific type of fitness clothing that is kicking (comfy) goals. According to the study, “Specialist fitness clothing for pregnant women can reduce bounce of the ‘bump’ by half, even when running,” Medical Xpress reports.
The researchers involved are experts in breast bounce, and have used their skills to now look at the very important issue of bump bounce in pregnant women for the first time.
“The findings are compelling and statistically significant,” study lead Professor Wakefield Scurr said.
The bumps of pregnant ladies wearing standard fitness clothing not designed for pregnancy unfortunately experienced bounce movements of up to 6.2cm. In women wearing maternity fitness wear this bounce movement reduced to just 3.8cm.
Maternity activewear best bounce buster
The study tested the effects of wearing a particular brand of pregnancy activewear on expectant mums.
“Our tests on FittaMamma specialist maternity fitness wear reduced bounce of the bump in all directions by 48 per cent,” researcher Sophie Rej said.
“This suggests this clothing might help women overcome common barriers to exercise, such as pregnancy-related pain.”
According to the research team, boundaries to exercise included not having fitness clothing that worked for pregnancy and baby bumps “getting in the way”.
Dressed for fitness success
Fittamamma co-founder Alexandra McCabe said the findings confirmed what she already knew:
“The benefits of staying active are compelling and it’s a dreadful shame so many women stop exercising once they become pregnant,” Alexandra said.
“This research shows our clothing provides measurable support for pregnant women, making a significant improvement to comfort and security, enabling them to carry on exercising right throughout their pregnancies.”
Don’t settle for standard activewear
Pregnant study participants rated the maternity fitness wear much more highly than standard fitness clothing, making a strong case for buying garments engineered for expectant mums.
For back support the pregnant ladies ranked the maternity fitness wear at 8.25 out of 10, compared to 3.5 out of 10 for ‘standard’ fitness wear.
For hip and pelvis support the maternity fitness clothing ranked at 8.75 out of 10 compared to 3.25 for the standard activewear.
It’s a huge difference – and points to just how supportive quality pregnancy activewear can be. Worth splashing out on for sure – for the sake of you and your bouncy bump!
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