Where the heck CAN you find interview suits if you’re pregnant? While many offices have relaxed their dress codes a bit over the past two years, you may still find yourself in need of a suit sometimes, even if you’re not job-hunting — and that can get complicated when you’re pregnant. Stylish maternity workwear is pretty limited, but good maternity suits (and even maternity blazers) are particularly lacking — especially over the past few years. It’s even tougher if you’re looking for plus-size maternity.

So what DO you wear to interviews and on “big career days” if your normal clothes no longer fit and your maternity clothes aren’t professional enough? Did you find a mythical maternity suit? Thrift one from an older collection? Buy a too-big maternity suit off the rack and tailor it? Wear two black pieces to “make” a suit? Or did you just shrug and wear whatever, like a dress and blazer?

(Another question: Do you think it matters how close to your due date you are, i.e., if you have one interview in week 39 it may not be a big deal to wear a blazer and dress, but if you have a three-month jury trial starting around Month 5, you may want to try to find an actual maternity suit?)

{related: check out our entire Guide to Women’s Interview Attire!}

This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

Best Bets for Where to Find Maternity Suiting in 2022

• Seraphine: Their maternity workwear styles include a couple of blazers and tailored black pants, like this under-bump slim-leg pair.
• Angel Maternity: The brand’s workwear collection includes suiting separates, including navy and black maternity pants (in sizes up to 3XL!), and this black blazer (see below).
• Motherhood Maternity: The site has some suiting separates in the company’s bi-stretch suiting line, but zero blazers as of June 2022. (The brand is also available at Amazon.)
• ASOS: ASOS’s maternity line has a few very affordable suiting separates, including this black maternity wrap blazer (lucky sizes only) and this other black wrap blazer (sizes 2–16)
• Isabella Oliver: The brand sometimes has suits or suiting separates — though unfortunately, not as of June 2022. Its workwear section mostly consists of dresses.
• A Pea in the Pod: The brand has some suit separates among its maternity workwear.
• Emilia George: This high-end, sustainable maternity brand is available at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue. At the moment, they don’t have a ton of options (one of them is this, er, theatrical blazer), but check back.
• Figure 8: The site carries various maternity brands, although the maternity suits category is currently empty, and the maternity career wear category contains a single Isabella Oliver blazer.
• J.Crew: The company has a collab with maternity brand Hatch, but currently, no suiting is available, so try resale sites for past styles. (Hatch itself doesn’t have any suiting on its own website.)

Speaking of maternity resale sites, try checking places like eBay, Poshmark, and thredUP for maternity blazers and suits, particularly for hits from the past, such as suits from Theory or from A Pea in the Pod‘s suiting line. Also look for maternity suiting from Eva Alexander and Slacks & Co. (both no longer in business), and search Etsy for vintage or new finds that might work.

We’ve talked about where to rent maternity workwear in the past, but you can also buy “pre-loved items in excellent condition” from Rent the Runway, such as this maternity blazer from Soon Maternity.

{related: what an ideal maternity leave looks like}

Some Of Our Favorite Interview Suits If You’re Pregnant

As we noted above, inventory is changing quickly — but we wanted to feature a few of the very limited options out there right now. If you really feel like you need an interview suit during your pregnancy, or maternity suiting in general, these are our top picks right now:

You don’t have to worry about any problems with buttons with this maternity blazer from Seraphine — the tie waist gives you more size flexibility than buttons ever could. The ties are removable, so you also have the option to wear the blazer open, and the style is versatile enough that you could get a lot of use out of it during your pregnancy. Sizes 2–8 are in stock at the moment, and with the current 20%-off sale, this blazer comes down to $167. (It isn’t labeled as washable, but you can avoid dry cleaning with certain dry-clean-only clothing.)

Unfortunately, the matching pants are currently out of stock.

You might not think to check ASOS for maternity wear, but their maternity offerings in the ASOS Design line include some affordable suit separates, including this soft jersey tie-waist blazer, on sale for only $25. (Yes, this item may not last you beyond one pregnancy.) The blazer is “designed to fit you from bump to baby,” and the absence of buttons definitely helps with that. (Note that the blazer has padded shoulders, but they don’t look too drastic in the pics.) This maternity blazer is available in lucky sizes 2–16.

{related: how to prepare at work for maternity leave}

If tie-waist blazers aren’t your thing, here’s a classic one-button blazer style from Angel Maternity. It’s named “Corporate Jacket,” which is definitely apt, as it’s pretty much a basic black notch-collar blazer. Bonus: It’s machine washable! The website notes, “Match it with our Angel Maternity work pants for perfect work outfit,” but none of the brand’s in-stock maternity pants have the exact mix of fabrics that this one does, so it’s hard to tell if any of them are meant to be perfect matches for this jacket. (No free returns, alas.)

The blazer is currently only available in XS, S, and M, and is $69.95 at AngelMaternity.com.

What to Wear Instead of Suits When You’re Pregnant

Maybe you’ve just given up on finding a stylish (or at least acceptable) maternity suit. Readers have shared the following ideas over the years for what to wear instead of suits when you’re pregnant:

1. Wear a regular blazer over a work-appropriate dress. Many readers have mentioned wearing a regular blazer over a work-appropriate dress — even open, and even to court. Others have suggested blazers or jardigans over maternity dresses and pants, and a regular blazer worn open over a maternity skirt and blouse. Kat’s even noted that she could wear her regular blazers up until week 38 or so, but your mileage may vary!

2. Buy non-maternity suits in a larger size (even several sizes larger) and make do with a BellaBand for any fit issues with the pants — or get them tailored.

{related: what to wear to work after maternity leave}

3. Wear neutral maternity bottoms — tailored maternity pants like this pair from Angel Maternity or a pencil skirt like this one from Emilia George — with a purposely non-coordinating, non-maternity blazer, such as something in tweed or linen.

4. Make a suit out of almost-matching fabrics. Mixing different black fabrics to create a suit is not usually recommended, but you get a pass when pregnant).

• Some readers have said they’ve worn a long, tunic-y style maternity shirt so the blazer/pants purposely didn’t touch, preventing the mismatched fabrics from being obvious.
• Other readers went the other way and bought jackets longer than they normally wear, in fabrics that almost matched their maternity pants, since they thought that suited their pregnant frames better. (One particularly mentioned pairing Gap maternity pants with affordable Calvin Klein blazers-as-separates.)

Moms-to-be: Have you found stylish maternity suits you like(d)? If not, what have you been wearing as alternatives? Do you buy maternity blazers or simply wear your jackets unbuttoned?

{related: check out our roundup of maternity workwear essentials!}

Some of Our Favorite Maternity Work Separates to Build a Professional, Suit-Like Outfit

Stylish Maternity Pants for Work

Stylish Maternity Dresses for Work

Our Hall of Famers for Blazers as Separates (Non-Maternity)

All of the brands linked below are great bets for statement blazers that you can wear as separates…

Social media images: Deposit Photos / shippee. 

Updated social media images via Deposit Photos / HayDmitriy.

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The post Where to Buy and Sell Used Maternity Clothes appeared first on Corporette.com.

How (and when) do you tell your boss you’re pregnant? What should you factor into consideration? I’ve had three different readers write to me with a question along these lines, so now seems like a great time to discuss how to announce your pregnancy at work. Reader K is one of those readers:

Wondering what the readers think about the timing of telling your firm you are pregnant. I have made it through the 1st trimester without anyone noticing my being drag-ass tired and have somehow kept up respectable billable hours in the meantime. I planned on telling people next week, but confidentially shared the news over lunch with a female partner (I am beginning my fourth year as an associate on partner track) and her concern was my timing in terms of telling the guys/powers that be about the pregnancy. She doesn’t think I should tell them right away so that I have more time where they are continuing to give me good assignments.  Besides my desire to remain on good cases, other “concerns” discussed are: 1) the fact that bonuses happen at end of the year (and that I not draw the short stick in an otherwise profitable year); and 2) review/raise time in early spring (while I am on maternity leave).

Next year is the year I expected a big jump based on profitability, etc, and I hope this timing doesn’t derail all of that hard work. Is it better for me to rip the band-aid off and express these concerns with the managing partner (who I think I can have an honest discussion with) or wait until I have to tell so that there is more time for me to continue to get assigned the good work (ie, before the guys subconsciously take me off the fast track). I was planning on providing my fact-based plan of action (6 weeks short term disability, begin part time work during that time as I am able, child care taken care of, etc) at the same time. Any suggestions on the timing of all of this and how the conversation should go down?

Congratulations! Here are some thoughts, both for K and other first-time moms about how to announce your pregnancy at work:

2020 updated images (professional pregnant woman in blue dress) via Stencil. Originally pictured.

How to Announce Your Pregnancy at Work

Wait as long as possible.  K is happily past her first trimester, which can be exhausting and always carries with it the risk of miscarriage. But she’s still got six months to go before she’ll need maternity leave, so why would she tell the powers that be?

Here are my thoughts:  she won’t need special accommodations. (She should be in the “sweet spot” for pregnancy — most women experience much less nausea, fatigue, and other pregnancy aches and pains in their second trimester.)  She may not start to show for another two months. (Every woman is different, but many first-time mothers don’t start showing until week 20 or so (that was when I had to make the jump to proper maternity pants; a girlfriend who is very petite and tiny just told me she didn’t announce it until she was five months along as well).) 

If she were quitting her job entirely a month would be generous notice. So I don’t see any reason to start telling people until she starts to show — especially when a female supervisor is suggesting she wait. I suppose there’s an argument that she could wait even longer — after all, there’s that old joke that you should never guess a woman is pregnant unless you actually see a baby coming out of her. But I think, in general, that when you move to maternity pants is the right time to say something official to your boss.

Know your rights ahead of time.  This is a separate post all on its own, but figure out what your office policy is on maternity leave. The Family Medical Leave Act allows people to keep their job for up to twelve weeks, but it only applies to businesses with more than 50 employees.

If it’s at all possible, I do recommend taking at least twelve weeks off if you can because newborns’ crying peaks from weeks six to eight — in addition to being a sleepless zombie during that time period you may be uncomfortable leaving your screaming child with a new caregiver. That said, women do what you have to do, and if you have to return to work in six weeks, you’ll figure it out. (I’m not sure if that sounds odd or not — but that kind of summarizes my happy but stoic view of parenthood in general:  you do what you must for your family and you figure it out.)

Be clear that you plan to return, but if you can leave yourself some flexibility in the details.  I’ve heard others suggest that you should just have a pithy, succinct message: “I’ll be ending maternity leave on X date.” — but you shouldn’t try to work out flextime/part-time/working-from-home arrangements until a month before you come back. This is smart — you’ll have a better sense of your baby, your own postpartum health, what kind of parents you and your partner are going to be, and what accommodations (if any) you might need or want based on the projects you have in your lap when it’s time to come back. On the other hand, you have to know yourself and your office — if this conversation can turn into a dealbreaker for you or your boss, it can be stressful to have it hanging over your head.

Be upbeat and proactive about your plan for leave.  Show that you’ve thought about what will happen to your workload when you’re on leave. Who will be able to take X project? Will you be able to commit to virtually checking in at the office a certain number of times per week, or at a set time every day (say from 7-8 AM when your partner takes the baby), just to check voicemail and email and do whatever triage is necessary?

Don’t forget your clients.  I would suggest being extra available to them before you leave, and letting them in on your plan of attack as well — it helps manage expectations they may have of you, while letting them know that they’re still important to you.

{related: when to announce your pregnancy to your clients}

Finally: maintain a professional image to every extent you can.  Don’t share TMI details about your pregnancy. Don’t knit at the office if you normally wouldn’t or do other stereotypical “new mom” things.

Much like women planning a wedding, you need to remember that planning for the baby can’t be an all-consuming project during your day — not everyone wants to hear about the Great Stroller Dilemma, or how you’re totally overloaded planning your baby shower.

(If there’s an office baby shower, I would argue against any games, but that’s me.)  Don’t encourage people to grab your belly if you normally wouldn’t let them touch you so personally. Sadly, maternity clothes are generally neither pretty nor professional, but do try to dress as professionally as possible during this time period.

Readers, when did you announce your pregnancy at work? For those of you who’ve had to negotiate your own maternity leave, what resources did you use and how did the conversation go?

The post How to Announce Your Pregnancy At Work appeared first on Corporette.com.

If a change in your medication affects your job performance, how do you handle it? Reader K writes in with an interesting question, specifically about pregnancy and ADD medications:

I am interested in how women who have been on ADD meds for years have handled going off of the meds before and during pregnancy (and nursing for that matter), while keeping (and continuing doing great work) in their job. The docs all say I can do it, and I think I can, but figured others might be in the same dilemma and it may be worthy of a discussion!

I think this is a great question, as there are a slew of reasons that people go on or off medications, and there are also times when doctors need to experiment with the dosage, medicine, or even the cocktail of medicine that people can get. And all of that can affect your energy levels, your focus, and ultimately your job performance. (Pills, originally uploaded to Flickr by GenBug.)

Now the harder part: how does one handle it? I’ve read a lot of different articles on pregnancy (including lots of articles warning women which drugs you can’t take while pregnant) and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it talked about for women. Personally, I have limited experience here because I’ve never been on any medication long term, other than birth control pills (although sometimes it feels like going on or off of those have a dramatic effect, as well!). Here are my tips, but I’m curious to hear what the readers say here.

– Ask your doctor how long it will take you to adjust, either to the new drug, to the lack of the drug, or to the combination of drugs. If they can pinpoint it at all, you may want to try to time it so any effects will hit you on the weekend (or, if possible, on a vacation day). As this article suggests, for ADD meds in particular, you should probably time it right if you can, and avoid periods of high stress.

– Depending on what side effects you’re expecting, do your best to compensate at your job.  For example, if sluggishness is something you’re expecting, I would cut out all social activity while you’re going through the transition so you can get as much rest and sleep as necessary without it affecting your job.

If loss of focus is something you’re expecting (such as when you go off your ADD meds), make sure that you have “belt and suspender” systems — be extra sure you know your deadlines, browser extensions that help you minimize distractions, and have another time management system that you’re using. You may find this book to be helpful: ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life, which I found to be really helpful even though I don’t have ADD.

– Consider telling HR the situation, as this article in Psychology Today advises people regarding bipolar disorder. You don’t need to get into why you’re going off drugs, but you may want to tell HR that you’re changing your medications and you want to work with them to make sure that the transition is a smooth one — and also that if they begin to hear about any problems they’ll know to immediately open a dialog with you.

Readers, have you had to transition on or off medications while working? How have you handled it?

The post Medications and Your Job: Business Etiquette Tips for Going Off Your Meds appeared first on Corporette.com.

Should you look for a new job while trying to get pregnant? If you’re already pregnant, should you take a new job without telling your new employer what’s what? Reader S has a great question about taking a new job while pregnant…

I have a dilemma. A while ago I applied for a great government job that is only 2 years with the possibility of extension. I was prepared to take that risk. Had the interview and didn’t hear anything and assumed that I did not get the job.

However, I got a call yesterday and surprise! I got the job. Here is the problem, I am now 12 weeks pregnant. The job starts in August 2011 and ends August 2013. If I take this position, I will be gone from December 2011 to December 2012 (here in Canada we get 1 year mat leave). Do I take it? It is exactly where I want to be in my career.

For my $.02, I really, really think that you must talk to the prospective employer about this development — taking an entire year for a maternity leave during a two-year job seems like a decision made in bad faith.

Two other thoughts: If the government always offers this job for two years, perhaps they already have a maternity policy in place for it — that might be the way to start the discussion and test the waters without disclosing your situation.

The second thought: I’m not familiar with Canadian law, but are you sure that a mandated law like that would apply to a worker who is less than a full employee? There are a lot of exceptions to US laws (for example if your office is smaller than 15 people) and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to find that temporary/contract workers are outside the scope of the law.

But this brings us to an interesting question: if you and your partner are trying to get pregnant, should you even be looking for new jobs? I ask that with no disrespect to reader S, and I’m honestly curious to hear the readers’ thoughts on this because I think it comes up a lot here in comments.

{related: where to find interview suits if you’re pregnant}

The tricky thing with pregnancy, of course, is that you have no idea when you’ll actually get pregnant. Most of my friends got pregnant either a) the first month they were off the pill, or b) 6 months+ after that. (I was shocked but very happy when I got pregnant after two months of trying.) 

I am far from an expert on maternity leave laws, but I do believe many employers require you to have worked there for at least 3 months before you’re eligible for the maternity leave policy (whether paid or unpaid). Working Mother had a great article on the legal side of things a few months ago, including which new bills are worth watching.

{related: how to announce your pregnancy at work}

This is a really tricky subject, and I’m curious to hear what the readers say. When considering your answers, ask yourself:  Does the woman’s age matter? If you’ve been trying for a certain amount of time (2 months+? 6 months+?) does it matter? If you already know you’re pregnant should you curtail the job search, stay put, take maternity leave, and then renew the job search? Or should you just roll with the punches, get pregnant when you get pregnant, and see how the cards fall with regard to your career and whoever is your current employer when you need to take maternity leave?

I suppose for my own $.02 I would say that it would depend to me on age — as a 34-year-old I would feel a lot more pressure to keep trying for kids regardless of the job situation (mothers who are 35 and over when they give birth are considered “high risk pregnancies,” and I’ve heard that for most women fertility problems start around age 37), but my answer would be different for women younger than that.

{related: when to announce your pregnancy to your clients}

(Psst: While maternity interview suits can be hard to find, the dress + blazer look can work well for pregnant women!)

On the flip side, from an employer’s standpoint, it would stink to hire someone and then find out that my new employee was pregnant, which would mean that basically her first year with me (assuming she stayed) would be marred by pregnancy fatigue, that she’d have a rich source of distraction (trust me: there are a million things to research once you’re pregnant — it’s been more time consuming than planning my wedding) and then a worker who might be easily distracted/have different priorities if and when she did come back to work.

If I were the employer, knowing that an employee purposely put me in that situation with no regard to my opinion would not leave a very good taste in my mouth, and it would get the whole relationship off to a bad start.

Ladies, please weigh in — if you know you’re trying to get pregnant, should you be looking for a new job?

The post Taking a New Job While Pregnant appeared first on Corporette.com.

This is a post about working through your first trimester of pregnancy, which can be particularly trying — extreme fatigue, nausea, and all while trying to keep your “situation” on the QT in case of miscarriage.

But I suppose I should make a mini-announcement regarding some personal news in Katland. First, some hints: I’m on my third bra size since December. I haven’t enjoyed a martini, or deli meats, or zippers, in a long, long time. Lately, I’m having trouble falling asleep because someone keeps kicking me. The news, if you’re not with me yet: My husband and I are expecting our first child later this summer. Why yes, we are terrified; thanks for asking.

{related: check out all of our pregnancy discussions here and on CorporetteMoms!}

One of the things I’ve been dying to talk about since becoming pregnant is the first trimester,* and the complete, mind-blowing fatigue that most women suffer.

I would have considered myself a trooper when it comes to energy and the job — I’ve worked through mono and two bouts of strep throat without missing more than a day of work. But apparently mono and strep can’t shake a stick at the whole “growing another human” thing.

It became incredibly difficult to get up and out the door in the morning — and by 3 PM every day I needed a nap. And not a 20-minute power nap, oh no: we’re talking at least a full 90-minute sleep cycle. I kept thinking about that Sheryl Sandberg talk for TED about how women, upon getting pregnant, should ramp up their career and go 120 miles per hour. NOW??? I kept thinking. Is she CRAZY?

This fatigue caught me totally by surprise. After all, a lot of women don’t talk about their pregnancies in their first trimester — the chance for miscarriage is highest then, and there aren’t many external physical indicators of early pregnancy (most first-time moms don’t start to show until around week 20).

A poll of my friends who have children or are pregnant confirmed it — everyone was exhausted during their first trimester, and every pregnancy book mentioned it. One friend, who was finishing up her final MBA year when she got pregnant, admitted that she slept 14 hours a day.

A few friends told me their miscarriage stories, where after going through nearly a full trimester full of fatigue they lost the baby, and in addition to having to deal quietly with the mental and physical repercussions of losing a baby (including surgery, sometimes), they had to get the energy up to try again.

(One friend noted that between her first pregnancy, which ended in miscarriage, and her second pregnancy, which she carried to term, her billable hours were shot for the year — and when she took her maternity leave they simply doubled the hours she had before she left. Ouch.) Another friend was cursed with such a bad case of nausea that she had to be medicated for it.

So I thought we’d talk about how to deal with the first trimester — keeping your energy up, rising to the occasion, and even maintaining your professional image through it all.

Before we get into the tips, though, here’s an interesting thing to ponder (and perhaps you ladies will weigh in): does it hurt us to talk about the hardships of pregnancy? By admitting that pregnancy affects our stamina and energy, is it simply justifying all those people who discriminate against women employees in their fertile years?

I’m almost ashamed to say the thought hadn’t occurred to me — and I’ve even been joking (at work, yes, and yes, my face is beet red) about pregnancy brain. One boss/mentor/friend heard me and gave me a sound rebuke (and a lecture on what it was like to be pregnant in a male-dominated environment in the late ’70s), and I think the lesson here is right: pregnancy should never be an excuse for why you can’t get something done at the office, or why the ts aren’t crossed.

But that may just mean you have to step up your OWN game even more — because while in the third trimester, when you’re showing and on your way out, people may cut you slack (whether they should or not): but in your first trimester it is largely a silent struggle.

Pictured above, 5 great books for working mothers, L-R: one / two / three / four / five 

How to Work Through Your First Trimester of Pregnancy

For my own $.02, these are the things I wish I’d known:

Wean yourself off coffee and diet Coke way before you start trying to get pregnant. The latest thinking re: pregnancy is that you are allowed to drink coffee, but only about a cup of it a day. Artificial sweeteners aren’t recommended, so diet Coke is off the list also. Before I got pregnant, I only drank about 2 or 3 cups in the morning, and then a diet Coke around lunchtime for an afternoon jolt — but decreasing to 1 cup a day and no diet Coke meant I was going through caffeine withdrawal at the same time as first trimester fatigue.

(I should also mention that your tastebuds may change, as mine did — all coffee tasted totally burnt to me for about 4 weeks, and regular Coke continues to gross me out.)

Stock up on orange juice, and cut your dependency on vitamin supplements. I kept reading that pregnant women should avoid vitamin supplements during this time (beyond your prenatals) and so I have avoided my beloved Emergen-C. Instead I kept buying OJ when I needed a jolt of energy.

Take your prenatals at night instead of in the morning. I’ve heard it’s the extra iron in the prenatals that makes you nauseous on an empty stomach — but whatever it was, I wish I’d stumbled on the advice to take them at night instead of in the morning long before I did.

Prepare your office for naps. Yes, seriously. Bring in whatever you need to make for a comfortable napping environment — pillows, blankets, etc., because you WILL need naps to make it even to 6pm (let alone 10 pm or whatever other quitting time is usual for you).

Eat frequently, and guzzle water. It took me a few weeks to realize that the nausea was so  much worse if I hadn’t eaten for a few hours — I also would get these whanging headaches if I hadn’t eaten. Just a few unsalted Saltines and some cheese can help you function normally.

My final advice to women embarking on pregnancy is to time it well. The first trimester can be 6-8 weeks of feeling far, far less than your best, and I can think of a number of times in my own life when it would have been disastrous to be going through the first trimester: the first semester of law school, being a summer associate, crunchtime studying for the bar, and trial prep. So nail down your birth control methods during those time periods, ladies.

For those of you who’ve been pregnant, did your first trimester affect your energy, and how did you compensate for it at work? What tips do you have for the readers who hope to get pregnant some day — what’s your best advice on working through your first trimester of pregnancy?

* Oh, and some terminology for those not familiar with the joys of pregnancy: your pregnancy is counted from the first day of your last period, not the day you conceive, which means that by the time most women find out they’re pregnant they’re already “4-6 weeks pregnant.” The first trimester ends around week 13–so we’re really only talking about 6-8 weeks of extreme fatigue. Still: I’ve known careers to rise or fall in that time, so I think it is a relevant discussion for this blog.

Social media picture via Fotolia / vladimirfloyd. 

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