Growing a whole person inside your body can be incredibly challenging. For 40 weeks or so, you juggle fatigue and nausea and can sometimes feel like someone turned the thermostat up to tropical. In fact, the resulting sweating, as well as other skin changes, can add unexpected pregnancy chafing to your list of indignities. Let's take a look at some of the causes of pregnancy chafing and how you can prevent it.

Why does pregnancy chafing happen?

Chafing rash most commonly occurs when warmth and moisture are trapped between two skin surfaces. This causes those areas of skin to stick together rather than glide over each other. This creates friction, which can lead to the breakdown of the skin’s natural barrier.

Increased sweating is commonly reported during pregnancy, especially in warmer climates and during warmer months. It doesn’t seem fair to experience chafing for the first time during what should be one of the most amazing times of your life, but many women do.

What makes pregnancy chafing worse?

Apart from your newly increased body temperature and additional sweating (sorry, we can’t do anything about those!), what you wear can have a big impact on how much chafing you experience.

Generally speaking, clothes that trap heat and don’t allow airflow are the worst culprits. Synthetic fibres that aren’t moisture-wicking, or woven to be breathable literally create a microclimate against your skin. The air between this clothing and your skin becomes warmer the longer you wear it and this additional warmth can cause you to sweat even more, creating a vicious cycle.

Fabric types to avoid include polyester, chiffon, satin and viscose. Where possible, choose maternity clothing that is made of natural fibres that inherently breathe well, like cotton, linen, hemp and wool. Good synthetic choices are purpose-made to be breathable and moisture-wicking.

Stop pregnancy chafing now!

If you’re already experiencing pregnancy chafing (or you want to make sure you don’t!), our range of anti-chafing products can target the areas where you need help the most.

Our bodies change during pregnancy, often causing swelling and additional necessary lipid storage to prepare the body for breastfeeding (whether we intend to or not). Common areas of the body that increase in size are the upper arms and thighs. Chafing is then more likely to occur where our arms rub against our body, within our armpit and between our thighs.

We offer multiple highly flexible sizes in our anti-chafing thigh bands.  Because our products are made with soft, stretchy compression fabric, you’re guaranteed to find a size that will accommodate your body for all stages of your pregnancy. Made of a high-quality lycra and spandex blend, our products wick sweat away from the body, protecting your skin from irritation and breakdown where surfaces touch and rub.

Don’t pay for a whole new pregnancy wardrobe

Having read to this point, you might think you need to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe of maternity clothing, but you don’t. With our anti chafing bands, you can protect your body discretely and effectively and can continue to wear the clothing you already love. With discounts available on multiple products, don’t suffer pregnancy chafing a moment longer - get yours today!