12 ways to hide your pregnancy bump (for longer)

Lucy Flynn, BABYGO® team

You've done the test, maybe told one person, and that's as far as you want it to go for now. Maybe you're waiting for the 12-week scan. Maybe there's a new job, a wedding in the diary, or you just want it to be yours a bit longer.

The trouble is that bodies are bad at secrets. Jeans stop doing up, you turn down a glass of wine, you put a hand on your stomach without noticing. This is the list for getting through the next few weeks, or the next few months, without a public announcement.

Some of it is clothes, some of it is habits, and a bit of it is kit we make. I'll say where that's honestly part of the answer and where it isn't.

Key facts

• The NHS says a small bump may be visible from about 13 weeks, as the womb grows upwards and outwards.
• Hormones, your weight before pregnancy, how many babies you've had and the strength of your muscles decide how big it looks (NHS, week 12). Second bumps usually show sooner.
• At work, you must tell your employer at least 15 weeks before the week your baby is due, which is about 25 weeks pregnant, to get maternity leave and pay (gov.uk).
• The dating scan is offered at 11 to 14 weeks and the 20-week scan at 18 to 21. The NHS says many women tell their employer after the first one.
• Our bump band is One Size or XL and sits over the bump. The belt is S to XXL by your pre-pregnancy dress size and sits under it.

How long can you hide a pregnancy bump?

Nobody can give you a week, and anyone who does is guessing. The NHS's own list of what decides bump size is hormones, weight before pregnancy, how many babies you've had and how strong your muscles are: four things you don't control.

Roughly, and it is rough: a first bump under normal clothes usually passes for "a bit of weight" until somewhere around 20 weeks. A second one gives you less time. From about 24 weeks you're hiding it on purpose, and from about 30 you're relying on people being polite.

The good news is that most people are far less observant than you fear. Colleagues notice a new haircut in a week and a bump in a month.

How to hide a pregnancy bump for 9 months

Twelve things, roughly in the order you'll need them. The first few carry you through the second trimester on their own. The later ones are for when the bump is a bump and you're managing sightlines.

1. Layers. A cardigan, a blazer, an open shirt over a vest, a coat if the weather allows. Go a size up on the outer layer so it hangs straight instead of pulling across the middle.
2. Tops that skim. Long, loose and not tucked in. A shirt worn open over a fitted vest breaks up the outline better than one huge jumper, which can look like you're hiding something, because you are.
3. Dresses that hang from the shoulders. Smock dresses, shirt dresses, anything that gathers under the bust and falls straight. If it skims your body it hides the shape. If it clings at the waist it draws a line round it.
4. Dark colours and busy prints. Black, navy and a good floral all flatten what the eye can pick out. Horizontal stripes and anything shiny do the opposite. There's a reason the dress in every "before we told anyone" photo is a black one.
5. Stop fighting the waistband. The hair bobble through the buttonhole trick buys you a fortnight. Leggings or trousers with a soft panel that goes over the bump buy you months, and they don't leave a red line across your stomach by lunchtime.
6. A bump band under it all. A band is a wide stretch panel that sits over the bump and gives a smooth line under a top or dress instead of a ridge. It won't make you smaller. It stops the outline showing through, which is a different job and the one you actually need.
7. The belt, once the bump is heavy. Honest version: a support belt doesn't hide anything, it lifts. What gives most people away at 7 months isn't the bump, it's the walk. A belt under the bump takes the weight off your back so you move like yourself, and under a loose top nobody sees it. Sizing is in the support belt post.
8. Hands off. The hand on the bump is the giveaway everyone spots and nobody can stop doing. Pockets, a mug, a phone. Give your hands a job.
9. The bag in front. A big tote carried in front, or on your knees when you sit, does more than any top. It's also why a desk or a table is your friend in meetings.
10. Stand up straight. Slumping pushes your stomach forward. Shoulders back and tall, and the same bump reads as good posture rather than news.
11. The drink. The NHS's advice is not to drink at all in pregnancy, so you need a line. Offer to be the designated driver and nobody asks twice. Otherwise a tonic with a slice looks like a gin.
12. The food and the sickness. Little and often, snacks in the desk drawer, and lunch away from the office kitchen if the smells are turning your stomach. If you're being sick in the mornings, "I've picked something up" covers a week.

How to hide a baby bump at 5, 6, 7 and 8 months

The searches that bring people here are month by month, so here's the month by month answer. The weeks are rough.

How to hide a pregnancy bump in summer

Winter gives you coats. Summer gives you nothing, and it's the season people find hardest. What works: a linen shirt worn open over a vest, floaty dresses that hang from the bust, a light kimono or a long waistcoat, and wide trousers with a soft waistband instead of shorts that cut across the bump.

Underneath, the band in Nude is the one for thin fabrics, with a bamboo lining so it doesn't feel like a layer. For leggings, the bamboo Comfort+ pair is the one people reach for in warm months, because the fabric moves moisture away from the skin instead of trapping heat.

Summer is the band's season more than the belt's.

How long can you hide pregnancy at work?

Legally, a while. gov.uk says you must tell your employer at least 15 weeks before the beginning of the week your baby is due, which works out at about 25 weeks pregnant. That's the deadline for maternity leave and Statutory Maternity Pay.

Before that, when you tell them is your call.

Two things change once you do. You get paid time off for antenatal appointments, which you don't before. And your employer has to look at the risks in your job, heavy lifting, long hours on your feet, chemicals, and take reasonable steps to remove them. If your job has any of those, that's a reason to tell them sooner.

The NHS notes that many women tell their employer after the first scan at around 12 weeks. If you're the only one on the team who knows, the appointments are what give you away, so book them first thing or last thing.

Questions we get asked

Is it possible to not show at all during pregnancy?

Not by the end. Some people show very little until well into the third trimester, especially with a first baby and strong stomach muscles, and the NHS lists both among the things that decide bump size. By the last few weeks, though, everyone has a bump. It's when, not whether.

How do I hide a pregnancy bump from my parents?

Same list, higher stakes, because they've known your shape for thirty years. Layers and a dark top, a cushion on your lap on the sofa, hands off the bump, and the drink line ready before you arrive. For a long visit, the band under a loose jumper stops the outline showing when you stand up.

Does a pregnancy support belt hide a bump?

No. It goes under the bump and lifts it, so your back stops complaining and you walk normally, and under a loose top nobody sees it. It doesn't flatten anything. For a smoother line under clothes, that's the band.

How can I look less pregnant in photos?

Angle your body slightly away from the camera rather than standing square on, put the hand that wants to go to the bump on your hip or in a pocket, and wear something dark that hangs straight. Hold the bag, or stand behind someone. Sitting is easier than standing.

When do most people tell people they're pregnant?

The NHS says many women tell their employer after the first scan at around 12 weeks, and that's when most people tell family too. There's no rule.

If you're going the band route, the bump support collection has the band and the belt side by side, the maternity leggings are in one place, and the size guide takes a minute.

This is general guidance from the BABYGO® team, not medical advice. Your midwife or GP knows your pregnancy; ask them if anything here doesn't fit your situation.