Admittedly, even thinking about shopping for maternity swimwear filled me with dread when I found out I was expecting my first baby. In fact, the idea of kicking back on a beach in this unfamiliar body – seemingly never-ending in it’s growth – briefly put me off holidaying altogether.

Luckily, after a bit of research, I soon discovered that the best swimwear brands really do cater to every body. Including ones growing life inside.

That said, maternity swimsuits and maternity bikinis have to tick a few boxes before they can be considered worthy of a purchase, IMO. They need to flatter your ever-growing bump (obviously), support growing boobs, and ideally be made from breathable, flexible fabric.

Thankfully, maternity swimwear right now happens to be bang on-trend, too. Think: ruffle trims akin to the ones spotted on the Valentino and Saint Laurent runway, and bright, bold colourways that’ll make that (very welcome!) pregnancy ‘glow’ stand out even more.

Having spoken to friends during their pregnancies over recent years, a frequent complaint was that they could only find boring, black maternity swimsuits. During my own pregnancy last year, however, I was delighted to stumble across really fun, flattering, trend-led and affordable swimwear.

If you’ve got the budget for a treat, splurging on a Hunza G suit or two is the ultimate pre-baby investment, as you can wear it postpartum with total ease, too – thanks to its stretchy, crinkle material. These were definitely the best things I bought while pregnant that I’m still wearing now. Also, for an added bonus if you’re having a girl, they do mummy-and-me styles, too, so you can match with your little one next summer. I’m a boy mum, so until I find the perfect dinosaur-embellished one-piece our matching swimwear is on hold…

Whether you’re seeking a few swimwear pieces for your babymoon, or you’re optimistically prepping your third trimester wardrobe for some warm UK weather next summer, shop our edit of the best maternity swimwear to shop right now…

Why you can trust us

Website Director, Bianca London, Fashion Editor, Charlie Teather, and and Freelance Contributor, Rebecca Cope, have all become first or second-time mums over the last few years, and – alongside, you know, prepping for one of humankind’s toughest physical feats and the subsequent life-altering reality of a tiny new human to care for 24/7 – rediscovering how to dress a body that was changing every single day posed a real challenge.

We didn’t want to lose our personal style identities – which, conveniently for those of you reading this for inspo, are all very different to one another’s – but we also wanted to celebrate and not just ‘disguise’ this incredible moment in our lives. And if we were finding this balance hard to strike, after working our whole adult lives in the fashion and magazine industry, we figured others must be too. So, we made it something of a personal/professional mission to compile the ultimate maternity fashion guides. If for nothing more than for us to refer back to if/when we ever do this pregnancy thing again, because (spoiler alert) baby brain is no joke, people…

How we tested the best maternity swimwear

The editors who co-wrote this guide are mums themselves, and have tested a plethora of maternity swimwear styles to know which ones are worth writing home about – and, crucially, which ones aren’t. Paying particular attention to specifics like cost, fabrics, wearability, comfort, coverage and support, this maternity swimwear edit is as curated as it gets.

Read more about how we test things here.

The very best maternity swimwear to shop now.