Good, comfortable maternity nightwear is absolutely essential when you’re expecting – and, if you’re anything like us, we predict you’ll pretty much live in yours.

As well as the best maternity leggings, maternity knickers and maternity loungewear, maternity pyjamas and nighties are a great thing to stock up on for your pregnancy wardrobe and beyond, carrying you through your fourth trimester when – again, if you’re anything like us – you probably won’t leave the house all too much. I actually still wear my maternity pyjamas over a year on because they’re so damn comfy.

As any pregnant woman can attest, the nine months you’re carrying your precious cargo isn’t always the most comfortable, what with back pain, leg cramps, abdominal cramps, headaches, heartburn, swollen feet and lightening crotch (Google it) all seemingly par for the course. So if you’re not spoiling yourself with some new ultra comfortable, loose-fitting, soft-as-butter pyjamas right now, when are you?

Ditch the itchy lace, niggling seams, and tight, unbreathable fabrics in favour of flowing, breathable cotton nightwear that feels as good as it looks. When you’re contending with a burgeoning bump, night sweats and constant trips to the bathroom, great maternity nightwear is an investment worth making. Anything to help you feel a bit more comfortable when you cosy up to that body pillow at bedtime, right?

With stretchy waistbands that comfortably cover your bump and support it – without making you feel like you’re being squeezed – and tops that allow for breastfeeding later down the line, maternity nightwear forms the base for most pregnant women’s wardrobes, as, trust me, you’ll spend a lot of time in bed. Plus, if you’re looking for the perfect mum-to-be gift, maternity nightwear is a perfect contender.

Spoiler: we’ve even done all the research for you…

How we tested the best maternity nightwear

Editors Bianca London and Charlie Teather are happy to admit they spent an almost-embarrassing amount of time in bed during their pregnancies, so tracking down the best maternity pyjamas was crucial. We put them through their paces for comfort, breathability and ease of wear. We also tried the best maternity nightwear out during our postpartum eras to see how they fared during breastfeeding. We have tested a range of brands at varying price points to bring you the definitive guide to the very best maternity nightwear to carry you through your pregnancy and beyond.

Why you can trust us

Contributing Editor, Bianca London, and freelance Fashion Editor, Charlie Teather, both become 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 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…

Here is the best maternity nightwear to add to your wardrobe immediately.