Patent ID: 8191177

Claim:
A method for accommodating changes in the shape of a woman during pregnancy and postpartum without the need for a series of different-sized maternity clothes, the method comprising: providing a cylindrical, band-shaped maternity garment manufactured from a smooth knit fabric that is flexible and stretchable and of a size so as to be expanded and stretched to be firmly but comfortably worn around the torso of a woman during pregnancy or postpartum approximately at the waist, so that the maternity garment can be stretched and worn over pre-pregnancy clothes of the woman that have become too tight to accommodate the swelling of pregnancy by: wearing the pre-pregnancy clothes unfastened at an upper end, stretching and placing the maternity garment over an upper portion and upper edge of the pre-pregnancy clothes, so that most of the height of the maternity garment resides over the pre-pregnancy clothes while an upper portion of the height of the maternity garment extends above the upper edge of the pre-pregnancy clothes and engages against the body of the woman, and holding the upper end of the pre-pregnancy clothes closely against the torso to retain the unfastened pre-pregnancy clothes in place while providing a fitted appearance allowing the woman to wear pre-pregnancy clothing that is otherwise too small to be fastened at the upper end.