Few options for maternity clothes in Sudbury, Ont., say pregnant women

When Sudbury's Jennifer Holub became pregnant during the pandemic she learned it was difficult to find clothes that fit.

It turned out the northeastern Ontario city no longer had a store fully dedicated to maternity wear. 

"I was really surprised to find out that they didn't exist at all," Holub said.

"So online shopping was an option, but I didn't want to waste money and gamble on something that ultimately wasn't going to fit and go into places like thrift stores."

Holub thought other pregnant people probably had many of the same issues finding clothes that fit, so she started an online swap group for maternity and breastfeeding items.

In a short time, the group grew to 580 members from Greater Sudbury.

"So basically in the group, people can post things that they no longer need and someone will commit to stopping by their house and picking it up from them," Holub said.

As a teacher, she said it was important for her to still look professional during her pregnancy, and the swap group helped.

It was also a way to give clothes someone might just wear for a short period of time, some new life.

"I think there's a move towards people buying secondhand things in general or previously loved items in general because more and more, I think collectively we're becoming aware of the tremendous toll that new clothing has on our planet environmentally," Holub said.

Lora Wahamaa, also of Sudbury, said she ended up wearing some of her husband's clothes, that were four or five sizes too big for her, when she was pregnant in 2020.

Wahamaa said that as a tall woman, she is 5'11, her clothing options are limited at the best of times.

"I'm built like a linebacker, so buying clothes online for me is next to impossible." she said.

While she said clothing swaps like the one Holub started are great for average-sized women, there are fewer options available for taller or plus-size women.