GB2409151A

GB2409151A - A pre-natal abdominal support garment

Info

Publication number: GB2409151A
Application number: GB0329788A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Simon Smith; Roger Thomas; Kerry James; Rosemary Mockford
Original assignee: Northumbria University
Current assignee: Northumbria University
Priority date: 2003-12-20
Filing date: 2003-12-20
Publication date: 2005-06-22
Also published as: GB0329788D0; WO2005060885A1

Abstract

A pre-natal abdominal support garment comprises an upper element 2, in the form of a bra-top, a lower element 6, e.g in the form of shorts 7, with a waist band 4 and side flaps 5 connecting the two elements so as to transfer the weight of the abdomen to the shoulders. The upper element 2 consists of a front panel 11 (fig 1), a back panel 12 (fig 4), and an under bust support 3 (fig 1), a pair of spaced apart shoulder straps 1 extending from the front panel 11 to the back panel 12. The back panel 12 further includes an anchor point 8 of substantially non-stretchable fabric to which the side flaps are anchored. The lower element 6 (fig 1) comprises a waist band 4, having attachment elements compatible with those of the flaps 5.

Description

24091 5 1 Pre-Natal Abdominal Suppolt Gannent

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to gamments to be worn bypregnant women, and in particular garments which support the abdomen.

Background of the Invention

Winy pregnant women suffer from pain in the back, abdomen and legs. Some studies estimate that over 50% of women experience pain in the lower back during their pregnancy. This pain is primarily due to the increase in bodyweight that naturally occurs while carrying the growing foetus.

The extra weight puts stress on the body, especially the lower back Gravity pulls the weight downwards, causing an exaggeration of the 1 aazein the lumbar region of the back Hip positioning is also changed (the stomach tends to shift downward and forward, and the buttocks shift backward and upward). Even slight changes can put major strain on the lower back Another problem that occurs during pregnancyis that connective tissues Qigaments and tendons) soften. Also, the hips begin to expand to accommodate expansion of the birth canal. This "loosening" of the hips can contribute significantly to pain in the lumbar region.

The softening of ligaments and tendons can also lead to a condition known as Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction.

Treatments for all the above-mentioned conditions include the use of a support belt, or other support devices, to hold the pelvis together, or to lift the abdomen.

US 5217403 describes an undergamment that lifts and supports the abdomen, and can adapt to the expanding size and shape of the abdominal area. The undergamment integrates a support panel into a pair of knickers made of a soft knitted fabric. The support panel is made from a stretchable fabric the same as, or similar to, the fabric of the rest of the pair of knickers. The undergarment comprises temporaryfastening means, such as hook and claw material, to releasablyattach edges of the support panel to the body of the knickers. As the abdomen expands, the position of attachment of the support panel tO the knickers can be adjusted.

Whereas the undergarment of US 5217403 only supports the abdomen, US 5094648 describes a torso support for pregnant women, which includes abdominal, breast and back support panels.

Shoulder straps extend from the breast support panel to the torso support. The breast and abdominal support panels are formed from woven cotton blend fabric material stretchable in longitudinal and lateral directions. The back support panel is formed from a woven fabric material stretchable in only a longitudinal direction.

US 4952192 describes a maternity support undergarment which includes a brassiere, a back panel, and strap designed to engage with and support the abdominal region. The strap is connect to the back panel and can be adjusted to compensate for the changing size of the abdomen during pregnancy. The brassiere cups, and the support strap are all made of a conventional support type expansible material. The back panel includes a diamond shaped insert which is also made of a conventional expansible material.

US 5915531 describes a maternity exercise garment, and includes uterine support panels that cradle the abdominal wall for alleviating downward pressure, lower back support panels to protect the sacral and lower lumbar vertebrae of the spine, and inner thigh panels designed to ease sciatica and groin pain. The support panels are integrated into a leotard.

Us 4421117 describes a maternity garment in the form of a leotard in which the lower portion is elastically expendable in a generallyhorizontal axis, and much less elastic and accordingly supportive along a generally vertical axis. A wide yoke panel extends from the wearer's lower neck along the backbone to be joined to the rear of the lower portion about the waistline. Straps extend over the shoulders and are attached to the yoke panel and an upper front edge of the lower portion of the leotard to transfer load to the shoulders.

A back support is sold under the name "Mom-Ez TM" by Smiths Orthopedics of Topeka, KS 66619, USA. This back support is in the form of belt, which fits over the wearer's under wear. The belt passes around the wearer's back and under the protruding abdomen. The belt is elasticated and serves to lift the abdomen, thereby relieving pressure causing back pain.

Another maternitysupport is sold under the name Loving Comforts by The Dipper Co, of USA. This support comprises a pad which sits under the protruding abdomen, an elasticated belt which passes around the wearer's back, the free ends of the belt attaching to the free ends of the pad, and a strap which passes over the top of the protruding abdomen.

A pre-natal garment is sold by Mothers In Motion Inc of USA, under the name "BPS" _, in which three panels are sewn into a leotard a beck panel supports the base of the spine, a belly helter supports the protruding abdomen, and an inner thigh panel serves tO alleviate pain associated with nerve pressure caused by relaxation of the ligaments supporting the pelvic girdle.

It is therefore an object of the invention tO provide an improved prenatal abdominal support garment.

Summary of the Invention

The invention provides a pre-natal abdominal support as specified in Claim 1.

Other aspects of the pre-natal abdominal support of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

The pre-natal abdominal support of the invention attaches the upper and lower elements of the garment together in order to transfer the weight of the protruding abdomen to the shoulders of the wearer. This transfer of weight alleviates discomfort in the lower back region.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In the drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments of a pre-natal abdominal support of the mventlon: Figure 1 is a front view of a pregnant women wearing the abdominal support according to a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a first oblique view the pregnant women illustrated in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a second oblique view of the pregnant women illustrated in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a rear view of the pregnant women illustrated in Figure 1; Figure 5 is a side view of the pregnant illustrated in Figure 1; Figure 6 is a front view of a pregnant woman wearing an abdominal support according to a second embodiment of the invention; Figure 7 is a first oblique view of the pregnant woman illustrated in Figure 6; Figure 8 is a second oblique view of the pregnant woman illustrated in Figure 6; Figure 9 is a rear view of the pregnant woman illustrated in Figure 6; Figure 10 is a side view of the pregnant woman illustrated in Figure 6; Figure 11 illustrates fasteners forming part of the first embodiment of the invention as shown in Figure 1; and Figure 12 illustrates fasteners forming part of the second embodiment of the invention as shown in Figure 7.

Detailed Description of the Drawings

Referring now to Figures 1 to 6, there is shown a first embodiment of a pre-natal abdominal support. The garment transfers some of the weight of the protruding abdomen 10 to the shoulders of the wearer.

The garment comprises a bra-top 2 and a pair of shorts 6. The shorts 6 include a waist band 4, which is made from a stretchable material, and legs 7 that are relativelylong and have searrdess lower edges 20, to prevent the material from which they are made cutting into the leg of the wearer.

The waist band 4 has a front portion 9 which is shaped to sit under and cradle the wearer's protruding abdomen 10.

The legs 7 of the shorts 6 are made from a mesh material which is stretchable both laterally and longitudinally. In the example, the mesh is a fabric comprised of 81% polyamide, and 19% elastane, and has a weight of 190g/square metre. The composition of the fabric from which the waistband is made is 93% nylon and 7% elastane, and has a weight of 600 g/square metre. Whilst both the legs 7 and the waist band 4 are made from stretchable material, the mesh from which the legs 7 are made is about 1. 5 times more stretchable than the fabric from which the waist band 4 is made.

The bra-top 2 includes a front panel 11 made from a stretchable mesh fabric, which allows front of the upper garment to grow with the wearer, an elastic under bust support 3 is attached to the mesh fabric front panel and shoulder straps 1 connecting the front panel to back of the garment. s

The shoulder straps 1 include adjusters 21 for changing the length of the straps 1. These adjusters 21 are of the type commonly used on bras and are therefore not described herein detail. The bra-top 2 also includes a back panel 12, and located centrally therein is an anchor point 8 made from a non- stretchable material.

The bra-top 2 further includes a pair of spaced apart flaps extending from the back panel 12 of the bra-top 2. Each flap 5 includes a free end 13, an inner surface of which is provided with attachment means in the form of hook and claw material. One edge of each flap 5 of the pair is attached to a respective side of the anchor point 8 in the back panel 12 of the bra-top 2.

As can be seen from Figures 1 to 5, the free end 13 of each flap 5 is attachable to the waist band 4 of the shorts 6. Attachment of the flaps 5 to the waist band 4 is achieved by corresponding elements of hook and claw material 18, 19 provided on the inner and outer surfaces of the flaps 5 and waist band 4 respectively. By attaching the flaps 5 to the waist band 4, the load carried by the waist band 4 is transferred to the anchor point 8, which in turn transfers load onto the shoulders.

The elastic under bust support 3 prevents the bra-top 2 from riding up as load is transferred through the flaps 5 through the anchor point 8 to the shoulders.

A second embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures 6 to TO, in which a lumbar support 9 in the form of a strap which extends around the back of the wearer (see Figures 9 and 10) to the wearer's front where one free end 14 of the strap overlaps the other free end 15. An inside and outside surface of respective free-ends of the strap are provided with fastening means, which in the drawings is a hook and claw material 16, 17: for example the inner surface of one free end is provided with a hook material and the outer surface of the other free end is provided with a claw material. In this way the lumbar support 9 can be fastened around the wearer's waist in a comfortable manner, and also adjusted to suit the changing size of the abdomen as pregnancy progresses.

In the embodiments shown in the drawings, the bra-top 2 and the shorts 6 for a two-piece garment, the separate pieces in use being connected together by flaps 5. In an alternative ernbodirnent, the bra-top 2 and the shorts 5 are integrated into a single garment. Nevertheless, the action of the flaps 5 is the same in a one piece garment as in the two piece garment described above.

The invention provides a garment to improve the levels of comfort experienced by pregnant women in everydaylife. Whilst others have addressed the same problem, none have integrated the functions of the upper and lower elements of the garment in the manner proposed by the invention.

The prior art documents do not foresee the use of a non-stretchable anchor point, or the adjustable connection of the bra-top to the shorts in a manner which transfers load from a waistband in the shorts to the shoulders. Furthermore, the lumbar support co-operates with the main body of the garment, thereby allowing the load supported bythe lumbar support through the non-stretchable anchor point to the shoulders.

Claims

Claims 1. A pre-natal abdominal support garment comprising an upper

element and a lower element wherein: (i) the upper element consists of a bra-top, the bra-top incl&g a back panel a front panel, an under bust support, and a pair of spaced apart shoulder straps, each strap extending from the front panel to the back panel, the back panel further including an anchor point of substantially non-stretchable fabric, the bra-top further including a pair of flaps attached to the back panel and extending downwardly therefrom, each flap of the pair having a free end provided with attachment elements; (ii) the lower element comprises a waist band and a pair of leg openings, and wherein the waist band is provided with attachment elements for attachment to the pair of flaps thereto; and wherein in use, with the flaps attached to the waist band load on the waist band is transferred through the anchor point to the shoulders.
2. A garment according to Claim 1, wherein a front portion of the waist band is curved so as to cradle the abdomen.
3. A garment according to anypreceding claim, wherein the waist band is made of a resilient fabric.
4. A garment according to Maim 3, wherein the composition of the waistband material is 93% nylon and 7% elastane.
5. A garment according to anypreceding claim, wherein the lower element includes legs extending from the leg openings.
6. A garment according to Maim 5, wherein the said legs are made of a material that is stretchable in lateral and longitudinal directions.
7. A garment according to Claim 6, wherein the said leg material is a mesh.
8. A garment according to Maim 7, wherein the composition of the mesh is 81% polyamide, and 19% elastane.
9. A garment according to any of claims 3 to 8, wherein the material from which the legs are made is more stretchable than the waistband material.
10. A garment according to Maim 9, wherein the material from which the legs are made is approximately 1.5 times more stretchable than the waistband material.
11. A garment according to anypreceding claim, wherein the under bust support is made of a resilient material.
12. A garment according to anypreceding claim, wherein the front panel of the upper element is made of a material that is stretchable in lateral and longitudinal directions.
13. A garment according to anypreceding claim, wherein each shoulder strap is attached directly to or forms part of a respective flap.
14. A garment according to anypreceding claim, wherein the flaps form part of the back panel.
15. A garment according to anypreceding claim, wherein the flaps are made of a resilient material.
16. A garment according to anypreceding claim, further comprising a lumbar support comprising a strap having two free ends, the strap being provided with attachment elements to attach one free end to the other, wherein in use the strap extends around the lumbar region of the back and sits on top of the waist panel.
17. A garment according to any preceding claim wherein the upper and lower elements are separate.
18. A garment according to any of Claims 1 to 16, wherein the upper and lower elements are integrated into a leotard.
19. A garment comprising an upper element and a lower element substantially es shown in, and as described with reference to, the drawings.