So many parts of adult life get in the way of our hobbies, and pregnancy can be a BIG one.
It’s okay to take a step back from all kinds of things while you’re staring parenthood straight down its barrel. But if cosplay is something you do want to try to work in while pregnant, we have some tips for you!
Pregnant cosplay has unique challenges
Your body has changed shape. You may not be able to move like you used to. You may have pain when you try to do basic things. Let’s face it, getting dressed up and taking photos is a whole other ballgame when you’re pregnant.
Before we even get into the specifics and advice part of this article though, let us just say: TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF FIRST!!!
If you’re on a restriction from your doctor, obviously we’re not advising that you break any of those rules for yourself to make cosplay content. Stay hydrated, rest when you need to, and cancel the whole event or photoshoot if you’re not up to it.
Choosing your character
The easiest way to pick a character to cosplay while you’re pregnant is to think of characters you like who have ever had children.
In the photo above, Crayle looked forward to cosplaying Mystique for her maternity shoot as soon as she found out she was pregnant. We know not every version has Mystique being the mother of Nightcrawler, but the version she grew up with did, and she was so happy with the result.
She also wanted to do pregnant Madelyne Pryor, but she ran out of time. That will happen a lot when you’re pregnant, so be prepared to miss your cosplay goals more often while managing appointments, sickness, and tiredness.
Many characters have been pregnant on the screen or page.
Here’s a quick list of examples for your convenience:
- Danerys Targaryen, Game of Thrones
- Madelyne Pryor, X-Men 97
- Black Canary, Injustice Comics
- Chicha, The Emperor’s New Groove
- Padme Amidala, Revenge of the Sith
- Wanda/Scarlet Witch, WandaVision
- Wynonna Earp, Wynonna Earp
- Amy Santiago, Brooklyn 99
- Gina Linettie, Brooklyn 99
- Leslie Knope, Parks and Recreation
- Lady Gokuyo, Apothecary Diaries
You don’t necessarily need to have seen the character in TV or comics WHILE they were pregnant though. Any character who is a parent is fair game to have been pregnant. Women who are moms, non-binary characters, or gender-bending your favorite dad character can also make sense to cosplay while you’re pregnant.
Posing while pregnant
There are two different types of pregnant cosplay photography poses: posing to minimize the bump, and posing to accentuate the bump.
In the two photos below, Crayle was early in her pregnancy and was not trying to cosplay pregnant characters.
To minimize your bump because you don’t want to emphasize your pregnancy just yet, you can both use props to block or partially block your stomach, or choose poses that put your own body in the way, such as arms or legs bent near your torso and abdomen.
When in doubt, sometimes a straight-on angle does the trick.
Later in Crayle’s pregnancy though, she wanted to do straight up maternity-style photoshoots in cosplay.
Figuring out how to pose when the characters themselves are pregnant can be easy: just look up materity poses!
She used an article similar to this one (before an actual pro photographer coached her later): https://www.portraitmadame.com/post/maternity-poses-pregnancy-photos-nyc-studio
Just like with any other cosplay, you can also always look at reference images of your character and choose poses of them from media, then see which ones work for you.
Adapting your costumes
Finding costume pieces that fit while pregnant can be a headache.
Many pre-made costumes that are labeled for pregnant characters don’t actually fit your body, because you’re changing every day, or because they’re poorly made with too much focus on the costume aspect and not enough focus on the fit.
There are several ways to get around this without having to custom-sew a whole new costume that you may only get to wear once or twice.
Firstly, you can dig into your trusty closet cosplay skills. Have a costume that fit when you weren’t pregnant? Swap out just the pieces that don’t fit anymore with your closest maternity clothing option.
That’s what Crayle did with her X-Men Marvel Girl maternity costume.
The accessories will still indicate the character you’re portraying, and you’ll look better because you’ll feel better in something that actually fits.
If you’re REALLY handy with a sewing machine, you can also alter an existing costume or outfit that wasn’t fit for maternity. This may be a great option for a costume you were going to replace or upgrade soon anyway then. Give it one last hurrah with an altered maternity look.
Another area that is super likely to need adaptation is the footwear.
Swelling of the legs and feet is very common in pregnancy, and even if the heels or boots you have for that costume still fit, they could become painful to stand in for any length of time.
Just swap them for whatever is closest that’s comfortable for you. Crayle wore little yellow flats for pregnant Marvel Girl, for instance. And Padme Amidala is barefoot in some of her pregnancy scenes, so that’s a plus too. You can always just not focus on the feet at all if you can’t find shoes that fit the vibe and your comfort level at the same time though.
Make an original character
Still not inspired by the options out there for pre-existing pregnant characters? Then it’s time for a little OC!
You can accommodate yourself in literally ANY way when you design your own costume, and you can either make it yourself or buy the pieces individually based on what fits right now.
Crayle’s “hide my bump” OC was a horror character she dubbed “Goat Girl.”
The Victorian inspired nightgown was not form fitting, and there was way too much else going on between the blood splatters and the goat mask to focus on her belly anyway, so it was perfect.
And bonus, she got to be barefoot.
Then, when she wanted to accentuate the bump, she created a “Disco Fertility Goddess” character.
The stretch of the the sparkly dress over her stomach really drew attention to that baby bump. For this one, she did start out with clear go-go-ish heels, but she ditched them as soon as her feet started to hurt, and no one cared.
Believe it or not, these photoshoots were only two weeks apart. That’s the difference that the posing and costume design made (though of course, she did get a little bigger in those two weeks).
Keeping up with a cosplay content schedule
Our short advice for this is: don’t try to keep up with new content.
You will probably not be able to make and wear new costumes at the rate you did before. You will probably have to reschedule a lot more around doctor visits and bad days. It’s tough.
Be flexible with yourself. If you’re comfortable, tell your followers you’re expecting a new family member and most will be patient with you.
Also, you can always re-mix old content. Make greatest hits posts. Make a little slide-show style video of past cosplays. Maybe learn more photo editing tricks while you rest in bed and post updated edits of previous photos.
Ask for help, if you can.
Final tip: Health and safety come first!
Yeah, we know we sort of already said that in the intro, but it bears repeating.
Take care of your health first. Even if cosplay is your job instead of your hobby, you are a precious life and you’re growing a whole ‘nother one inside yourself.
Listen to your body and your doctors. Say no when you need to. Even to yourself or your own self-imposed schedule to go to cons and do photoshoots.
And when you do get the chance to do a few pregnant cosplay photos, feel free to send them to us on our socials! We love hyping up other cosplayers.
Ultimately, cosplay is all about the PLAY. Do the parts that are still fun to you, and skip the rest.
With love,
The Phoenix Sisters <3
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