Culturally, pregnancy during the Victorian era was a taboo...

essentially confining a woman to home during the time she was "showing". As a consequence,  tightlacing was sometimes used to extend the period of of time that expecting mothers were able to present themselves socially or for work. This was or is safe because, during the first two trimesters the fetus is very small and well protected by the amniotic fluid from the higher intra abdominal pressures. Women used this to their advantage to conceal their pregnant state. By continuing tightlacing, they could be five to six months pregnant without showing a noticeable expansion, allowing them to continue their activities outside the home. During the last trimester the maternity corset (right) would be relaxed, accommodating the growing abdomen, while supporting it. For pre-marital expecting mothers, the corset offered and still does a safe solution to conceal the first few months, avoiding embarrassing questions during the wedding. For the remainder of the pregnancy, modern (left) maternity corsets are recommended as they provide valuable support and greatly reduce fatigue.