marzipanandminutiae:

A very interesting question!

Most maternity corsets had buttons or laces that could be let out to accommodate a growing belly, thus:

(And if anyone’s wondering why they’d wear corsets during pregnancy, my response is, “why do modern women wear bras during pregnancy?” with a side order of “their ab and back muscles had probably atrophied a bit from years of wearing corsets already, making it uncomfortable to go without one for too long while standing or walking.”)

I imagine the point of casting off one’s corset would come when it could no longer be adjusted enough to fit over the bump. For wealthy ladies in particular, this usually meant entering a period of rest at home until the baby came. 

Maternity clothes did exist, although extant examples are rare and can be hard to identify. Many women probably altered their maternity clothing back into normal gowns after pregnancy, for themselves or for daughters if they waited until they were past childbearing age. Furthermore, some fashions like spoon busk corsets resulted in dresses that could be mistaken for very early-stage maternity gowns. And finally, loose morning wrappers and tea gowns were in fashion for even women who weren’t pregnant for decades. 

The few definite examples we have seem to be wrapper-type robe dresses or skirt-and-bodice ensembles where the bodice is a loose jacket.

1882 maternity dress, Met Museum.

1850s maternity dress

Wealthy women in particular could afford dedicated maternity clothes, though whether they bought them, altered existing garments, or simply wore their loosest gowns until the period of confinement probably varied. Even now, pregnancy is different for every pregnant person. 

(Brief soapbox- The idea that all pregnant Victorian women secluded themselves from the moment they began to show simply isn’t true, even for women who were rich enough to do so. Queen Victoria herself found pregnancy disgusting and off-putting; that doesn’t mean all Victorians did. Nor that all pregnant Victorians were content to sit at home and do nothing for nine months. End soapbox.)

And as for pregnant Victorian trans men, one imagines it happened more often than it does today given the lack of readily available hysterectomies and HRT. Famous stagecoach driver Charley Parkhurst was found after his death to have borne at least one child. The fate of that child is unknown, as (unfortunately) is how Parkhurst managed his pregnancy. 

Hope this helps!