Beauty and the Bump

These days, moms-to-be are sporting their baby bumps from the red carpet to the beach. And there's no shame in their games.

Gone are the days of muu-muu dresses and staying indoors months before the bundle drops. Pregnant moms are now working professionals or busy domestic engineers who flaunt their figures in hip, hot and trendy fashions.

Times have changed, according to maternity wear designer Liz Lange, who says women have gone from hiding their pregnancy to wearing clothes that celebrate it.

"When you see all the coverage of these fabulous-looking celebrities, and they look so good in their fitted clothing, completely keeping their sense of style, it's very, very influential," said Lange who designs both high-end maternity wear and a line for Target.

"Other women want to look like that, too. They realize it looks great and it looks sexy."

Thanks to Hollywood, maternity fashions have gone from the red carpet and runways to boardrooms and the beach.

Starlets like Angelina Jolie, Gwen Stefani and Nicole Richie didn't miss a fashion beat when they showed off their baby bumps. And designers have jumped on the baby-buggy bandwagon, offering moms-to-be the same sleek business suits, designer jeans, flirty dresses and trendy tops their non-pregnant pals are wearing.

It was a lack of options that led Rebecca Matthias, president and chief creative officer of A Pea in the Pod to create her maternity clothing company, which includes A Pea in the Pod, Destination Maternity and Motherhood Maternity stores.

Matthias was a working professional when she got pregnant and says she couldn't find business clothes that would accommodate her growing belly.

Today she is dressing more than three million moms-to-be each year, and she has an A-list following that includes Salma Hayek and Jessica Alba.

For spring and summer, A Pea in the Pod is offering tiered ruffle tops, boho-inspired blouses, fitted dresses and floral bikinis, which are among the season's anticipated trends....