At 37 weeks pregnant I’m down to the last pair of pants that don’t irritate my c-section scar, don’t fall down and don’t cut into my bump and make it all itchy. Maternity knickers are a real problem, I think, if you have a previous caesarean scar – you don’t want anything that sits in the crease where the scar is (which is pretty much all waistbands on every piece of clothing ever invented) and you want nice, breathable fabric and a comfy cut over the baby bump.

So, after all other maternity pants have been gradually eliminated I’m onto the (non-maternity-specific) M&S Cotton Full Brief (observe online here). It goes about halfway over a full-term baby bump, the cotton is soft and – crucially – the waistband part is ever so slightly deeper than the normal thin piece of covered elastic you might find. Just those extra few millimetres mean that the fabric sits flush against the skin rather than digging in uncomfortably and giving you “double belly”.

It’s annoying to have to spend out on maternity knickers right at the end of a pregnancy, but – without sounding melodramatic – the pants situation was constantly getting me down. I was uncomfortable all day. And so mass orders of the M&S briefs have been made. Anyway, I’ll need them after the c-section for at least a couple of months.

I fit a size 14, but have also tested the 16 and it’s well comfy, so more of the 16 it is. They do white, black and nude but I’d go for black, for obvious reasons. (Birth.)

M&S Cotton Full Briefs, £6 each and currently 3 pairs for the price of 2