By MICHELE McPHERSON
Sexy lingerie for pregnant yummy mummies - or soft porn.
That's the question after the owners of Tauranga pregnancy lingerie company Hot Milk were forced to defend the marketing of their products.
Close friends Lisa Ebbing and Angela Crosbie started Hot Milk after Mrs Ebbing experienced first-hand the disappointing range
of lingerie on offer for pregnant and breast-feeding women.
The pair designed a range they have coined "sexy lingerie for yummy mummies" which they launched in New Zealand in April, followed by an Australian launch a week later.
Their sexy catalogue has since been distributed via online breast-feeding store, Breastmates.
But two recipients of that catalogue have complained to Breastmates, demanding explanations over why one of the images depicts a man filming a pregnant woman and describing the images as "explicit" and "soft porn".
Shocked by the accusations, the pair said they had never considered the catalogue being interpreted in such a way.
"That's her husband documenting her beautiful form," said Miss Crosbie.
The pair firmly believe the complaints do not reflect majority opinion.
"The issue is not that we've got a risque campaign, it's that we've got a risque campaign with a pregnant woman. It's a debate to be had ... is it okay to breast-feed in public? Because there are still people who are uncomfortable with people breast-feeding in public," said Miss Crosbie.
Hot Milk sees no problem with portraying a pregnant woman in a sexy manner.
"They're pretty and they're feminine and they've had gorgeous lingerie probably since their mid-teens and all of a sudden they become pregnant and they can't look sexy any more? I mean it defies logic for us," Miss Crosbie said.
The pair described pregnancy and early motherhood as a challenging time for women when the smallest thing, like sexy underwear, could make a huge difference.
They said women working in the field had suggested the Hot Milk range may encourage women to breast-feed for longer or help boost the confidence of woman suffering from post-natal depression.
Other emails of support have expressed disappointment the sexy pregnancy underwear was not available earlier, when they were having children.
Hot Milk said those who complained about the catalogue were obviously not in their target market.
"They're totally allowed to have their opinion, if that has offended them in any way, then that's well within their rights,"Miss Crosbie said.
"At the end of the day it's lingerie, lingerie is sexy by nature, that's why it's portrayed that way."
