Postpartum belly binding which is considered to be an ancient art is a tradition that is used in many cultures all throughout the world.
Women in the United States of America are also making binding part of how they care for themselves after they have a baby.
Content:
- Belly Binding and its Benefits
- When Should You Begin Binding?
- How Long Should You Wear Your Belly Band?
- The Traditional Belly Binding
- The Modern Belly Bands
Postpartum Belly Binding and its Benefits
Binding is very beneficial to postpartum women. It provides comfort, support, and stability of the muscles, skin, and internal organs so they can heal and repair properly after childbirth.
When a woman is pregnant, the vertical abdominal muscles thin out and widen to make room for the baby as it grows. This can result in a condition called diastasis recti.
When a woman has diastasis recti, their muscles separate and they may stay separate (if they are not taken of the right way) and can result in back problems, hernias, and can also make the abdomen bulge.
It is an ideal way to reconnect the muscle walls and help the spine and posture realign. Binding also helps women heal emotionally after they have a baby.
Pregnancy opens up and fills the body with life and it is thought of as a ceremony of “sealing” the body when their pregnancy is over and they transition into motherhood.
After a woman has a miscarriage, binding will help their body heal.
Belly binding has a lot of benefits too. It supports the womb after birth, speeds up the healing process of the uterus, and provide a cleansing of the blood clots.
They also reduce common back and shoulder pain that happens during nursing by improving posture.
Binding also helps tone up the abdominal muscles and shape the hips after a lady has a baby.
Postpartum belly binding also helps relieve muscular and tendon tension all throughout the torso and helps get rid of water retention.
It also speeds up the burning of fat and makes circulation better. Women who had a c-section can also do binding, but they should wait a week or two after they have their baby so oxygen can get to the incision and heal it.
Binding also helps with anxiety and postpartum depression.
Wearing a postpartum belly binder for a good amount of time will also provide a holistic support to the abdominal and pelvic organs including the muscles in the pelvic area.
It is very important for a woman that just had a baby to have support for their pelvis for a while after they have a baby.
This is very important due to the fact that the cervix stretches while a woman is in labor.
When a woman wears a long wrap in their hip area, it will help the cervix get back to its pre-pregnancy size and make it possible for the pelvic muscles to heal without being stretched anymore.
Binding also helps with the pains that are part of recovering from childbirth that often get worse with every child a woman has.
They also help with postpartum internal swelling and help a new mom feel secure and together.
Another benefit of postpartum belly binding is comfortable back support and compression that they can depend on.
They also help cut down on back pain and help lower the amount of pressure that they feel in their back and legs.
When a new mom feels more comfortable and their abdominal muscles are stronger, they will get back into shape a lot quicker.
A lot of women choose to use a belly wrap to help shape their body.
They help women look like they did prior to having a baby by reducing swelling and any pregnancy-related skin or weight by compressing the skin tightly.
Belly binders can also do a lot for a ladies self-esteem because they help a woman look like she did before she got pregnant and makes her feel more confident.
When a woman feels good about how she looks physically, it helps her emotional and mental health as well.
If a woman has a c-section, belly binding should definitely be part of their healing process.
Compressing the incision will help lower the amount of pain that they feel when they laugh, shed tears, or even turn over in their beds.
Wearing a compression garment will also help a woman’s incision heal quicker since compression will increase blood flow to the area of the incision and will help lower the amount of swelling around the incision as well.
When Should you Begin Binding?
Typically, women start belly binding three to four days after they give birth. However, they can start wearing a binder the day that they are discharged from the hospital.
It is a good idea for a pregnant woman to get one and pack it in their hospital bag. Some women start wearing one right after they have their baby.
It is a good idea to check with their doctor first to make sure it is okay.
Even if a woman does not start binding right after they have their baby, that is okay. They can still see results from binding up to six months postpartum.
The reason for this is that the hormones estrogen, progesterone, and relaxin that come about during pregnancy is still present in a woman’s body after they have their baby.
These hormones loosen up the abdominal muscles, the structure of the pelvis, and supporting ligaments and joints.
That makes it simple for the body to return to its regular size due to the fact that it is very flexible after childbirth.
For women that have had a c-section, the majority of binders say that they have to wait until their incision has healed until they wear one.
However, there are some binders on the market that are designed with moms that have had a c-section in mind. They can wear these binders right away.
How Long Should You Wear Your Belly Band?
How long a woman wears her binding depends on what kind of binding she gets.
The majority of the instructions that come with them will tell a lady how long they can wear one every day.
Some of them can be worn all day and all night, while others need to be taken off before the lady wearing them goes to bed for the night.
It is a good idea to not wear a binder all day, because the skin needs time to breath every day.
Also, it is very important to wear one for the first eight weeks postpartum, but they can be a support anytime after a woman has a baby.
The Traditional Belly Binding
For thousands of years, women have wrapped their abdomen or belly after they have a baby. Women have been doing this for a long time in Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
In these countries, women usually wear wraps made out of cloth that is wound tightly around a woman’s midsection.
Also, every culture practices binding in their own way. Latin American cultures use a “Faja,” and Japanese moms uses a “Sarash” for support.
As a general rule, they all practiced the wrapping of the abdomen to help reduce swelling and to tighten muscles that have been stretched out a lot.
The results of belly wrapping are very obvious and have gone on for a lot of centuries.
Another traditional wrap is the Bengkung. In the past, mother’s would make these wraps for their pregnant daughters to use after they had their baby.
Today, women can purchase the Bengkung from Malay traditional wellness stores or buy themselves one on the internet.
There are three types of Bengkungs. The Bengkung Barat also known as the Bandage Bengkung is similar to a sling for women.
It has a left and right string that are tied together. The Bengkung Mia is a corset-style wrap with criss-crossed ties.
The Bengkung Java, also known as the Entwining Bengkung, is a broad piece of cloth that is about fifteen meters long and it wraps around the torso.
Any of them would be fine to use as a Bengkung belly binding after c-section.
Where to Buy Traditional Belly Bands
It can be purchased on many retail websites like Amazon, Target, and Walmart.
Some women even choose to make their own or have someone make it for them, so it can fit them perfectly.
If you asking me for a good recommendation, I will suggest you the items below from two well-rated buyers on Etsy:
The Modern Belly Bands
As life has become more busy and hectic for the modern mother, the art of traditional belly wrapping became very insensible, unrealistic, too heavy and large to wear, as well as taking too long to make.
A lady that had three children named Charlene Williams founded the Band Specialist decided to bring the art and science of wrapping into the modern age.
Ms.Williams wanted to cut down the amount of inflammation and swelling that patients have after they have an operation.
She clearly understands the parallels between the trauma a patient has after they have surgery and women that have recently had a baby.
For both of these cases, both patients were in need of compression and healing to help them cut down on their swelling.
In 2005, Ms. Williams invented the Cinch Tummy Wrap. This wrap was fully adjustable and provided 360 degrees of compression.
It helped woman before and after their pregnancies. In 2010, she invented the 2-IN-1 Atlas Band. Ms. Williams realized that healing can start in the third trimester of pregnancy.
The Atlas Band helped with back pain and swelling in the third trimester and provided postpartum compression support.
With these wraps, she rapidly changed how modern women benefit from the traditional art and science of wrapping.
Today, The Belly Bandit wrap is very popular and is loved by a lot of women. They say that it is the best postpartum belly band.
This wrap helps slim and support the hips, belly, and waist after a woman has a baby.
There are different colors, types, and price ranges that a woman can choose from and they even have three bands for women that had c-section deliveries.
They are very thick, solid, and one-piece wraps. They are very supportive and a lot of women think that they help them heal the best.
For these reasons, this wrap is the best postpartum belly band.
Product Reviews
**Some links on this page can take you to Amazon.com, where you can see prices, customer reviews, product specs, etc … Please note that we only share stuff we love. We may earn a small commission if you buy through our links.
| Product | Satisfaction Rate | Review |
|---|---|---|
 |
79% | Read Review |
 |
74% | Read Review |
 |
81% | Read Review |
Since it is important for women to know about products and what is available on the market when they are looking to buy these products, I am going to review three body wraps to show what is available on the market.
But let’s start with the videos below, showing us how the 3 in 1 belly bands work, why they are giving the best support and other useful information.
Video Number 1:
Video Number 2:
Dicool : Three-in-One Postpartum Wrap
Buy From Amazon
Read Customer Reviews Here
This wrap is essential to postpartum recovery to support a new mom’s back, hips, and stomach.
It is a three-in-one belt that provides everything a woman needs to recover from childbirth.
The belly belt can usually be used one day to seven days after childbirth and helps get the stomach and muscles halfway back to normal.
The waist belt helps flatten the belly, redefine the waistline, and help with pain in the back. It will be more effective when used with the belly belt.
The pelvis belt helps speed up the contractions of the pelvis and is made to fit the natural curves of a woman’s body.
This wrap should not be worn during pregnancy or while sleeping. It needs to be cleaned with cold water before it is used for the first time and women need to wear a shirt under it when they wear it.
Gepoetry : Postpartum Belly Wrap
Buy From Amazon
Read Customer Reviews Here
This postpartum recovery belt is made out of high-quality, lightweight cotton material, that is made to be stretched out.
Since it never rolls up when the person that is wearing it moves or sits down, it is very comfortable. It is also made of breathable material and is easy to take care of.
This wrap helps women heal from childbirth by shrinking the belly, hips, and waist and stops the skin and organs from sagging.
It also helps with back and pelvic pain, helps get the uterus back to where it needs to be and minimizes stretch marks The Gepoetry also speeds up the healing after childbirth, provides support during breastfeeding, and can be worn by women who have had natural or c-section delivery.
A woman should not wear this wrap while they are pregnant or while they are sleeping.
It also needs to be cleaned with clean water before it is worn and needs to have a shirt under it when it is worn.
To help a woman get back to their pre-pregnancy weight, they should also watch what they eat and exercise when they are using this wrap.
Gepoetry : Three-in-One Postpartum Support Belly Wrap
Buy From Amazon
Read Customer Reviews Here
This wrap has three belts in one to help with all of the postpartum healing.
The belly belt helps get the stomach and muscles back to normal.
The waist belt helps flatten the belly, get the waistline halfway back to normal, and should be used one to seven days after a regular childbirth.
The pelvis belt helps speed up the contraction of the uterus and it stretches to fit the natural curves of the body.
This wrap should not be worn during pregnancy or while sleeping. It should never in direct contact with the skin, which means a woman needs to wear a shirt under it.
Washing it with clean water should be done prior to it being worn for the first time.
To get back to their pre-pregnancy weight, women need to exercise and watch what they eat when they wear this wrap.
It comes with the belly belt, waist belt, pelvic belt, and the user’s manual.
Binding the belly after pregnancy has come a long way from when women had to make them stitch-by-stitch one-at-a-time or have a family member or friend make one for them.
In this day and age, a woman can order a binder or belly wrap, on many websites from Etsy to Target.
There are also businesses that will make custom fit belly wraps for postpartum women, no matter whether they had a normal or c-section delivery.
They have so many emotional and physical health benefits as well. By making a woman look better, they help them feel better emotionally as well.
Belly binders have been around for many years to help support women after they have their babies.
Recovering from childbirth while caring for a baby is very trying and can be very difficult as well.
Anything that can help a woman recover physically and emotionally after they have a baby is very welcome.
That is why belly binders and wraps are around to help women with the transition from pregnancy to being a postpartum mom.
| Product | Satisfaction Rate | Review |
|---|---|---|
| |
79% | Read Review |
| |
74% | Read Review |
| |
81% | Read Review |
Additional information:
- What You Need To Know About Your First Postpartum Period
- Healing Abdominal Muscles After Pregnancy
- How to Identify and Fix Diastasis Recti
Photo & Video credits: Amazon, Blessed Birth, Maicangirl, Header photo by Ignacio Campo.