Postpartum Belly Binding Promises – Are They Worth Believing?

If you are one of those brand new moms stressing about shedding all those pregnancy pounds, stop! You have given birth so take your time to rest and recuperate. Let others pamper you; you deserve it.

Once you begin feeling like yourself again, you may want to consider using a postpartum belly belt to help with your recovery.

What is a Postpartum Belly Binder?

It took you nine months to transform your body to accommodate your baby’s growth inside you; your body will be different than it was before. You will feel sore and exhausted and find that you need extra support for lower back pain caused by the laxity of your abdominal muscles.

Belly binding is an important part of the childbirth recovery process. The concept dates back several generations when people with back pain used binders to provide additional support for their abdomen. With the help of binders, these people were able to move around better.

How Does Belly Binding Help Postpartum?

During pregnancy, as your baby grows inside the uterus, your body also grows to accommodate it. Unfortunately, the enlarging uterus also causes displacement of other vital organs in your abdomen. After giving birth, your uterus reverts to its prepregnancy size, and the displaced organs return to their original position.

Postpartum binding has been traditionally used to support your abdominal wall and loosened abdominal ligament, alleviate lower back pain and improve posture.

What are the Benefits of Postpartum Binding? 

Some of the known benefits of belly binding include:

1. Repairs the diastasis recti. As your body grows bigger during pregnancy, the two large bands of abdominal muscles called the rectus abdominis stretch and separate an abnormal distance. This condition, called diastasis recti, may weaken the abdominal muscles and ligaments and interfere with your daily activities. Belly binding will help bring the two abdominal muscles together to help strengthen the muscle and ligament that have become lax.
2. Helps alleviate lower back pain. The muscles of your abdomen hold vital organs in place and support the torso to allow for proper movement. The deeper muscles in your abdomen make up the “core” muscles together with the muscles in your back to keep your body upright, balanced and support your spine. When your abdominal muscles are weakened, pain may also be felt in your lower back. The use of binders will provide support to your back muscles as well as helping to cure the pain.
3. Supports the spine. The core muscles also support the spine when we move and increase its stability. After giving birth, the weakness of your core muscles presents additional stress to the spine as it supports your body during movement. Postpartum binding will provide additional support to reduce strain and help improve posture.
4. Reduce pain on the pelvic floor. Postpartum binding also provides support to the muscles of your pelvic area, called your pelvic floor. The use of a binder may reduce the downward pressure on the pelvic floor and help to resist some of the symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, such as urinary incontinence and urinary tract infections.
5. Recovery from C-section. Another benefit of belly binding is alleviating pain after C-section. It also aids to ensure that the incision heals properly by pulling your muscles tightly together. According to a study by Ghana et al., binding can also lessen postpartum bleeding and discomfort.

The recovery process after giving birth is a process that takes months, and using a postpartum belly beltis one of the ways that you can give the support that your body needs. It can also help alleviate acute pain and symptoms from the dysfunction of your abdominal, back, and pelvic floor muscles. However, it would be best if you quit using when all the discomforts have stopped, and you started rebuilding your core muscles so you can return to your daily routine.