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Several different types of support garment are available for pregnant women and new mothers. It can be confusing to determine which products are most suitable for each pregnancy stage and postpartum phase.
In this article, we provide a breakdown of the most popular maternity support garments currently on the market, what they claim to do, and what the research says about them.
The primary types of maternity support garment available for pregnant women and new mothers are:
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Belly belts support the lower back and hips.Belly bands are flexible tube-like garments that women wear around the belly to extend the life of prepregnancy clothing by covering unbuttoned or unzipped pants. They also act as a layer to help cover areas of skin that become exposed as the belly expands.
Some belly bands provide mild compression and may offer the hips and lower back an element of support.
Belly bands remain popular among pregnant women and come in many different sizes, shapes, colors, and designs. They often have some elastic or a rubber trim to help prevent them from bunching up.
Belly bands are sometimes called belly sleeves or maternity or pregnancy bands.
Belly belts are rigid belts that wrap around the abdomen to help support the lower back, pelvis, hips, and abdomen during pregnancy.
Belly belts typically sit on top of clothing, although some people may wear them underneath. Belly belts are usually more narrow and strap-like than belly bands, especially the part that lies across the front of the body.
People may also refer to belly belts as maternity or pregnancy belts, braces, or straps.
Prenatal or maternity cradles consist of a belly belt that wraps around the lower body and an upper strap that extends over the top of the belly. Together, these form a cradle for the belly.
While some prenatal cradles are available to buy as a single item, they often come as an add-on to belly belts or in combination packs with them.
Many maternity briefs and leggings contain an underbelly supportive belt and a non-binding waistband, which provides a stretchy space to accommodate the pregnancy bump. Most maternity briefs and leggings claim to help support the lower body, including the legs, buttocks, and hips.
Some maternity tops contain supportive sports bras and belly bands that absorb pelvic weight. Most supportive maternity tops claim that their structure helps reduce stress on the upper body.
Postpartum belly wraps and girdles contain multiple layers of alternating stretchy and rigid wrapping that extends from under the breasts to the hips. They are also sometimes called belly bands.
Although there is scant unbiased research to support their use, most postpartum belly wraps claim to help by:
Below, we consider the possible benefits of certain maternity support garments, as well as some of their limitations.
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Wearing a belly band may reduce the need to buy new maternity clothes.The design of belly bands allows them to extend a pregnant woman’s wardrobe by covering the lower abdomen. The intention is not usually to offer much support, although different brands provide various options.
There is little to no scientific research to back the claims that some belly bands do offer support.
The potential benefits of belly bands include:
The potential cons of belly bands include:
Belly belts aim to offer pregnant women support by taking some of the weight of the growing belly.
The potential pros of belly belts include:
While there is still not enough scientific evidence to fully support the use of belly belts to reduce pregnancy pains, a few early studies indicate some potential benefits from wearing belly belts when pregnant.
A 2017 study evaluated 46 pregnant women with pelvic girdle pain. Pelvic girdle pain usually occurs in either the back of the thigh or the space between the middle of the pelvis and the pubic bone. Women with pelvic girdle pain usually have trouble walking and standing for extended periods.
In the women who wore pregnancy belts frequently for short periods, the belts seemed to reduce the intensity of pain and make daily tasks more manageable.
A 2015 review of methods for relieving pregnancy-associated pain in the lower back and pelvis found that pelvic belts and acupuncture were the only methods with strong positive evidence to support their use.
The potential cons of belly belts include:
Wearing a belly belt for too long could cancel out the benefits of wearing one. In a 2017 study in which 46 pregnant women wore one of two different pelvic belt models, both belts reduced pelvic girdle pain but only when the women wore them for short intervals a few times a week.
Maternity support garments range from inexpensive, basic underwear to expensive, multi-piece cradles and girdles. However, there is virtually no scientific evidence to either support or discourage the use of most of these types of garment.
Women looking for the right maternity support garment may wish to consider the following criteria:
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Avoid wearing maternity support garments in hot weather and when working out.Women will often decide how and when to wear a maternity support garment based on the product instructions and how it feels on them.
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However, it may be best to wear belly belts, or the tightest part of any clothing, below the belly bump and above the pubic bone and hipline.
Although there is little scientific evidence to confirm when women can safely wear supportive maternity undergarments, it is probably best to avoid them when:
There is not enough research to fully determine the benefits and drawbacks of most maternity support garments. One key thing to consider with all garments, however, is that it is best not to wear any of them too often or for too long at a time.
Most health authorities recommend that pregnant women avoid constrictive or tight clothing, especially for extended periods or in warm or humid environments. Pregnant women are prone to overheat, and tight or constrictive clothing can increase the likelihood of this by:
A 2015 study recruited 20 pregnant women with pubic pain. The women wore either a flexible, neoprene support belt or a rigid, foam-lined belt for roughly 5 hours daily for 3 weeks. They then wore the other belt under the same conditions for 1 week. The researchers found that:
Some older research involving non-pregnant adults also suggests that wearing tight or constrictive clothing could increase the risk of specific health issues, which pregnant women already have a higher likelihood of developing. These include:
As a general rule of thumb, if clothing leaves pressure marks on the skin, feels uncomfortable, or causes a sense of relief on removal, it is probably too constrictive to be suitable for a pregnant woman.
It can be challenging to decide which maternity support products are most suitable at each point during pregnancy.
Overall, belly bands and supportive undergarments, such as maternity tops, underwear, leggings, and tights, usually offer only mild compression and minor support.
On the other hand, belly belts, maternity cradles, and postpartum wraps or girdles tend to be more constrictive and offer more support, although they are typically less fashionable and less easy to hide.
While lots of good maternity support products are available, most do not have proven health benefits, and some may not be safe for all women. It might be best to talk with a doctor or obstetrician before wearing any maternity support products.
Curious about postpartum belly binding (and whether or not it works)? Here's what the experts have to say on this celeb-loved practice.
If you’ve been pregnant and have given birth any time during the last five years or so, odds are pretty high that your social media feeds have been inundated with photos of celebrities or popular mom bloggers wearing and raving about postpartum belly binding in the form of belly wraps and bands. Celeb moms like Cardi B and Jessica Alba swear that wearing one after giving birth was the key to getting back to their pre-baby bods.
But just how well do these postpartum wraps work, what can and can’t they do and how the heck are you supposed to wear them anyway? We asked experts and real moms for their thoughts and advice around postpartum belly binding.
Although the hype around belly wraps and bands has exploded over the last decade because of the celebrity moms who swear by them, the practice of postpartum belly binding has been around for centuries. Belly wrapping is an old practice in Malaysian culture where it is known as “bengkung,” and it has also been in practice in places like Japan and Mexico for hundreds of years. Women would wrap a piece of muslin or similar cloth around the abdomen of a new mom immediately after she had given birth to help give her extra physical support as her body healed.
These days, there are plenty of belly wrap products available in stores or online for moms to choose from if they decide to go this route after giving birth. In fact, some hospitals even supply new moms with a postpartum wrap to bring home.
A postpartum wrap or band can be used to help support your abdominal muscles directly in the first few weeks after you give birth, when those muscles are at their weakest. They can also provide light compression to help your uterus shrink back, although that will happen naturally anyway. Many moms use postpartum wraps after vaginal births, but they can be especially helpful to women who gave birth via C-section.
“After you have a C-section, your abs are weakened and you have very little control over them,” says Sarah Ellis Duvall, founder of Core Exercise Solutions, physical therapist, and mom of two. “The wrap can help give you that extra bit of support.”
“After you have a C-section, your abs are weakened and you have very little control over them. The wrap can help give you that extra bit of support.”
SARAH ELLIS DUVALL, PHYSICAL THERAPIST
Postpartum belly wraps in and of themselves are completely safe. That said, women who use them improperly can end up doing more damage than good. There are two really important rules to keep in mind when you’re wearing your postpartum wrap:
Duvall says cinching the wrap too tightly is one of the worst things you can do to your postpartum body and the number one mistake many women make when wearing a postpartum wrap. Since many women are focused not just on recovery but on trying to get their bodies to “bounce back,” they tend to err on the side of taking the compression way too far. This is something to absolutely avoid doing, as it can lead to serious problems.
“Cinching the wrap too tightly can be a real concern,” says Duvall. “We have a pressure management system in our core, which has already been impacted by pregnancy and birth. If you cinch the wrap too tightly, the pressure has to go somewhere else, and the path of least resistance is your pelvic floor. This could result in prolapse (a bulge in your pelvic floor), which can take longer to rehab and recover from, so prevention is the best medicine. It is best to tighten it just enough to offer gentle support, but no tighter.”
A postpartum wrap can provide some much-needed support right after you give birth, but there is no reason to keep wearing one for an extended period of time.
“I do like to wean women off of them fairly quickly because of the risk to the pelvic floor,” Duvall says. “The concern is delaying our bodies and muscles from recovering on their own. Begin using your own muscles without support whenever you feel comfortable. The sooner you start to use your muscles again, the more quickly they will recover.”
The only way for your body to fully recover is to allow your muscles to begin to do the work. This doesn’t mean hitting the gym to do a serious ab workout. Your muscles will begin to recover by doing everyday tasks, like getting out of bed, getting off the couch, standing up, picking up your baby and other ordinary movements. It’s important to use your muscles, but not to overwork them.
The way that belly wraps work is pretty simple. They all go around your abdominal area, typically from the top of your hips to right underneath your breasts. They are designed to compress around that area in order to give you core support. Most also include the ability to wrap the band as loosely or as tightly as you need, but remember, not too tight!
Experts are quick to point out two things that a postpartum wrap will not do — contrary to the promises from ads you may see online.
“They do not help you lose weight after delivery, nor do they have any effect on body shape,” says Dr. Joseph Chappelle, an assistant professor of OB-GYN at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York, and creator of the OB/GYN Podcast.
“They do not help you lose weight after delivery, nor do they have any effect on body shape.”
DR. JOSEPH CHAPPELLE, OB-GYN
“The most important contributors to postpartum weight loss are diet, exercise and breastfeeding,” says Chappelle. “I do have an issue with the marketing of these products at postpartum women for the sake of weight loss or body slimming.”
Duvall agrees and says that, while the wraps offer valuable support to weakened muscles, they should not be looked at as a quick way to get back in shape. There is simply no magic solution that will get you the body of your dreams after you give birth.
“A wrap is not a substitute for building muscle,” Duvall says. “It is not meant to create a smaller waist. It is meant to support muscles that are feeling unstable.”
“I had my husband bring my Belly Bandit to the hospital,” says Heather Manford, a mom of twins from Pittsburgh. “I wanted to put it on as soon as I could, because a friend told me that it would be helpful after my C-section. For me, it was a great source of support and I’m glad I had it right away.”
Experts agree that it is completely fine to begin wearing a postpartum belly wrap right after birth. In fact, that is when it’s likely to provide the most needed support.
“Wearing it immediately is OK if you feel like it’s helping to provide support,” says Duvall.
According to Dr. Chappelle, there is no real time limit on how long you can keep the belly wrap on during the day. “They can be worn for as long as they are comfortable,” she says.
Make sure you get the OK from your doctor before you start using any wrap. Some women who have had serious complications during birth, such as preeclampsia, may be told to stay away from wrapping their bellies. If you have C-section complications, your doctor may not want you to wear one either.
“Women with a separation or infection of their cesarean incision should speak with their providers before wearing a wrap or binder,” says Chappelle. “In my practice, I advise women not to wear them in these situations, as they can make those conditions worse.”
During pregnancy, your uterus grows, which in turn causes your stomach muscles to separate to create more room. Diastasis recti is a condition in which those stomach muscles remain separated even after pregnancy. Although you may have heard it suggested that postpartum wraps can help with diastasis recti, experts don’t agree.
“There is minimal research on wraps and diastasis recti, although studies have shown that physical therapy is better than wraps at improving diastasis,” Chappelle says. “The wraps can still be used for comfort but should not be used as a treatment for diastasis.”
“Diastasis recti is a very specific condition that can’t be fixed by a belly wrap,” says Duvall. “You’re dealing with a vulnerable area in your body that needs time to heal. Wrapping might help you prevent doing damage, but your body needs to heal on its own time. Go to a physical therapist if you need help with diastasis recti. Look for someone who has experience working with diastasis recti or pelvic floor issues to assist you in person.”
“Diastasis recti is a very specific condition that can’t be fixed by a belly wrap.”
SARAH ELLIS DUVALL, PHYSICAL THERAPIST
Donna Radall, a mom of three from Rensselaer, New York, says that she suffered from diastasis recti and wishes she hadn’t waited so long to seek help.
“I was doing a lot of things that I thought were going to help, including a few different wraps, but I was flying blind,” Radall says. “[My pilates instructor] suggested a physical therapist that she knew, and I made way more progress that way. Honestly, I’m just grateful I didn’t hurt myself worse during that time.”
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