In this post I am continuing to discuss skin care and beauty during and after pregnancy. I have already blogged about my experience with stretch marks and stretch mark creams. Now I want to share my thoughts about one thing that, in my opinion, played a huge role in my postpartum recovery. This important thing is a postpartum girdle! Postpartum girdles are a bit of a controversial topic as there is no direct scientific evidence that it benefits skin and muscle recovery. Most women don’t even think about using a postpartum girdle after they deliver and most of them don’t unless their OBGYN advises. In my case it was my husband who brought it to my attention. In fact, he did a small research online and found out how beneficial postpartum girdles are for abdominal recovery. The beneficial effect of postpartum girdle may be similar to that of a compression bandage or garment which helps to reduce post surgical swelling (edema) and this helps the body to heal faster. A postpartum girdle may also help to bring together stretched abdominal muscles. I got my girdle among other presents under a Christmas tree. It worked great for me. I started wearing my girdle the next day after the delivery. In fact, my OB/GYN put it on me the first time. I would make sure it was as tight as it was when my OB/GYN put it on and I wore it day and night. In a couple of days I could already see the effect – my skin looked tighter and my tummy flatter. I started wearing my pre-pregnancy clothes in 3-4 week after delivery. I wore the postpartum girdle for about a month.
I have to say that I did do some other things that could have helped the recovery. For example I started light exercise routine in about 10 days after delivery, I breastfed and had a very healthy diet because my boy was colicky all the time. I also used moisturizer regularly. However I still believe that my successful recovery was mainly due to the postpartum girdle. In fact we were so impressed with the results that we decided to create a website about postpartum girdles to share our knowledge here at Belly Bands website.
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7 comments:
Hi there, I never usually comment but this time I felt I had to put in my 2 cents. In my 'pregnancy' class the instructor advised that it is purely genetic whether or not your tummy will return to its original form post childbirth. So if your mother has a nice flat stomach, chances are that so will you after giving birth. Sadly, my mother, who is otherwise fit, has flabby skin on her tummy and stretch marks.
I wore the girdle religiously after I gave birth. I also did abdominal exercises, used stretch mark creams and all sorts of moisturizers - tried anything and everything during pregnancy and afterwards. I am sad to say I still have a flabby tummy and a ton of stretch marks. Sadly, my skin (as my mother's) just doesn't have the elasticity to contract back to normal after all that stress. Many people are lucky, I know lots of girls who did nothing and have wonderfully flat tummies having had 1, 2 or even 3 babies. The girdle is a myth. And stretch mark creams are just marketing gimmicks.
Hi! First of all thanks a lot for sharing.. thanks for taking time and telling us about your experience..i know that a lot depends on genes... sorry that in your case your skin didn't recover so well... but... well, it's worth it you know - you have a baby now... you are a Mom... it's an amazing miracle in your life :-)
ok... back to skin issues... let me ask you: before pregnancy, did you exercise regularly? Also... did you moisturize your body skin regularly? I am thinking that maybe alongside genes the way you took care of your skin pre-pregnancy could strongly influence post-partum recovery...
Galina, you look fantastic! I still have my mommy tummy, 2.5 years after giving birth! Of course, at this point it's more the cheeseburgers and milkshakes and less the baby to blame. I think so many women (myself included) take pregnancy and postpartum time as an excuse to eat whatever they want- it seems clear that you were a bit more disciplined, & it shows! Congrats :)
Hi Jessica! Thanks for your comment and sorry for my delayed response... Thanks for your nice words. I am a bit weight obsessed... lol... I am good at dieting but not always I do it the right way... Well, every coin has two sides to it... From my experience, dieting is all about discipline and just motivating and psyching yourself into achieving a certain goal each week or each month... But oh those forbidden foods like chips, cakes and milkshakes were so damn delicious during pregnancy and for some time during breastfeeding!!! lol! You are right it was VERY hard to start eating healthy again...
That is absolutely amazing… the pictures really tell the story. Well done and I’m in awe of your dedication while you had a baby to take care of!
Galina, you look good after you gave birth. Same here, i already had 3 kids my youngest is just 3 mos.old now, after giving birth, i wore my postpartum girdle for about a month, and i got the best result as i want and now i maintain my petite figure body. postpartum girdle will help you flatten your tummy and give you a lil curve on your waist as well.
I have to agree with "yeschin@gmail.com." It is all in the genes. Before I was pregnant I was 97 lbs and very fit. I was in the Army, so I did physical training every day (running, push ups, sit ups, pull ups and every other exercise you can think of). I was in great shape. I got pregnant and remained active throughout the entire pregnancy. I always did sit ups and other abdominal exercise. I even kept on running until my feet swelled up so bad I could hardly move. I gained almost 60 lbs with the pregnancy. I breastfed and ate healthy and even started running again just one week after I was home from the hospital. I have, since then, been exercising my butt off and eating right and I am still only down to 103.6 at my lightest. I still even have my love handles and flabby tummy. It is truly in the the genes. You can buy girdles, but the truth is, if you think something like that worked for you, it probably didn't. It's more likely it was your genes.
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