Lots of women love wearing acompression garment after their c-section. Without it they feel unsupported and
‘loose’. A much praised benefit of a belly wrap is that the firm support after
the baby’s born gives them a safe feeling.
Abdominal binders are commonly
worn after surgery or childbirth which makes them a popular means of aiding
c-section recovery.
In particular after a ceasarean
section women find the compression offers reassurance the incision wound will
not burst open. The feeling of your insides falling out when rolling over to
get out of bed for the first time is quite common among women recovering from a
c-section.
After all, a cesarean section is
an invasive procedure that involves cutting through your abdomen and uterus.
Although your stomach muscles aren’t cut there’s considerable damage to your
body.
In a c-section a surgical cut is
made into the abdominal wall and then the stomach muscles are pulled apart to
reveal the uterus.
The surgeon’s scalpel doesn’t cut
trough the rectus muscles but the connective tissue (fascia) to which the
muscles are attached is cut. This allows the obstetrician to separate the
muscles and to reach the next fascia layer. In total about 6 or 7 incisions are
made this way in a typical C-section.
These incisions and pullling out
the baby between the muscle fibers causes stretching. The stretching, together
with nerves being cut and loss of blood supply, may involve muscle damage which
may make it challenging to get your stomach back into good muscle tone
afterwards.
During the recovery the separated
fascia will reconnect. This is sometimes done through stitches. Since the
abdominal organs may be affected during the surgery, sharp pains and pain
around the incision site are common.
This invasiveness of the cesarean
section surgery is why the fear of spilling your bowels is quite
understandable. It’s also a major reason why the extra support offered by a
post-partum girdle is so valued.
On top of that C-section girdles
have various additional benefits. Here are the most common reasons for mothers
to wear one or another type of postpartum compression garment.
Benefits of wearing a pregnancy
girdle girdle after your caesaran section
to feel less self-conscious over a
still bulging belly after a demanding pregancy (they make you feel and look
thinner),
to help straighten the spine after
nine months of carrying the baby,
compression helps reduce swelling,
to prevent your sagging stomach
from hurting your incision,
to support a sore back and
distended abdominal muscles,
to give you more freedom of
movement and flexibility, for example when bending down and picking your baby
up from the changing table,
to support not only the abdomen
area, but the legs, hips and backside too,
extra suppport while
breastfeeding,
to help alleviate pain,
to reduce scar tissue since
compression is a commonly used and proven scar reduction treatment,
to reduce pressure and as a result
tearing of the scar tissue and surrounding tissue,
to speed recovery and reduce
discomfort in case you suffer from diastasis recti – the separation of the
abdominal muscle by the growing uterus or childbirth.
How does a C-section compression
garment work?
A C-section girdle is a specially
designed garment women wear after a cesarean birth. These garments are also
called belts, wraps, corsets, post-baby girdles, mother-tuckers, and binders.
The differences are in the features they offer.
Some may think these are just for
appearances but they do much more than acting as post-natal body shapers.
By putting pressure on your lower
abdomen and supporting the lumbar region of your back these garments draw in
stretched and weakened muscles and provide a 360° support structure around your
torso.
This added support reduces strain
on joints and ligaments in your lower back, pelvis, and buttocks. Less stress
in these areas improves your body’s
ability to return to its normal pre-pregnancy state. Constrained and shifted
organs are thought align faster because of the extra support.
The most commonly cited benefit is
are that they allow moms to feel comfortable again since a long time. Their
skin and muscles are pulled back in what feels like their original position.
Other advantages are that they
help prevent the most common problems after a C-section which include:
bacterial infections of the incision, pelvic adhesions and scarring.
Extra support stimulates you to
walk and move more
Besides a more secure feeling
regarding your incision you are likely to feel more confident and comfortable.
Sitting down and standing up is easier.
Coughing or sneezing aren’t
painful and there’s less chance on opening of the surgical wound. As a result
you may feel like moving more and obviously, the more you move, the quicker you
will get your shape back. What’s more is that walking can help you recover from
a C-section faster.
Walking after a c-section promotes
healing because it;
increases circulation throughout
the body,
helps relieve constipation,
boosts the immune system,
helps prevent common potential
ailments following a C-section such as pneumonia.
Does a compression garment hurt or
damage your incision?
It is completely understandable to
worry about the corset interfering with your incision. But the opposite is actually true.
Compression has been used for a long time to promote wound and scar healing.
Abdominal binders, when worn
around your midsection can actually speed healing and recovery.
Compression is known to increase
blood flow, reduce swelling, prevent wounds from opening, reduce tension on
newly formed scar tissue (which reduces the risk on excess scar tissue).
Obviously compression should be
applied moderately. So avoid tightening a binder to the point that it hurts or
you have trouble breathing.
Do c-section compression girdles
speed up your return to pre-pregnancy size?
It is commonly thought that a
postpartum girdle helps make your still-pregnant-looking-belly smaller more
quickly. The theory behind this claim is that the gentle compression on the abs
stimulates the uterus to return to its normal size.
Celebrities such as actress
Jessica Alba attributed redeeming her old physique and super flat tummy to
wearing two girdles, one on top of the other, day and night, for three months.
Kourtney Kardashian glorified the
Belly Bandit stating the wrap is not only stylish and sexy but “actually helps
tighten and shrink your belly after giving birth” and “really does accelerate
the entire healing process.
Belly wraps are said to help you
get your shape back by reducing the swelling of the uterus by basically
shrink-wrapping the tummy. They are said to reposition internal organs to their
original state and encourage muscle memory thus enhancing the healing process.
“It wasn’t my intention to get my
shape back asap, I wanted it for supporting my lower back. The binder really
helped with the pain and although I gained almost 55 pounds I was able to fit
my jeans at the time my son was 9 weeks old.
I have recommended them to my sister who’s expecting too.”
It’s quite common to lots of
weight during pregnancy and pregnant women retain lots fluid. After having stayed in the hospital for a few
nights it’s common to be incredibly swollen. In case there has been lots of
pushing prior to the decision to do a C-section, swelling of the perineum may
occur.
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