belly binding

Submitted by moominmama on June 20, 2011 - 4:13pm
Body: 

Hello!

Does anyone have any experience/information on the effect of post-partum belly binding on prolapse? I know it's a traditional practice in many countries, but was wondering about the effect on intra-abdominal pressure, etc.

I am 35+/40 in my second pregnancy, and having a petite frame, it seems my abdominal muscles just have to unzip a little to make enough room. I've read about how helpful belly binding is in the recovery period to help everyhting back into place, but never with any mention of p.o.p.

I don't know how much has slipped out of place, but I definitely have a pronounced rectocele from my first birth. It was a bit of a shock to find I had a prolapse of any sort, as I kept being told everyhting was normal down there, and then suddenly at 20 weeks in this pregnancy had an ob-gyn start talking about bed rest and surgerey and how badly did I want more kids, without telling me what she was talking about. All she would say was that I have a general pelvic instability, and would find it increasingly difficult to carry a pregnancy, even if I managed to carry this one to term. (Yeah right. I found this site, bought the book, and have been enjoying an active and healthy 3rd trimester.) Anyhow, although all is well and under control rigt now, I am anxious to avoid any worsening after the birth.

granolamom

June 20, 2011 - 5:56pm

hi there moominmama
I'm not sure what your obgyn means by 'pelvic instability'. to me, this sounds like something apart from a prolapse. when I hear that term I think about the bony pelvis and maybe the muscles and tendons that hold it stable/allow it to move and carry weight.
why is he recommending bed rest? surgery?
I'm finding myself getting ruffled thinking about a dr who tells a pg woman her body cant carry the pg to term unless he's got a good medical reason to feel that way.
but back to belly binding.
my abdominals had to unzip too, I'm not tiny but on the smallish average side, 5ft5in and prepg weight of 120, but I carry HUGE. I gain about 50 lb with each pg and I carry straight out front and low. I developed a diastasis after my second pg, and once I got into the firebreathing/posture/nauli it healed completely. reappeared during my subsequent pg's and now I have no evidence of it.
I would think that binding would prevent the muscles from being stretched apart while they are healing, but you can accomplish the same thing with WW posture. when you separate your ribcage and your navel as much as you can, you lengthen the abdominals and bring them close together. without putting pressure on the pelvic organs the way I imagine a binding would.
so a very long post to say, I wouldnt bind my belly pp.

edited to add: I'm forgetting things. dh says I had no diastasis with the last two pg's.

louiseds

June 20, 2011 - 7:28pm

Hi Moominmamma

We have discussed binders and binding before. You might like to use the Search box to find these posts. In the meantime I will contact Aza who is one of our 'resident' Forum midwives. I will ask her to read your post and comment. It might not be for a few days as she is away and out of contact for 10 days, but I am sure she will post when she returns.

So go Searching and do some reading in the meantime.

Louise

aza

June 28, 2011 - 4:17pm

Hey moomimama,

I am with gmom...those are some pretty big opinions and statements for your doctor to make about your body. The fact is, the lack on continuity of care often robs most medical practitioners of the ability to see if their ideas and theories (such as the one presented to you about your body) are actually accurate in the long run. So there is a great deal of false info and opinions given to the vast majority of women.

Binding - with knowledge about WW posture and being careful about using binding as structural he;p rather than full-on support, I think binding can be wonderful in that it encourages women to maintain proper posture when the sore and changing pp body might benefit from a little extra reminders. This is the one I have been using for the last few years, and it is wonderful.
http://karenyiau.com/happyconfinement/2009/06/30/how-to-wear-a-bengkung/

Some women rave about it, and for others it doesn't feel quite right, so they give it a miss.

I cannot stress enough how the entire effect of any sort of external support is negated if it is not used to enhance posture which is already in place. The bengkung is nice in that the belly area can be kept loose and the sacrum and upper rib cage can be laced a bit tighter for more support.

A :)

moominmama

July 3, 2011 - 12:31pm

Thanks for the feedback!
A, it is over my hips and ribs I feel like I might need support, and it sounds as though it's worked for others, so I guess I'll wait and see how I feel after the birth. I've had a fair bit of damage to my lower back, and my ribcage has cranked open a surprising amount to accommodate the baby.

gmom, I started paying more attention to my upper body posture, and the stretched, tender feeling at the point where my muscles are separated has eased a lot already, so I'm sure you are right that posture alone should help it heal afterward. I seemed to heal quickly after my first birth, but then I was thinking maybe it happened sooner in this pregnancy because I didn't do enough to help it heal last time. I think I'm just a fair bit bigger this time around! Anyhow, I'm back to feeling pretty good again, and it looks like baby #2 will be making an appearance any time now.

I hadn't thought about the lack of continuity of care affecting dr.s formation of opinions; that makes sense. Though I still don't like getting spoken to like that. By "general pelvic instability", the ob-gyn seemed to mean that the support structures in my pelvis are so weak that everyhting was slipping under the added weight. I do have a lot of damage to my pelvis and lower back from various accidents, and had torn some pelvic floor muscle that never healed properly after my first birth. My sacro-iliac joints tend to slip out of place easily under normal circumstances. I used to manage that problem by keeping really fit through farm work and light landscaping work, as well as horseback riding and lots of walking. Now I do housework and walk everywhere at a 3-year-old's pace. The dr. seemed to be including the lax joints and p.o.p as all one problem, though having read some of Christine's book, I now realize that the prolapse was most likely the result of mis-management of labour.

I had meant to mention before that one of the problems I had earlier in the pregnancy was pelvic girdle pain. At 20 weeks my pelvis seemed to be trying it's best to fall apart - I was unable to walk over uneven ground, and had to wake my husband up to help if I wanted to turn over in bed. Looking at the WW posture, I realized that my nice well-trained, straight-backed posture that physios and chiropractors have complimented me on for years was actually pulling the pelvic joints apart. As the weight I was carrying increased, I was tucking my tailbone down to prevent "excessive lordosis", which was progressively tightening the muscles around my tailbone and putting stress on the upper part of the pelvis. A few days practicing my posture in the mirror, and 1/2 hour with a good remedial massage therapist, and I could walk normally again! Woohoo! I feel so much mroe graceful now, despite the size of my belly, and can once again crouch down, climb stairs, and carry my little girl. I'm having a (tiny) bit of discomfort again at the pubic symphasis, but then the baby is now fully engaged, so perhaps that's to be expected.

-moominmama

louiseds

July 3, 2011 - 6:59pm

Hi Moominmama

It is great to hear that you are making some real good sense of the difference between the 'medical' model of good posture and WW posture.

My guess is that the discomfort you are experiencing now might be precisely because the baby's head has become fully engaged.

Where you had the baby supporting your ribcage before, now baby has moved down, your ribcage would be flapping around a bit. And as you approach labour your lumbar curve will be straightening and your pelvis will be tipping back a bit more, to straighten the birth path (and allow the baby's head to engage). this will put some pressure on the front of your pubic symphysis, which is, of course, looser than normal, in preparation for birth.

I am sure it will be fine once you get through the next couple of weeks, and through the birth. Wooo. More baby news on the way!

Louise