Product – Post pregnancy belly wraps
Actual products trialled – The Belly Co and The Belly Bandit
Category – Post pregnancy body
Cost – Belly Co – 45.95, Belly Bandit $74.95
Where purchase from – various retailers in Australia plus online
Web purchase www.bellyco.com.au and www.bellybandit.com.au
Lose Baby Weight belly wrap ratings – 4 stars out of 5

The Review

When I was 9 months pregnant I saw an advert for a product that claimed to help your stomach muscles reform post pregnancy and help rid you of the belly fat that all new mums hate! So I decided to try this product and after some research I found there were two products in Australia that claim to help to help the stomach – one was The Belly Bandit and the other The Belly Co. So for the purpose of review for the Lose Baby Weight customers I decided to try them both out.
I had no idea what my post baby belly would look like.  My 9 month pregnancy belly was taut and well formed and I was intrigued – if not a little nervous too – about how it would look post birth.  I had read about the post birth belly resembling a sunken blamange – all puffy, flabby and rather sad looking so that is what I was expecting and prepared myself for.  But I wasn’t too concerned about it all as it was all part and parcel of childbirth and I was confident that post birth my Lose Baby Weight program and exercise regime would get me back in shape over a few months.
I gave birth naturally – as in a vaginal birth – and also had an epidural to help the pain which did get to an unbearable point (I can’t recommend the epidural enough – as soon as it kicked in I felt nothing which was a massive relief after a painful 8 hours of labour), and a few hours later I was up and about getting showered by the midwife.  As I was getting showered I looked down and there my belly was.  Considerably smaller than a few hours earlier and I could now see my feet – and instead of 9 months pregnant I looked about 4 months pregnant.  It didn’t look like a deflated cake I was pleased to see but it was rather jellyish! But it was great to be able to move around without having to worry about my bump and be able to lie on my belly too and I was very pleased with the whole movement aspect of my new body – although I did still have my catheter in (and some lovely stitches) so I wasn’t doing any breakdancing yet!
I went home 3 days after the birth and my belly had shrunk more – this was due to me losing more fluid and my uterus contracting so I was happy about this and then a couple of days later my belly reached it’s new shape – which was unfortunately a bit sunken cakey!.  Oh well! So, with everything all being quite sore with my body I put off the thought of any exercise for the next few weeks and instead began using the Belly Bandit and the Belly Co to kick start the return of my stomach muscles.
Post pregnancy there is always a lot of talk of the separation of the stomach muscles as the baby belly grows.  To be honest I hadn’t paid a huge amount of notice to this but as I now had some work to do on my belly I asked our Personal Trainer to write me some blogs on the subject and it was eye opening. After reading his blog on How to strengthen your core after pregnancy I lay down on my back and tensed my stomach muscles then felt the middle of my tummy – YIKES there was a big gap running down my front!! This was the stomach muscle separation that I had heard about!  Both the Belly Bandit and belly co claimed to help these separated muscles rejoin by pulling them both together – which seemed like a GREAT idea – especially as exercise was out of the window for the next few weeks.
The Belly Bandit and Belly Co were both very similar in what they did and what they looked like (The Belly Bandit was an American Company and The Belly Co was an Australian Company).  Both claimed to  support and help to flatten the stomach post pregnancy and help to restore your pre pregancy belly and support your back.  They were approximately a 20 cm width and had a stretchy but taut fabric with Velcro to fasten each side together – the idea being that they sit very firmly and tightly around your midriff and pull everything together and both were available in standard material and bamboo material.
So I put them on and both of them gave a very snug and firm feeling which sucked my jelly belly in and gave a lot of support which was a great feeling.  I must say that they also worked wonders for my back pain which I had now developed from constantly holding my baby and breastfeeding him and the lower back support was just fantastic. For the next few weeks I religiously wore both The Belly Bandit and The Belly Co everyday and although my jelly belly didn’t disappear I did notice a difference in my stomach muscles and I  started to notice a difference in my waist size which is great news and I now can’t wait to start up some exercises which will specifically focus on my stomach and core so I can get my pre pregnancy stomach back!
What are the differences between the two products?
From a functionality standpoint they are both very similar and I couldn’t notice a difference between the two.  Both websites offer considerable information re sizing and how the products work and the websites should be checked for any special offers as both have online shops as well as retailers around Australia where you can buy.  The standard Belly Bandit wrap retails at $74.95 and the standard Belly Co wrap retails at $45.95, both also offer discounts, bundle packs and gift certificates.
What does the Belly Co say about belly wraps?
Western women are quickly discovering, the many reasons to continue with the ancient practice of belly wrapping, and that it is a key secret in ensuring restored self confidence and restoring your stomach to pre-pregnancy shape and size.
Not only is it believed that constant increased pressure against the abdominal area reduces the size of the swollen uterus, flattens the belly and redefines the waistline helping you to get back into shape quickly and naturally, it has also been shown to give additional support to the legs and back all while providing much needed support for your postnatal belly.
For breast feeding mothers, belly wrapping after pregnancy can also help support your posture during feeding, keeping your back straight, thus reducing associated back and shoulder pain and minimising fatigue.
Some other important benefits:

  • Minimises swelling
  • Aids in decreasing bloating caused by water retention
  • Reduces discomfort
  • May assist in accelerating the healing process
  • Assist in the healing process after a twin pregnancy
  • May help minimise postnatal stretch marks
  • Abdominal support & comfort after cesarean (c-section)
  • May assist in repositioning the uterus
  • Can be used to assists in healing diastasis recti