The #1 thing you need to buy for yourself during pregnancy in order for a successful postpartum recovery as a new mom. 

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.

 

 

You may be nearing your third trimester of pregnancy or you are nearing your due date and you are making sure you have everything you need for baby’s arrival. It’s time to get that checklist marked off sooner rather than later.

There are a lot of things that you need to buy for your baby, but there are so many important products that you need to buy for yourself during pregnancy that you will need as a new mom.

There is one very important thing in particular that you may not have thought about purchasing but is a must have item to help take care of yourself.

Today I’m going to go in depth on what that one thing is and why you need to have one for the best postpartum recovery experience.

The #1 Thing You Need To Buy For Yourself During Pregnancy

 

That one thing is a postpartum belly wrap.

I’m a physical therapist and I highly recommend getting one if you planning for postpartum recovery. Postpartum belly wraps are great to wear after you have your baby, typically 48 hours after giving birth to your baby. 

Postpartum Belly wraps are a great external support system to help compress your uterus while your body is naturally contracting to compress your uterus back to its normal size after childbirth.

Related: 11 Best Postpartum Belly Wraps of 2020

Breastfeeding is another natural form of uterine contraction but this can be a slow process of healing. 

Postpartum belly wraps act as an assistant to the natural contractions that take place in your uterus. The wrap speeds up the healing process. 

How Do Postpartum Belly Wraps Work?

 

A postpartum belly wrap acts as an assistant to help speed up the process of shrinking down our uterus and putting it back into its normal place.

Since our abdominal muscles are weak and stretched after 9 months of pregnancy, it’s hard to rely on our ab muscles to do the job. And we shouldn’t be doing ab exercises until after 6 weeks of postpartum recovery anyways (learn more here). 

But the great thing is that the postpartum belly wrap can be worn 48 hours after giving birth. So this is the perfect option to flatten our belly in the early stages of postpartum recovery when we can’t do much else the first 6 weeks. 

Related: Postpartum Exercise: When To Start And How To Get A Flat Tummy

The Best Postpartum Belly Wraps of 2022

 

Speaking of 48 hours, can you imagine just having a baby and then going out to find a postpartum belly wrap or spending time searching and shopping for one online with hundreds of choices to choose from?

There are so many options for postpartum belly wraps, some work and some don’t.

But I’m trying to help you prepare so you are not scrambling at the last minute to find the right one for you. Here is a great list of postpartum belly wraps that actually do work.

Also, it’s great to have the postpartum belly wrap waiting for you in your hospital bag so when it’s time to be discharged from the hospital a few days after delivery, you can walk out the hospital doors with the added support from the postpartum belly wrap.

Related: The Complete 3-in-1 Postpartum Belly Wrap Review

How Long Should You Wear A Postpartum Belly Wrap

 

A lot of new moms come find me when it’s too late. They are 6 months postpartum and they are finally ready to get their pre-pregnancy body back, flat and toned up.

They think a postpartum belly wrap will help them, but unfortunately it won’t.

Postpartum moms who wait for 4 months or later to purchase a postpartum belly wrap and wear it are actually out of the prime time window for optimal results from a postpartum belly wrap.

Our uterus does most of its shrinking due to the hormone oxytocin being in our body up to around 4 months postpartum. After that, we are fighting a lost cause.

So take my advice, research the best postpartum belly wraps now and be sure to purchase one in advance so that you can have it ready for yourself once the baby arrives. This is by far the most important thing you need to buy for yourself during pregnancy because it will ultimately help you to have a more comfortable and speedy recovery postpartum.

Wear it starting at 48 hours after childbirth up to 4 months postpartum. If you need more information on how long you should wear a postpartum belly wrap throughout the day, this article goes into specifics on how to progress your wear time. 

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.

*It is important to always consult your doctor before beginning any exercise program and get medical clearance. Always warm up thoroughly and stretch after all workouts. LiveCoreStrong.com and Jena Bradley will be not be responsible or liable for any injury sustained while exercising at home, gym or elsewhere. Perform exercises at your own risk.

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