"While you may have detested even the thought of wearing this type of garment before you conceived, there is no question that you have to change your thinking. Not only will a pregnancy girdle help your clothes to look and fit better, the extra support it provides to your tummy AND your back can help ease many pregnancy aches and pains, and even prevent some from occurring at all," says Bouchez.
But if you are tempted to skip the maternity department and instead shop for a regular girdle in a larger size, don't. While support is important, Bouchez points out that it's equally important that your stomach does not experience extreme compression.
"Most maternity girdles concentrate on back support and have ultra stretchy, soft front panels that won't bind or cut your stomach in front. So, they are both safer and more comfortable to wear," says Bouchez.
After your baby is born she suggests investing in a postpartum girdle. These garments offer extra support under the stomach, while keeping waist compression to a minimum. Many also come with a snap closure on the crotch, allowing you to easily change a menstrual pad without having to pull the girdle down.
Colette Bouchez is an award winning medical journalist with more than twenty years experience. She is the former medical writer for the New York Daily News, and the top selling author of The V Zone, co-author of Getting Pregnant and upcoming book, Your Perfectly Pampered Pregnancy. Currently a daily medical correspondent for HealthDay News Service/The New York Times Syndicate, and WebMD, her popular consumer health articles appear daily online, as well as in newspapers nationwide and in Europe and Japan. She is a regular contributor to USAToday.com, ABCNews.com, MSNBC.com and more than two dozen radio and television news stations nationwide. She lives in New York City.
Copyright © Colette Bouchez. Permission to republish granted to Pregnancy.org, LLC.
