Best Postpartum Belly Wraps for Recovery, Tested by New Moms

Something no one prepared me for after birth was the way my body would feel after losing my bump. With baby no longer occupying the space, my once firm belly became as jiggly as the jello on my hospital tray. There was something so unsettling (and downright uncomfortable) about feeling my insides slosh around, and I knew I had to do something about it. Getting a postpartum belly wrap was one of the best decisions that I made for my post-birth recovery, and there’s plenty of evidence—both anecdotal and expert-based—to support this. Radhika Sharma, MD, a board-certified ob-gyn, attests to the effectiveness of these products: “I used a postpartum belly wrap myself and do recommend it to my patients, especially if they’re concerned with back and pelvic discomfort after giving birth.”

A postpartum belly wrap—also known as a belly band or girdle—is a flexible fabric band that provides gentle compression around your tummy and back, lending support to your weakened muscles and aiding circulation. “Women can typically begin wearing a postpartum wrap within the first few days after a vaginal birth or C-section—once they feel comfortable,” says Sarah de la Torre, MD, a double board-certified women’s health and hormone expert, a certified functional medicine practitioner, and chief medical officer at Joylux. Plenty of celebrities have touted post-pregnancy belly wraps as key to helping them recover after having a baby, but postpartum belly binding isn’t just a fad for A-listers. In fact, the practice dates back centuries. Malaysian culture refers to these postpartum belly bands as bengkung, Latin Americans use a wrap known as the faja, and Japanese mothers turn to a sarashi after birth.

Since every postpartum body and experience is different, what works for one mom might not work for another. Finding a postpartum belly wrap that serves your unique needs and body is important to feeling your best.