Sacred Belly Bind
healing postpartum women naturally
Why Choose a
sacred Belly Bind?
“When we honor the pregnant woman, we make all life sacred” – Anni Daulter
Childbirth is a remarkable phenomenon experienced by women around the world every second of every day. While a new life is being nurtured in the mother’s womb for nine months her body goes through tremendous change and growth. After birth a mother’s body requires time to mend. One of the most natural aids in this healing process is the use of a traditional belly bind, valuable in reducing recovery time of both a vaginal and cesarean delivery.
For centuries women from Japanese, Latin American and Malaysian cultures have been using belly binding as support during postpartum recovery. Our focus is on a form of Sacred Belly Binding that uses a long strip of cloth to wrap a woman’s abdomen, covering everything between her chest and hips, to help compress and support the womb, abdominal wall and internal organs that shifted to house baby. The uterus can grow to 20 times its original weight and 1,000 times volume in those nine months. A cervix in labor dilates to 10cm. Abdominal and pelvic muscles stretch as baby grows and travels through the birth canal. All of these changes are vital to a healthy pregnancy and birth, leaving a woman’s body transformed.
Sacred Belly Bind provides postpartum body support and reduces healing time for a new mother. Binding can start a few days following a vaginal birth and one to two weeks after a cesarean. The bind can be used all day and overnight, and is usually most helpful from a few days postpartum to about six weeks later. It should be removed while showering and changed and re- wrapped every other day.
While a new mother requires all kinds of support, belly binding is the best physical aid to help a woman heal. Along with the numerous health benefits listed this ancient method is traditionally believed to prevent “wind” from entering a new mother’s body and help keep her warm. What warms her body provides comfort, something that can often be hard to find in the postpartum phase. A woman who is healed physically will be better able to care for her growing child.
Our goal is to help nurture each child, by first caring for the mother.