Pregnancy Waist Trainer - Post Pregnancy Waist Slimming

When you are pregnant, there are many things that you can and cannot do. With that in mind, many women are asking themselves whether it’s safe to wear a waist trainer while pregnant or not.

Is it safe for you and the baby? Well, this article will clear things up for you.

Can You Wear a Waist Trainer While Pregnant?

The answer to that is “absolutely not.” When a normal person wears a waist trainer or shapewear/body shapers to look like a Kardashian, it doesn’t affect or hurt them. Most waist trainers are flexible and do not have the ability to move your internal organs around. They can’t break or shift your ribs, and all they do is encourage your body to sit straight and help weight loss. Used correctly, a waist trainer will be completely safe.

However, things change when you have a pregnancy body and during the postpartum period. At this point, your belly is expanding, as a human being is beginning to grow inside of you. Waist trainers are meant to suppress an expanded stomach – so, as your stomach is trying to grow to make space for the baby, the waist trainer is trying to squish everything back. This obviously won’t help you or your baby.

At the beginning of your pregnancy, there won’t be as much to suppress – but you have to consider the fact that your body is growing. In this case, you might want to consider wearing a waist cincher instead and wrap it comfortably around your waist. Too much pressure can lead to various other problems.

Dangers of Waist Training When Pregnant

There are several dangers that you are exposed to if you wear a corset while you are pregnant. This is why pregnant women may want to wait until after they have given birth when they are postpartum and in your postpartum recovery phase. Here is what happens if you do not wait.

Hurting The Baby

Imagine you are placed in a box that is just your measurements as you are in a fetal position. At first, the box fits you tight – but then, the box starts constricting. Someone is pulling the levers, making the box smaller and constricting you even more.

You somehow still fit inside the box, but it brings you great discomfort. Your lower back support is starting to hurt, and your body develops a weird shape as time passes. Your head may even start taking the weird shape of the corner that it was stuck in.

The same thing can happen if you try to compress your body with a corset while you are pregnant. The constant pressure can be very harmful to your baby and might affect their development.

Suppressing Your Appetite

When you are pregnant, you are practically eating for two. As you are growing a baby inside of you, your body is burning more calories than usual. This is half the reason for your cravings and your need to constantly shove food in your mouth. Your body needs to make up for the calories that are burned during the “I’m growing a baby” stage.

In this case, a waist trainer not only suppresses the fat, but it also suppresses your stomach. And when your stomach is continuously suppressed, you won’t feel like eating too much. When you do eat, you’ll be eating in small portions – which definitely won’t be enough to feed both you and the baby.

You must keep yourself well-nourished during pregnancy, and the waist trainer won’t do much to help you in that regard. You need to allow your stomach to function at the proper capacity so that you can take in the proper amounts of food that you require per day.

Extreme Discomfort

Think about it: when you are wearing a waist trainer, as comfortable and flexible as it might be, it slightly compresses your organs as you secure the rows of hooks or velcro. It doesn’t move them around; just puts pressure on them. Your stomach will be compressed, meaning that you’ll be eating in smaller portions and may experience heartburn.

The same thing happens when your body is growing a baby. The more they grow, the more they will start pushing and pressing on your organs to make more space for themselves. They’ll press on your stomach, which means your appetite will be suppressed, they’ll be pushing on your bladder and make you want to pee a lot – basically, they’ll be compressing into everything.

You already have enough of a compressing problem with your baby at this point. You will only be making matters worse and severely uncomfortable if you decide to put a cherry on top and wear a waist trainer as well. If you thought wearing a waist trainer itself would be uncomfortable, it will be twice as bad with a baby growing in your belly.

Does This Mean Waist Training Is Completely Off-Limits?

While you are pregnant, waist training is completely off-limits until you are postnatal (postpartum waist training), no matter how stretchy it is. You need to give your child enough space to develop – and squishing them with a waist trainer is most definitely not going to help them grow nice and healthy. Don’t compress your belly while your baby is trying to grow. Waist to experience a postpartum waist trainer afterwards.

The option for new moms is to switch to a belly band or belly bandit rather than a waist trainer for the best postpartum support. This is a good option for those that have previously used waist trainers for their waistline, posture and back pain. Since a belly band usually wraps along the lower side of your belly and is not constrictive, but it gives extra support and it will help you with your pain and posture issues.

Think of belly bands as a bra. When you move around during the day, perhaps doing some physical activity, you need your bra to support your breasts and prevent them from bouncing up and down.

The same principle applies to your belly when you are pregnant; a band will provide gentle compression that will keep your belly straight. It’s not like the typical waist trainer that compresses your whole belly area; this one just gives you a gentle “push” from beneath.

That being said, while wearing a waist trainer is off-limits during pregnancy, you may want to consider using it post-pregnancy. A flexible model such as the one provided by LuxxCurves can help you keep your belly fat under control.

Bear in mind that you need to discuss it with your doctor before you do it for the first time. Certain procedures such as C-section might make it more complicated to wear a waist trainer right away, After all, you will have an incision to deal with and to heal.

Tips to Do Waist Training Safely

Once you have cleared it with your doctor and determined that it is ok for you to wear a waist trainer, you might want to make sure that you follow safe waist training protocol. A waist trainer that is not worn correctly can actually do more harm to your body than good.

You need to know how to wear it – and also what to do as you are wearing it. Here are some tips to ensure that your waist training is effective and safe.

Tip #1 - Adjust Your Meal Portions

When you are waist training, your stomach gets tighter as the trainer is compressing the fat around your midsection. As your stomach is pressed into, you will often feel fuller, even though you ate less than you normally do.

Rather than forcing yourself to eat more food than you can handle during a meal, try to portion your meals instead. Rather than having, say, three big meals a day, you should instead go for 6 smaller meals.

Eating with a stomach that was suppressed with a waist trainer will be like consuming a copious meal until you are about to burst. It may feel tasty on the lips, and might make you feel like you are calming your hunger – but in the end, it will just cause a lot of heartburn and stomach discomfort. It will feel like you’ve eaten too much at the Thanksgiving dinner. Please seek advice from a healthcare provider if necessary.

Tip #2 - Listen To Your Body

Your body knows exactly what it needs and what it is doing – so, for safe waist training, you might want to listen to your body. Waist trainers should not be uncomfortable and cause you pain; they should provide support at the best comfort level possible.

As a result, if you feel like your waist trainer is causing you any discomfort, you should listen to your body and stop using the product immediately. After that, think about what causes the waist trainer to be so uncomfortable.

Did you wear it too tight? Do you have a health condition that is only made worse by you wearing a waist trainer? Is the boning not to your fancy? Think about all the aspects and see what you could do in order to resolve this predicament.

Tip #3 - Get The Right Waist Trainer (Postpartum Waist Trainer)

We know your train of thought here; a smaller waist trainer should be able to offer you a better hourglass figure as compared to one that is actually your size. Let’s say that you do manage to squeeze yourself inside that waist trainer; what do you think your comfort level will be? A waist trainer that is too small will not only be very uncomfortable but may also look unsightly underneath your clothes.

You may also want to decide on the waist trainer that you need. For instance, if you want to wear it throughout the day, a standard waist trainer like the ones provided by LuxxCurves might be exactly what you need. On the other hand, if you want to exercise, you might want to go for a fitness band. Regular waist trainers are not that great or even recommended for exercising, but a fitness band is.

Moreover, different waist trainers may be made for different body types. If you are curvy but go for a model suited for straight-waist types or vice-versa, not only may the corset prove to be very uncomfortable, but it can also be rendered inefficient. This is why you need to get a waist trainer that was made for your body type.

Tip #4 - Take Some Breaks

You might think that it’s alright to wear the waist trainer all day, from morning until you go to bed, even as a beginner. Still, for safety purposes, you might want to take a break now and again.

As a beginner, you might not want to wear the waist trainer for more than 2 hours a day. Even as you are getting used to the trainer, you should take the occasional “breather” – a day or half a day when you are not wearing the product. This will prevent you from issues such as heartburn or digestion problems.

Tip #5 - Exercise and Follow a Healthy Diet

For the best waist training effect, you might want to exercise and follow a healthy diet. Think about it this way: when you eat unhealthy food, you get a lot of heartburn without actually doing anything special. Eating unhealthy food while wearing a waist trainer will only make it more difficult for your stomach to handle.

At the same time, you might want to consider a regular exercise routine. However, keep in mind that you should not wear a waist trainer as you are exercising. Take it off and wear a waist cincher or a fitness belly belt or pelvis belt instead. This will help you sweat out more without making exercising too uncomfortable.

You may achieve good results even without exercising, but by doing so, you will accelerate the process. Plus, by strengthening your abdominal muscles, you are making yourself less prone to getting injured as you are waist training.

Summary - Why Waist Training is a No-No During Pregnancies but a Winner Postnatal

Waist training and tight materials (breathable or otherwise) are a no-no during pregnancies because your belly needs the extra space to expand. Your baby is growing and is trying to make room so that they can grow into a healthy child.

Compressing your belly to look smaller is not going to allow your baby to develop – and aside from the harm to your baby, it also causes great discomfort and suppresses your appetite. It’s best to leave the waist training until after you’ve had your baby, to get your body back into shape.