Should you Wear a Waist Trainer after baby?

I often receive the question of what do I think about a waist trainer? Or do you recommend I wear an ab splint after having a baby? And the short answer is it depends. If you do choose to wear one, please don’t wear it for an extended period of time.

Here’s the thing, our body is amazing, and it has everything we need inside of us.  You have muscles deep within your core that go around your body like a corset,

they are your Transverse Abdominis Muscles 

and if they are working properly, they will hold your organs in like a corset would.  They also are natural bracers to protect the low back from pain, if they are firing properly.  

Unfortunately, after pregnancy these muscles can get stretched out and don’t work as effectively as they used to, but this doesn’t mean that they can’t.  It just means you need to take a little bit of extra time to get them firing on and working for you again.  

So if you need to wear a waist trainer for the first couple of weeks than that is ok, but do not continue much beyond that and here is why.

Why you shouldn’t wear a waist trainer

If you have ever had a cast on or worn a sling you will know the effects of not using a muscle.  It starts to get smaller, weakens, and stops working effectively.  This is the same with the muscles around your core.  If you are wearing a waist trainer, it is what is supporting your mid-section all day. This is the job of your muscles and if they aren’t being required to work, they won’t.  

I once had a client who wore a corset for years. She ended up with Diastasis Recti (DR), and very little core strength.  We had to work on strengthening her core muscles so that her DR would heal and bring back normal function to her core.

Strengthen your Core

I always recommend you start with making sure you are focusing on your posture and breathing to begin. These are foundational movements that you need to control first before you start doing crunches, sit ups, and planks.  If you do not start there, then you may cause more harm than good.  

​Here are a few breathing exercises that you can try:

Make sure to grab our guide on Understanding why you have a Low Belly Pooch to help you get started with strengthening your core.

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What is Diastasis Recti