What brand maternity support belt would you recommend?

June 3, 2007 5:40 PM

Has anyone used a maternity belly support belt that they would recommend? If so what brand?

I work a desk job 9-5, but two nights a week I also bartend.

At 25 weeks, I'm starting to feel very sore at the end of a night on my feet in the lower belly/pelvic areas. This isn't back pain.

I bartended when I was pregnant with my first child 3 years ago, and don't remember being this sore at the end of the night. I'm reasonably fit in general and have only gained 14 pounds so far, right on track for 25-30 total.

I suspect a support belt of some sort that I've seen advertised might do the trick, just to hold up or distribute some of the belly weight but I don't want to but one without a recommendation.

posted by mazienh to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

My wife used a Japanese obi (belt) that was specifically designed for the purpose. We got it from her mother-in-law, who also showed me how to wrap it up. It only takes a couple of minutes (once a day) but IIRC it's a two-person job. It was just a long strip of cloth that we wrapped around the ... affected area.
posted by spacewrench at 6:01 PM on June 3, 2007

My wife is currently using the Stork s'port to support the little one, it seems to be working for her.
posted by nkeown at 7:18 PM on June 3, 2007

Two recommendations: My wife used Bellaband for the entire pregnancy and loved it - she compared it to a sports bra for her belly. It also can go over unbuttoned pre-maternity pants to hold them up or under a shirt that rides up to act as an undershirt. Highly recommended, but possibly less support than you're looking for. For more support she got a "maternity support belt" from motherhood.com (under accessories) and wore it most days at the end - midwife recommended for her pubic symphysis.
posted by true at 7:57 PM on June 3, 2007

I don't remember the brand I used (it looks like the Bellaband in true's link), but if you're standing a lot, a check-in with a podiatrist/orthopedist might not hurt. I know you're not having back pain now, but as the belly starts to push out more, and the joints start getting wobbly, good support shoes will be a godsend.
posted by lysdexic at 8:06 PM on June 3, 2007

Honestly, I used the one that JCPenney sells (cat number RN129-3297D). It's not as fancy as the other ones, but it worked just fine, even though kid#2 was on the large size (9.6#) , and decided that he wanted to ride out (people often thought I was months further along than I was, or that I was carrying twins).
posted by jlkr at 9:35 PM on June 3, 2007

Prenatal Cradle, all the way!
posted by houseofdanie at 10:46 PM on June 3, 2007

Mrs. Plinth used the Prenatal Cradle and highly recommends the adjustable version.
posted by plinth at 6:17 PM on June 4, 2007