Childbirth is a gifted nature for women, with their bodies naturally prepared for the arrival of the new life. During pregnancy, women will experience changes in their hormones and physiology. The reproductive hormone "Relaxin" released in the body will widen the pelvic bone, broaden the hips, and expand the uterus. At the same time, the internal organs will shift positions due to the body's transposition, and the belly will also expand. These body changes provide enough space for the baby to grow inside the mother's uterus. However, it also brings a burden to the mother's body.
The enlarged uterus will stretch the abdominal muscles, causing the rectus abdominis muscles on both sides to separate from the linea alba and protrude the other muscles in the middle, forming a false belly that is difficult to flatten. In addition, the separation of rectus abdominis muscles will cause the anterior abdomen to lose muscle support. The pressure caused by the body's load will shift and concentrate on the back, which may eventually lead to labour injuries, causing mothers to feel back pain easily. If the weakened muscles in the pelvic cavity cannot control the sphincter, it is more likely to cause urinary incontinence.
Even after delivery, the mother's body, especially the pelvic bone, hip bone, hips, and rectus abdominis muscles, will not fully recover without proper care. Thus the body problems mentioned above may persist, causing discomfort and trouble to mothers.
The traditional ancient belly binding (abdominal binding) method leverages binding skills to squarely treat the problems caused by the separated rectus abdominis muscles and the expanded skeleton, allowing postpartum women to slowly adjust their bodies back to the original state, thus help mothers restore their pre-pregnancy figure, while also solving the troubles caused by back pain and urinary incontinence.
This ancient belly-binding treatment has a long history, originating from natural postpartum body-shaping therapy in Malaysia and Indonesia before the 17th century. In recent years, it has been widely introduced to Hong Kong and has become a typical therapy for local postpartum recovery and body shaping.
About the author:
Kalie Leung
Kalie Leung is a mother of two, the founder of Herbal Senses, a professional belly binding therapist, massage therapist, baby massage instructor, and a registered member of the UK's two professional therapy associations, FHT and CTHA. In addition to completing the Malaysian Tanamera Postnatal Treatment Course in belly-binding and the Indonesian Postnatal Treatment Course in Jamu Spa School with distinction, Kalie has also obtained qualifications such as the level 3 UK ITEC Diploma in Holistic Massage, accredited Pregnancy and Postnatal Massage Diploma, and the Advanced Course in Chinese Massage Therapy by the Chinese University of Hong Kong School of Professional and Continuing Education.