Binding Your Hips???

Never heard of such a thing, but it doesn't sound all that differnt from a girdle, and there is no way I would ever wear one of those.
I was back in my pre-preg jeans less than a month after my daughter was born, but I didn't gain excessive weight while pregnant. Pretty much all my extra weight left with the baby.

If it worked we'd all be doing it. :(

I never heard of something like that. Sounds fishy to me.

My hips are no bigger then they were before my pregnancy, however, I was in good physical shape going in to pregnancy, didn't over do it on weight gain and was back to pre pregnancy pretty fast.

You can get your pre pregnancy body back fairly fast with a little exercise and eating well.

Best wishes!

I have read about this. Sheila Kitzinger, a cultural anthropologist, writes about it in her books for moms in "The Year after Childbirth". She has traveled around the world and writes extensively on birth, the political implications, as well as how other cultures birth their babies.

What you are describing sounds to me much like bellywrapping, which is an ancient practice which began in Japan. Their wrap is called a sarashi and it's usually a long wide strip of cloth wrapped repeatedly around the midsection. Of course, we have our own culture which makes a compression wrap that fastens with velcro.:) Many other cultures use compression wraps as well and there. Much like you would use a cast to 'set' a broken bone, wraps help those stretched vertical muscles to come together and be held in place. I didn't use one-- but it makes sense to me.

Face it, nothing goes back to per-pregnancy size and shape after you have a baby -- and especially not after 2. Give it up. Resolve that your body changed as much as your life has. Embrace the changes.

Your pelvis expands and separates during pregnancy to accommodate baby and birth. It will find it's way back to it's normal place with time.

I'm sure there are people who wear the belt and get great results... but THEY would have gotten those results ANYWAY. It probably can't hurt anything permanently, but if it's tight enough to make you believe it's moving your BONES, it's probably not very comfortable.

Just keep yourself healthy and happy, exercise regularly and you will get back whatever body you are supposed to have.

HTH
T.

Hmmm, sounds a little to good to be true to me, but it can't hurt to try it.

Edited:

Binding your hips in order get back to pre-pregnancy size sounds unlikely. Your hips are your hips. They get looser during pregnancy but slowly return to normal (or, more realistically, the post-pregnancy New Normal).

What I did use after my second was a maternity belt (essentially a 4-5 inch wide elastic band) because my sacroiliac was really out of whack and causing me serious back pain. I had to have PT for it. My joints were very fluid, and the belt kept everything in place.

ETA: Take a look at your responses, Sunny: You have a lot of naysayers who never tried it, and you have a couple who did try it, and it seemed to work for them. You have NO ONE on here saying, yes I tried it, and it absolutely did not work. It is worth the $12 to see if we are right. I would NEVER buy into hype over this. I'm an RN, and did a TON of real research before deciding to try it. There is a hormone called Relaxin that your body produces that loosens the cartilage in your hips so you can give birth. That hormone circulates for months after birth, and it during that time that your hips are "pliable" and able to be coaxed back to their original place. Some people are lucky enough for that to happen on its own, and some (dare I say MANY) learn to live with their newly widened post-birth hips. Those who say its too good to be true are probably just bummed that they didn't try it! I'm so glad I did. Glad, too, that I didn't spend $60 on a "designer" one, just a similar product that worked. I'm not gonna lie; you have to wear it about 20 hours a day, but the results are worth it, and I found it very comfortable.

I did it after babies 4 and 5, and yes, I think it made a tremendous difference in how fast my tummy went down, and hips too. It also just felt incredibly good to have support for all my internal organs that seemed to just be "floating" around in there as they tried to find their way back to their usual spots!
I didn't go fancy; I ordered an abdominal binder from Amazon, and it was called the McDavid waist trimmer, I think (I have zero ties to that company, BTW!) The one I used before that one was from Walmart, in the exercise section. I would never give birth again without immediately putting one on, and leaving it there for pretty much the first month.

ETA: Its NOT a girdle; its a 6-8 in wide elasticized adjustable band that provides amazing relief to an achy back, and holds your tummy and hips snug while your hormones work at fixing everything that spread and loosened during pregnancy. Women in other countries have been doing this for centuries. There is tons of scientific research that show and uphold the benefits to your body with binding and wraps after birth. There is NO harm whatsoever with doing it. I gained 25-28 lbs and was in shape and not overweight with any of my kids. I worked out up to the day before delivery with the last one. This type of binder was still incredibly effective for me. Just do a little research; you will be thrilled with the results. I've done it both ways; with and without. I would NEVER do without again.

I think that's an old wive's tale. Your hips don't change after giving birth, at least not fundamentally, they're made of bone. Now you may have extra weight on or around your hips, because pregnancy can cause (obviously) weight gain, and your body may store fat differently after giving birth and as you age.
Really, there's nothing to be done but diet and exercise. And if the skin remains saggy and stretched you could always get a tummy tuck. I considered that myself but I'm just not thrilled with the idea of being cut open and sewed back up!
ETA: if you're talking about an abdominal compression wrap as others have mentioned below that CAN help your body ease back into shape and provide relief after birth, but again, it has nothing to do with your hip size.

I did something similar, with just the use of a girdle, after the birth of my 3rd baby.

My hips did not retract correctly after my 2nd baby, and that was a total nightmare to manage. It took therapists 3 years to straighten me out. My hips were so out of alignment, that my left leg was 1.5" shorter than my right.

Then a nurse/midwife told me about the girdle approach. She was giving me a facial, and I brought my 1 week old baby with me. And she saw how carefully I moved. All I can say is that I'm fine now and did not have a repeat of the prior birth. So who know, could just be coincidence. But I certainly felt safer with the girdle for a few weeks.

I imagine binding one's hips is similar.

I think it has potential to work for those of us who have pelvic dysplasia such as I did. My hips are finally starting to pop less as I move and its been 25 months since I delivered. But, at the end, I could not walk far, and my hips and back were so weak from the relaxin, that I would ride the electric carts at the store if we were there for more than about 10 minutes. My husband got tired of catching me when they would go out and I would slump onto the cart or him. But, not everyone has hypermobility to need the extra stability that the wraps seem to be providing. I didn't use anything because any pressure on my c-section cut was too painful. I actually lost weight while pregnant, so it wasn't that I put on too much tummy weight, but I also had a 10 pound baby.

I don't get why you would want to bind your hips? I've had 2 kids and didn't have the privilege of gaining extra curves post-pregnancy. I wish my hips had expanded with childbearing: wide hips give you the coveted "hour-glass" shape and if your hips are wider it helps your waistline look smaller.