Post-Baby Waist Training: Is It Safe? Experts Weight In

Waist training is the act of tightly wrapping a person's midsection with a corset or supportive waistband to gradually reduce the person's natural waist. These are worn for long periods of time to essentially train the waist into getting smaller.  

Experts say waist training may work as a motivation to change eating, lifestyle and exercise habits. Tightening the waist also promotes thermal activity and perspiration that may trigger fat loss eventually leading to slimming and reshaping.

A growing number of moms are training their waists with the help of the 16th-century throwback. Several celebrities that claim that waist training helped bring their pre-baby bodies back include Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Jessica Alba, Ciara, Brooke Burke and Snooki.

The amount of water retention after giving birth can be extreme due to the fluid and hormonal shifts that took place during the pregnancy. In addition, water retention is at its highest the first week after delivering the baby.

Normally, it takes about two weeks for water retention to fade while new moms are waiting for their uteruses to shrink from a watermelon to a size of a pear in a span of six weeks. During that time, fluid loss and the shrinking of the belly occurs naturally.

Unfortunately, there is no medical evidence to prove that waist training can help relieve mothers of water retention and help shrink the uterus faster. In some cases, the procedures can even cause organs and soft tissue to be displaced, according to Parents.

"Waist-training can push the stomach beyond the diaphragm, causing reflux, and it can also interfere with breathing," according to Dr. Caroline Apovian, professor of medicine at the Boston University of Medicine. Corsets and belly wraps cannot change fat deposits and composition.

Corsets may also restrict oxygenation, which is extremely essential, according to Parenting. "Restricting oxygenation in the body could do long-term damage to your metabolism and health, and you don't want that," according to Dr. Jyotindra Shah, a bariatric physician from New York.

Still, the safest and most effective way to get back to pre-baby weight is to eat healthily and exercise. While corsets and belly wraps can make new moms feel confident, they are not a quick fix.