Belly Binding

THE REQUEST for this service has exceeded our ability to keep up and we have made mail order options available with virtual instructions! As well as supply only options for our fellow birth workers! 

We are offering these holistic services to ALL postpartum mothers!

You do not have to be a client of Family Tree Midwifery to benefit from these services.

This would make an AMAZING and PERSONAL gift for a baby shower or blessing way.

Gift certificates are available!

Please read these important definitions and traditional beliefs around the birthing process and postpartum recovery - which help better explain the services we offer:

Honoring: The right of passage from maiden to mother should be marked, honored and valued. Women should feel valued for their accomplishments. Their birth stories need to be told and heard by loving, validating ears and a caring heart. A belly binding appointment, full of goodies for the new mother is a beautiful way to mark this transition!

Warming: It is important for women immediately postpartum to be warmed. The act of birthing a baby is a cooling process for the body (many moms shiver in the immediate postpartum minutes) and heating the mother is required to restore balance. Warming stimulates blood flow and has a positive effect on circulation and metabolism. It nourishes and revitalizes skin and major organs. It aids in removing toxins from the body by assisting the lymphatic system which eliminates waste throughout the body. Continued warming will promote the body to release retained water, fat and waste that is no longer needed once the birthing process is complete. This can be done with warm foods, baths, warm oil massage, warming essential oils, herbal belly paste and belly binding.

Sealing: The entire birthing process is about "opening", spiritually, mentally and physically. You can sense and witness this opening around a postpartum mother as she has love and open energy to ANYONE in her presence. She will often say words such as "I LOVED my Doctor" (or nurse, or Midwife or...just about anyone who entered her birthing space, even if they were strangers) She will rarely refuse someone a visit in the first few days after her baby has arrived. She is welcoming and loving to all. She freely gives and shares with all. She is still OPEN from her birth...This is beautiful, but can easily leave the mother in a vulnerable and depleted space. Once alone, she can feel exhausted, resentful, spent and in an emotionally dark place without really understanding why...

Instead, she should be protected and nurtured so that her energy, love and openness guides her to bonding and caring for her new baby and soothes the transition into motherhood-even if it is her 15th baby, her role as mother is shifting yet again and she (perhaps even more so) needs this loving care! Once baby is born, the body and emotions benefit from a "sealing" or closing of that which has been opened and is now raw and vulnerable. This is critical in proper holistic postpartum healing. This ceremony may seem strange to us in the United States where emphasis typically shifts to the new baby, and off of the mother, pretty much immediately after the birthing process is complete. It is important to continue to hold space for the mother, honoring the hard work she has just completed, bestowing blessings, aiding in her unique healing process and welcoming her into society as the new person she has transformed into.

A sealing ceremony to help a mother close from birth can be as simple as a Midwife prepared fragrant herbal, milk and honey bath for mom and baby! We offer an extra large glass bottle full of a concentrated healing herbal brew, essential oils, almond milk (which helps the essential oils and tea be pulled into the bathwater and absorbed by mom and baby), and local, raw, sweet clover honey (hello softest skin ever) for mother to have her very own sealing ceremony.  Many mothers take the soft milky white beauty of the water in this bath (with a few flowers floating and a full, sleepy baby) as a prime opportunity for newborn photos of mama and baby together in the tub soaking in this healing, sealing, bonding experience. Add a sage smudge for mental and spiritual cleansing prior to the bath if it resonates with you! We offer packages which include just binding and belly paste, or a combination of bath and binding. 

Binding: Belly binding is a process in which a woman's belly (torso) is bound shortly after giving birth with a long fabric bind. It is a meticulous 40 day method of postpartum support that is considered an ancient art and has been practiced for many generations. Researchers believe the tradition originated in Malaysia, but can also be found around the world in various forms. Belly binding serves many functions, the most physical and obvious listed below, but equally important, it aids holistically in warming and closing the body, mind and spirit after birth. 

What exactly does binding provide?

~It slims rib cage, belly and hips

~Helps to support separated abdominal muscles in the immediate postpartum weeks (Diastasis Recti)

~Prevents back pain

~Supports spine and posture realignment

~Decreases postpartum bleeding time and postpartum belly

~Provides support to internal abdominal and pelvic organs

~Stabilizes loosened ligaments

~Decreases water retention and aids in elimination of wastes on a cellular level

~Is a crucial part of holistic sealing, warming and binding of a postpartum mother 

How is it different from the all in one Binders such as "Belly Bandit" or postpartum support girdles?

The length is crucial! This binds from the lower hips, all the way to the rib cage under the breast. It is used with a warming paste that speeds the healing process. Each knot as it is tightened can be manipulated in a way to provide more or less support in various areas depending on need. (ie: some mothers need tighter hip wraps due to pubis symphysis or back pain from pregnancy, some need the hips looser but want to pull in the rib cage more to reduce flaring from pregnancy-every persons needs are different) This binding can be specialized to each specific need, and adjusted each time it is used! You cannot find that much adaptability with any other method!

PACKAGES AND PRICING INFORMATION

IN-PERSON SERVICES ARE FOR OUR REGISTERED HOME BIRTH CLIENTS

VIRTUAL PACKAGES ARE AVAILABLE TO ALL!

Instructions for use: 

Vaginal Delivery: Start paste and bind between day 4 and 14. 

If you are recovering from a Cesarean: Do NOT apply the warming paste or oils during wrapping until after your incision is completely healed (usually around week 4) and start binding no earlier than 14 days postpartum. (PLEASE give yourself longer if recovery in the first two weeks has been complicated), and wrap lightly over your uterus working your way up to a firmer supportive hold over time. 

Bind every day for a full 40 days - 12 out of 24 hours per day.

Use your paste as tolerable each binding session. Some people prefer usage of the paste every other day. Don't forget to sensitivity test an area on the inner wrist or top of hand about 24 hours prior to belly usage! These are warming herbs! Think Icy/Hot or Tiger Balm if you have ever used those products, this mix can be similar and should be used carefully to avoid sensitive areas - as well as baby's delicate skin.

Also note: It is never, ever too late to honor a giver of life. While you may have stumbled across these services weeks (or even months) after giving birth, you can still benefit on many levels...if you feel drawn to receive or try these services, please each out to us!

COMPLETE PACKAGE: $300 

This package includes:

1. One beautifully wax and herb sealed and Midwife blessed bottle of milk, honey and herbal bath. The bath ingredients are all Midwife selected, specific to the clients needs and aid in healing wounds for the mother, healing baby's umbilical cord/stump, soften and moisturizing everyone's skin, and just feel downright luxurious! Often babies breastfeed during this bath which is a wonderful sign of contentment and relaxation! The warm soothing water creates a lovely "space" to process the birth story however it unfolded and leave any discontentment behind to wash down the drain, emerging from the water with fresh fragrance, healed energy and renewed motherly confidence. 
2. One washable cotton muslin belly bind approximately 17" x 7" with a surged flat edge for comfort (never folded) 
3.  One 8-12 oz jar of dry herbal belly paste - a hand mixed blend of organic warming herbs to be mixed with coconut oil (or other carrier oil) to paste consistency and applied before binding.  Some people prefer to cover the paste with a square of plastic wrap and/or flannel to protect the bind on top from staining.
4. A link to our binding tutorial video that walks you through how to bind. If you are a current home birthing client you will also receive a 30 minute binding session with instructions at one of your postpartum visits.

SIMPLE BINDING ONLY: $200

This package includes: 

1.  One washable cotton muslin belly bind approximately 17" x 7" with a surged flat edge for comfort (never folded) 
2.  One 8-12 oz jar of dry herbal belly paste - a hand mixed blend of organic warming herbs to be mixed with coconut oil (or other carrier oil) to paste consistency and applied before binding. Some people prefer to cover the paste with a square of plastic wrap and/or flannel to protect the bind on top from staining.
3.  A link to our binding tutorial video that walks you through how to bind. If you are a current home birthing client you will also receive a 30 minute binding session with instructions at one of your postpartum visits.

JUST SUPPLIES:

Just the cotton muslin belly bind: $60

(15-17 yards by 6-8 inches wide)

Just the paste: One 8-12 oz jar of dry herbal belly paste - a hand mixed blend of organic warming herbs: $20

Fill out the form under the Contact Tab, or reach out at any of the contact information below to place an order! 

A basket full of supplies including a bath, oils, crown, candles, herbs, paste,  and of course...a brand new bind!

Taiwan flat knot technique-smoother feel for under clothing & longer wear time.

3 days after birth

7 days later

(daily binding)

Rounded knot technique, while this makes for a "pretty" knot formation down the center that's fun for display, it can be uncomfortable and unforgiving of mistakes.

Flower crowns to honor the beautiful woman-mother you are!

Healing herbal and floral bath for mama-baby. Never any crying, it's simply enchanting to watch how much babies love these baths!