Midwife just told me support belts restrict growth?

[MrsTrue]

Really?

I'm 4 months pregnant with an umbilical hernia, I wore a support belt last pregnancy to help with lower back pain and had no growth issues with DD1, she was 7lb3 at 40+3. I guess she could have been bigger and I'll never know, but it sounds a bit crazy to me?

She also said don't do any core exercises, but I thought you could do gentle core exercises, e.g. what's done in pregnancy yoga. I asked about a physio referral and was told there's no point until after the pregnancy.

Am I wrong to just ignore the midwife and wear a support belt anyway? Anyone else worn support belts when pregnant?

It's totally anecdotal, but I wore a a support with DD2. She weighed 10lbs at 40+2. The alternative was staying in bed - impossible with a toddler as well.

Interestingly, my support belt was fitted and provided by a specialist ante-natal physio, NHS. Whether these wonderful creatures actually still exist, I'm not sure, but I know I arrived (on NYE, if I recall correctly), crying with pain, and left a much, much happier woman!

I wore a support belt and did pregnancy yoga for first 2 babies. Babies were 8.1, 9.0 and 10.6lb, all born between 38 and 40 weeks.

I'd ask for a second opinion on that, another midwife or a GP maybe.
I'm leaning towards "nonsense" but I simply don't know enough!

Plenty of people have babies smaller at full term, there have to be smaller and bigger ones otherwise there wouldn't be an average! I never wore a support belt or did anything else that might restrict growth (such as smoking etc) and none of my three were any bigger than 7lbs at full term. I just make small babies!

I had PGP/SPD with dd2 - severe enough I was on crutches and used a support belt both provosed by physio at hospital. Dd2 was nearly 10lbs - bigger than dd1 who I didn't wear a support belt with. Obviously anecdotal.

I did two different pregnancy yoga courses and neither included core work. I think if you’re 100% confident in the training and pregnancy specific qualifications of your yoga teacher then go with that, but I wouldn’t freeform exercise yourself.

Your midwife sounds like the type who also thinks that if you lift your legs higher after sex you're more likely to get a boy or if you turn three times anti clockwise under the full moon you'll have an easy labour.

Honestly, that's ridiculous. I don't know what she refers to as "core" exercise and certainly, I can imagine a lot of crunches might not be ideal, but generally, exercise is considered a good thing, even more so if you were already exercising prior to pregnancy. As for the support belt - without my support belt I'd probably have been bedridden due to terrible SPD. Mine was on my hips, not over my belly, and frankly, it was taut but not so tight I felt like I was wearing control underwear or a bloody corset.

I asked about a physio referral and was told there's no point until after the pregnancy.

Well this is definitely nonsense- it's standard to be referred for physio during pregnancy if you have PGP.

I'd ask for advice from another midwife because this one has dubious advice

I bought a bump band from Mothercare, when pregnant with DD2. She was born 9lb 2oz.

That makes absolutely NO sense.
How could support belts even have any impact on fetal growth?!

That sounds like my osteopath saying I shouldnt wear my phone on a lanyard around my neck, as the radiation might hurt the baby (🙄) or that the baby could be born with the camera "holes" on her forehead.

Its just more bizarre that it is coming from a midwife, who deals with this kind of situation.

Also, core exercises are recommended, gentle ones. Like yoga!
The danger there is worsening the likely diastasis, but there are safe ways to strenghten your core.