You didn't wear THE BELT??

One of the best things I've done since moving to Tokyo is joining a playgroup with moms from all over the world.  I've literally met people from the USA, Israel, Great Britain, Japan, Australia, Spain, Hungary, and Russia through this group.  It's interesting to see how different things are in different countries when it comes to kids.  It's mum instead of mom.  The Hokey Kokey instead of the Hokey Pokey.  And Ring-Around-the-Rosies is completely different.  It's also really nice to have a handful of Japanese friends who grew up here and know the culture and how to read Japanese-- but speak English and can help me out.  They read my mail for me and walk around the grocery store with me so I can figure out what things are.  

Recently, the topic came up of the post-maternity belt.  "What's that?" I asked.  The other women were shocked.  

"You didn't wear "THE BELT" after having Anthon?" they asked.

"No.  I don't even know what  THE BELT is."

"Didn't your stomach stay kind of loose and your hips never get quite as narrow?"

"Yep, isn't that part of having a baby."

"No.  It's because you didn't wear THE BELT."

So here's the deal with THE BELT.  I'll explain it like they did; take it or leave it.  Apparently, there is a hormone (called Relaxin) that is present in a pregnant woman's body at the very end of pregnancy.  It softens the cartilage and ligaments in the hips so that the baby can pass through the pelvis and then stays in the body for a short time after delivery.  After the hormone is gone, the cartilage and ligaments firm up again and the hips become immobile.  So the theory is that after the baby is born, women should wear this post-maternity belt, cinched up as tight as possible so that your hips are narrow again before the cartilage firms up.  THE BELT also holds your belly in so all of that loose skin returns to normal and becomes taught again.  All of the women in my group are tiny with flat tummies; and they all swear by the belt. 

I, however, wasn't convinced.  Are you kidding me?  A belt can do all of that.  I asked another Japanese women I know with kids if she had ever heard of a post-maternity belt.   "You didn't wear THE BELT?"  she exclaimed.  I guess that answers it.  The "wearing-of-the-belt" is ubiquitous here.

So I've got a belt.  My friends at playgroup instructed me on how to cinch it up.  (Tony is to use his leg as leverage against me and pull as hard as he can as he tightens this thing around my hips-- and this is to be done immediately after delivery.)  I'll let you know how it goes.  If it works wonders for my body, maybe I'll start an import business!  

***P.S.  I was mentioning "THE BELT" to my visiting teachers and one of them told me that her grandmother (who is American) used to swear by the same thing.  She would don a super-tight girdle as soon as she had delivered each of her children and she remained svelte her entire life.  So may THE BELT is a lost practice of Americans too.  Or maybe anyone who would care enough about their figure to don a girdle or strap a tight belt on immediately after delivery and continue to wear it during that horrible recovery period also can resist the 2nd piece of chocolate cake!!  Anyway, it's worth a shot.