PREGNANCY GIRDLE TO TAKE THE WEIGHT OFF YOUR BUMP
RUTH ROBERTS, 42, a former teacher and a mother of four from Pentrefoelas, in Wales, developed a pregnancy girdle with her husband, Dafydd, 42, a clothing manufacturer, after she was confined to a wheelchair during her fourth pregnancy. £149.99, maternity-belt.co.uk
SIX years ago, I was around 16 weeks pregnant with our youngest child Harry when I started having pelvic pain. It was constant and felt like I was being stabbed over and over again, through my hips and back.
My GP said I had pelvic girdle pain (PGP), which is caused by a stiffness of the pelvic joints and affects up to one in five pregnant women.
At times the pain was so intense I couldn’t get out of bed and if I did, I had to use a wheelchair.
Physiotherapy didn’t touch it. I tried everything to get comfortable. A few weeks later, by chance, I found that the pain eased when I applied upward pressure to the front of my pelvis by wrapping a dressing gown and towels around my hips for support.
Dafydd and I decided to see if we could make something sturdier to replicate what I was doing. We tried lots of ways. When I was seven-anda- half months pregnant, the prototype came in.
We sourced breathable, latex-free material from the U.S. (the fabric’s comfort is critical).
After a number of prototypes we developed the HG ( Harness Gravidarum) Maternity Support Belt. You put it on like a jacket and it supports the baby bump, pelvis, hip and back. The material is light and can be worn over underwear or light clothing.
It took more than four years of development, as well as lots of advice from doctors, midwives, physios and consultants.
Although I only wore the early prototypes, it made the last few weeks of my pregnancy bearable. I hope other pregnant women find the same.
EXPERT VERDICT: ‘My wife is 28 weeks pregnant and this is so much better than what’s on the market,’ says Tim Allardyce, a physiotherapist at Surrey Physio. ‘It offers support for the spine on so many fronts — including across the shoulders.’