Running during pregnancy brings its own set of new adventures. Aside from just learning how to run with a basketball in front of you – you also are adjusting to an altered gait and constantly changing body. It’s not all bad though! You learn what your new normal is for a while and it slowly becomes a bit easier.

Over the first 6 months of my pregnancy I really fought on trying out a support belt. It wasn’t that I didn’t want one I just didn’t know if it was practical to invest in for such a short time period. I could definitely tell though that my body was starting to get more uncomfortable as the weeks went by and just didn’t feel as good running anymore.

I stumbled upon the FitSplint from Mom Bod Fitness after seeing Sarah Brown post about it on her Instagram. I originally found it for looking for postpartum reasons but learned after speaking with them that the Maternity FitSplint can be worn both during AND after pregnancy. I knew I would benefit from during pregnancy as well as after so it was a no brainer.

I began to do a bit of research about maternity belts during pregnancy and I found out quickly that I probably should have invested in one of these long before being 7-8 months pregnant. As soon as I received it, I knew without a doubt it was the best choice I could have made.

If you’re considering investing in a support belt for pregnancy here are just a few reasons why it is a good idea:

Provides Stability and Compression

As your belly grows running often feels uncomfortable. You not only have extra weight but it feels as if you are carrying around a basketball in front of you. Adding in the support band helps to hold the belly in place and giving it more stability. Just like when you put on a sports bra to help stabilize things, it can make a world of difference.

It also can make you feel more comfortable with the motion of running itself. Even though I knew our little man was safely nestled in there, it often felt like my belly was moving too much during running. Adding in the stability and compression of the FitSplint has helped make me much more comfortable with running.

Decreased Aches and Pains

I have overall been very blessed during my pregnancy; however, one thing that has become more apparent in these later months is low back pain. I also notice more joint pain due to the extra force that is being put on them while running. The support band helps to now only support the belly itself but the back during running. This has made for much less back pain and better recovery.

Posture Correction

You may not think of your posture much when running, but it is important to help keep your body strong and to help avoid injury. As my belly got bigger I noticed that my back began to arch even more which made my running form and posture continue to get worse. The support belt helps to support the low back and avoid unnecessary extension forward.

Round Ligament Pain Relief

Round ligament pain is one thing that I have experienced my fair share of during pregnancy. I thankfully haven’t had it while running, but off and on throughout I have had these wonderful pains. The term is just a fancy way to describe the pain that comes from ligaments stretching as you get bigger during pregnancy. Support belts however can be a great benefit in alleviating these pains.

Postpartum Support

As most of you know, my goal is to train for and run the Boston Marathon roughly 4 months postpartum. To do this I am going to have to make sure to focus a lot of attention on strengthening my core and other muscles that have become weak during pregnancy. The support belt can help to hold your muscles tighter in your core while your do strength work and while running to hopefully help avoid injury.

This was one of the biggest sellers for me when I decided on which support belt I wanted to use. If I can use the same belt during and after pregnancy then it was a winner.

I’ve talked to many moms and moms-to-be who were able to make it through their entire pregnancy without a support belt. I wish I could have been one of those, but am so glad that I made the decision to try it out!

I chose the Mom Body Fitness FitSplint Maternity belt which you can find here. I will also be completing their Post-Natal ReCore program after our little man arrives to help prepare me to get back into running. I’ll make sure to do a full review once I have gone through it to help other future moms-to-be!

Did you use a support belt during pregnancy?