Gabrialla Maternity Support Belt ITA-MED. Medbarn Review (Blu me away or Pink of me Event)

 Disclosure: I received one or more products for review purposes only. Despite the free item, my opinions remain 100% Honest and my own.This post may contain affiliate links, if clicked I may receive compensation. If a giveaway is being held: No purchase is necessary to enter. Void where prohibited by law. Odds of winning are based on number of entries received. Giveaways on this blog are in no way affiliated with Facebook or any other social media networks.

I guess getting pregnant after 15 years was not the brightest idea it seems the time made my previous 2 pregnancies to good to be true and I can't remember the bad times. I'm pretty sure I had them but maybe they were so bad my brain blocked them. Yet I don't think they were half as bad as this one, I was 18 years old with my second pregnancy was fit and my life style was healthier. 15 years later I was over-weight and I have an obsession with junk food, yet my third pregnancy started on the wrong foot. The first sign was the Hyperemsis Gravidarum diagnose as soon as 10 weeks in my pregnancy, at 22 weeks came the pre-eclampsia thanks to my high blood pressure and at 30 weeks diabetes,  not fun. The thing is I can actually deal with all of this, I just need to keep track of my food, less or no salt, drink more water  but I cannot fix by myself the aches, pain and discomfort.

Yes being over-weight does not help and for the first 2  trimesters I was wearing a small maternity cradle, I loved it, I liked the fact it was small and discreet  but it was there for support; around my week 27/28 even when I was wearing the cradle my back would hurt a bit, I had to much pressure  in my hips, my legs were tired and I started dreading to leave my bed, walk, move and worst bend over to pick something. If I thought that would be bad after my week 30 stabbing pain in my cervix, the baby dropping early and engaging gave to this pregnancy a whole new level of pain and I felt so bad not being able to do anything else than lay on my bed and watch tv; it all came to the point where I was crawling my way to the bathroom every morning.

Around my 28 week I was given the opportunity to review and test the Gabrialla Maternity Support Belt (Medium MS-96i). from ITA-MED and sold by Medbarn. ITA-MED is a San Francisco, Ca based company a dynamic and vibrant and considered to be one of the most "green" manufacturers of sports medicine and home health care products. Many of Their braces and supports are unique due to the Natural, Breathable and Non-Allergenic fabrics and materials that they use. Medbarn is the Gabrialla  biggest retailer and their general concept is based on two main ideas: making your shopping at Medbarn.com as simple as two clicks of your mouse, and retaining the interest and fascination of your best shopping experience. They offer free and fast shipping (3 days or less). Medbarn has a great customer service and competitive pricing. When the Gabrialla Belt was delivered at my door, in the beggining I was skeptical, the belt was too big  and I was already feeling uncomfortable under the 90 degrees we ussually have in Texas for summer, I actually thought the belt would only make me feel worst. For 4 days the belt sat on my desk and I was holding to the small cradle in hopes it will magically work again.

One morning I woke up in time to feel my first Braxton Hicks contraction it would not have been a problem but it was mixed with a stabbing flash pain in the cervix and while I was trying to get out of the bed and walk around my sciatic muscle decided to give up on me and I couldn't move and I was in pain, alone at home it was really awful, that day I decided I would rather deal with a sweaty bump and the bulkiness than deal with pain again. We landed on my doctors office for anything that would help me and his answer was: a belt or a medical support band, light exercise (walking), healthy diet and the fact that I was not the first or the last pregnant women with this problem and how all of them survived. As soon as I got home I took the Gabrialla box ripped it open (Glad I took some pictures the day it arrived) and tried to figure out how to wear it, in my first try it was a tiny bit to big for me, yet I figured out the panels inside had velcro bands and were designed to be adjusted for a perfect fit, mine needed actually an 1' in each side and now fits great, once I found my perfect fit I was actually surprised how easy it was to put it on and take it off, My 2 biggest fears the heat and it showing under my clothes were intermediately dismissed. The belt is a mix of 80% polyester 20% lycra, the back is a elastic mesh and the sides are a padded cotton fabric for extra support, the material on the side panel is breathable and even under the Texas Heat it's quite bearable.

As far as the belt being bulky I've been wearing it over a nursing tank top (my skin is really sensitive) and with just a t-shirt and you cannot even tell I have it under. I can't tell you the belt  magically took the pain away the first day , but it did help to give me back my mobility, as soon as the belt was on the pressure in my hips and legs was minimal and my sciatic pain would come and go but not as strong as before, plus my favorite feature is the pocket in the back where I can use a microwave warm pad to relax my muscles and helps me to walk without problems. After 2 weeks wearing the Gabrialla Belt, I was slowly walking around my block, bending over still sucks and squats but are doable, getting in and out of bed is not too hard since I keep my belt next to me. I'm some sorta expert putting it on while lying in bed. The biggest improvement was to be able to sit in a chair again for more than one hour.

I've been wearing The Gabrialla Maternity Medium Belt for 6 weeks now and while I have aches from time to time a nice back massage helps, now I can go on with my life like I used to do before getting pregnant, is not as comfy as before and there are things I cant do like: scrubbing the kitchen tiles on my knees, but other than that I'm able to clean, cook, write, walk, go shopping for short periods of times (I'm currently 37 weeks pregnant) and even dance. Would I recommend the Gabrialla to my friends......... yes, I would,  this belt is perfect for those carrying a big bump or even a small one, it takes all the pressure from you hips, pelvis and legs. It's fantastic to help dealing sciatic pain and something I noticed was other than the stretch marks I got the first 30 weeks I haven't gotten new ones and the only thing different I'm doing is wearing the belt everyday. The box said something about this but I never gave it a second thought until  the nurse at my doctor casually mentioned it. The back support helps to keep proper posture as well.  If you are interested on purchasing a pregnancy belt, my friends at Medbarn wants to offer you a 10% discount using the code:

MBT339 (click here to see all Gabrialla Maternity belts on Medbarn.com)  

For more info or products visit Medbarn or Gabrialla websites or follow the company media outlets for more new, offers and promotions:

Medbarn Facebook

ITA-MED Facebook

ITA-MED Pinterest

 This review is part of our Blu me away or Pink of me Event. The Giveaway Event starts on August 7. Thanks for reading and visit us often for more baby reviews and to find out what other prizes you could win!!!!