Is closing the bones the same as a belly bind?

Not always. A simple belly or hip bind at home with one cotton rebozo is support and warmth — not a full ceremony. Closing the bones / cierre de caderas usually means sequential wrapping with trained hands. They overlap when a simple bind is part of a larger closing.

Learn · Glossary

Postpartum term

Closing the bones

Q: What is closing the bones?

Closing the bones is the English name for postpartum wrapping of the hips and belly after birth. It is the same family of work as Spanish cierre de caderas. Mexican parteras hold one lineage with the rebozo; similar closings exist elsewhere. It is not uniquely Mexican. Wait for a healed cesarean and provider OK.

Q: Is closing the bones the same as cierre de caderas?

Same family. Cierre de caderas is the Spanish name for closing of the hips. Closing the bones is the English phrase teachers use, sometimes for a whole-body wrap. Do not treat either as a trademark.

Closing the bones is the English name English-speaking teachers use for postpartum wrapping of the hips and belly. It is the same family of work as Spanish cierre de caderas. Mexican parteras hold one lineage with the rebozo. Similar closings exist elsewhere. It is not uniquely Mexican.

By Denisse Fax, founder of Lola My Love. Published August 27, 2026.

A simple rebozo belly binding at home with one cloth is not the same as a full ceremony. A full closing often wants several of the same 98-inch cotton rebozo and trained hands. After a cesarean, wait until the incision is healed and your provider agrees. Consent first. I sell the cloth. The rite stays with the teachers.

How many cloths, vaginal versus cesarean, who wraps whom: rebozo postpartum. Spanish name: cierre de caderas.

Cotton rebozos — one or several Postpartum guide

Questions

Is closing the bones the same as cierre de caderas?

Same family. Cierre de caderas is the Spanish name for closing of the hips. Closing the bones is the English phrase. Do not treat either as a trademark.

Is closing the bones only Mexican?

No. Mexico holds a real lineage with this shawl. Similar postpartum wrapping exists in other places. Do not claim Mexico invented closing a body after birth.