"A Sarashi or a Hara Obi (Sarashi means bleached cloth (and is also used as cheesecloth) and Hara Obi means "stomach belt/sash) is a long cotton cloth about 10'' wide and several feet long that you repeatedly wrap around your belly. In pregnancy you wrap it in a way that is looser at top and tighter at the bottom which holds the belly up without a binding effect. It helps alleviate back pain and prevent stretch marks. In the post pregnancy months you wrap it tight equally from top to bottom which will help with healing.  In Japan they have been used for thousands of years.