pregnancy & postpartum
During pregnancy the body undergoes many physical and hormonal changes in a short period of time. Physiotherapy can help through all stages of your pregnancy and postpartum: keeping you comfortable and in the best shape to prepare for the birth and to help you recover optimally after the birth.
During pregnancy perineal massage is also taught, and we stock and teach women how to use the Epi-No: an inflatable balloon device that helps to stretch the muscles and perineum in preparation for childbirth.
Learn more about it below.
Prenatal Concerns
- Pelvic girdle pain - felt in the sacroiliac joints, sacrum, pubic symphysis, groin or hips felt on changing positions, moving in bed, going up stairs etc
- urinary incontinence
Postpartum concerns
- urinary or bowel incontinence
- rectus diastasis
- pain following C-section
- pelvic organ prolapse
- pelvic pain
- tailbone (coccyx) pain
- episiotomy pain
Treatment
An assessment by a pelvic health physiotherapist gives you a chance to take care or prevent these issues and gives you a good understanding of your pelvic floor:
- Are you doing Kegel exercises correctly?
- Should you even be doing them? Kegel exercises are not appropriate for all women
- Do you know how to be able to relax the pelvic floor – a really important skill for labour and delivery
We assess not only your pelvic floor muscles, but also look at your alignment to address lower back and pelvic girdle pain, and teach you how to move as your weight changes, the abdominal muscles lengthen and hormonal changes create increased joint laxity.