Birth Prep and Physical Therapy
You have a baby on the way, congrats! There is so much preparation to bring a baby into this world including doctor’s appointments, maternity pictures, baby showers and picking out cute clothes! But, did you know a physical therapist can also help you prepare for delivery? Follow along below where we describe 4 ways on how we can help!
Reduce Aches and Pains
As your baby grows, this Increases demands on the mom’s body which can lead to aches and pains, sometimes in places you have never had pain before! Our techniques of whole body manual therapy, dry needling and individualized exercise plans can reduce these discomforts to keep you active, improve sleep and oftentimes ease the delivery process!
Maintaining Core Strength
As your belly grows it is a lot harder to properly activate your deep core muscles! We also want to make sure you do not have excessive doming in your abdominal wall when working your core. This is an area that we assess in each pregnant client and provide strategies or alternative positions to keep as much core strength as possible during your pregnancy!
Relax your Pelvic Floor
Most women hold tension in their pelvic floor, but for delivery we need to allow the body to relax those muscles to reduce the risk of tearing. A trained pelvic floor therapist will use a variety of techniques to help with this which may include manual therapy, breathing techniques or exercises to achieve relaxation!
Birth Prep Stretches
Your baby needs to move through the entire pelvis during a vaginal birth. During our sessions we will assess your body and determine which birth stretches would be most appropriate for you! These stretches will target the top, middle and bottom of your pelvis to help with the delivery process.
Physical therapy services during pregnancy have many benefits and all sessions are tailored to your specific needs and goals. Let us help you stay active and prepare for a smoother delivery process!
Author: Missy Hunter, DPT, PCES