How can our osteopaths support your new family?
Before falling pregnant
Osteopaths assess for and identify musculoskeletal movement, movement adaptations, and postural or positional issues that may impact a women’s bodily capacity to carry a child and/or the birthing process. Our team has extensive experience with osteopathy for pregnancy and has been part of the local health community for several years. In addition, we have a network of other health professionals that we can refer you to if other help is needed for fertility management, education or health promotion.
During your pregnancy
We can help you maintain your physical goals during your pregnancy. Our osteopaths will help your body adapt to postural changes that occur within the different trimesters. Furthermore, we help resolve any musculoskeletal issues that may arise as your pregnancy progresses, such as back or pelvic pain. If you are interested in understanding more about osteopathy for pregnancy, our practitioners can guide you through every stage.
We may also develop a management plan, consisting of manual therapy, exercises, and movement based approaches. These are targeted to aspects of your body needed to prepare you for optimal birthing outcomes.
Another aspect of the work undertaken by osteopaths supporting new families is what is known as ‘biopsychosocial support’. Our osteopaths work with women and their partners to screen for flags that may need immediate referral to other health professionals. They also assist in connecting women to appropriate social support.
Preparing for birth
We work with women across all trimesters of pregnancy to prepare the physical body, including muscles and soft tissues for strength and durability throughout the pregnancy. For those seeking osteopathy for pregnancy, our approach is flexible and individualised to you at each stage of your pregnancy.
In the last trimester, we will work with you to put management strategies in place to support you and to help you recover as quickly and easily as possible after your baby is born. We aim to support women in the minimisation of labour pain, pelvic floor management, and comfort using positioning advice, movement options, and other non-pharmacological approaches.
After your baby is born
After the birth of your child, we will assess physical components of your body that have been impacted or changed by the birthing process and any traumas sustained. We can then support you to strengthen and condition the impacted areas, so you can have confidence in your body again. Furthermore, osteopathy for pregnancy also encompasses a broad range of recovery considerations in the postnatal period to support your transition into the journey of motherhood.
We may perform ergonomic assessments to identify movement or carrying concerns. We may provide positional, postural, or environmental advice to ease your performance of daily tasks and parental activities. Pelvic floor screening and physical external exams for related pelvic injuries or prolapse issues is often an aspect of the assessment and management plan. Where necessary, a referral is given to other practitioners able to perform internal screenings.
We will also monitor you for any of the more serious issues such as post-natal depression, urinary incontinence, mastitis or post birth complications (e.g. haemorrhage or infection) that may need immediate referral to another health professional. If you need support from another health professional we can make recommendations and help you in building the right team to support you and your new family. This is all part of our holistic osteopathy for pregnancy service.
Is all pelvic pain related to having babies?
No, not always. Many women and men suffer from pelvic pain and pelvic floor muscle problems. Pelvic issues can be experienced by a variety of people including athletes, soccer players, people weight training in gyms, regular runners, and those that sit for long periods of time. Beyond pregnancy, osteopathy for pelvic pain can benefit a wide range of patients.
We may design an exercise program targeted to the pelvic floor and/or apply manual therapies directed to the pelvic region. Some pelvic floor conditions may require a referral to a pelvic floor physiotherapist as they can perform internal techniques. If this is required we can provide local recommendations for you.
Please book now with one of our osteopaths or contact our team for more information.
