Physiotherapy for Pregnancy and Post Natal Care

Physiotherapy can dramatically improve quality of life during pregnancy and after birth

Pregnancy and birth are the number one cause for pelvic floor issues in women, addressing these early, prior to having a baby to care for can decrease your chance of problems later and increase your chance of bouncing back.

Common issues include pelvic girdle pain, pelvic floor and poor recovery from stomach muscle separation.

Pelvic girdle pain can occur due to the hormonal changes and the weight of the baby in preparation for giving birth.

However, physiotherapy treatment, such as massage, mobilisation and exercises that can be carefully tailored to your needs will help to relieve discomfort.

Many of our pregnant patients struggle with lower back pain and pelvic pain due to increased mobility from hormonal changes and increased load.

During pregnancy the Rectus Abdominus (outer layer of abdominal muscle) stretches to allow for growth of the baby.

We offer safe supervised exercise classes to proactively manage this.

We also have pregnancy pillows which allow us to treat women safely in prone.

Treating thoracic pain and stiffness in pregnancy

Another common issue during and after pregnancy is thoracic pain and stiffness. Again exercise as well as safe hands on treatment options.

After the baby has been born it is important that this muscle returns to a functional state to help maintain pelvic and abdominal strength and stability. Specific exercises given by our physiotherapists during and after pregnancy will help to ensure this.

Once you’ve had your baby a 6-week check post-partum is a great way to keep on track with how your body is recovering and what could help to strengthen your body further.

Stomach muscle separation is normal but we want this to be kept to a minimal for optimal recovery and decrease chance of issues later.

Treating mastitis after pregnancy

Other postnatal issues that physiotherapy can help to prevent and manage include mastitis. Mastitis is a common and distressing infection often caused by a blocked milk duct which results in pain and inflammation of breast tissue whilst making it difficult to breastfeed.

If mastitis is caught early ultrasound can be extremely effective at reducing blockages and decreasing the chance of infection.