Prenatal Preparation
Growing a life inside of you is a miracle, but sometimes it comes with unwanted surprises of pain, incontinence, and fear of the unknown. We are here to support you with education, pelvic floor and abdominal muscle preparation, and encouragement for an empowered birth.
Preventing and treating pain caused by your changing body.
Does your crotch hurt? Do you wince and curse every time you roll over in bed? Shooting pain down the back of your leg? Pelvic pain with walking or standing up from a chair? You don't have to live with those painful symptoms until delivery.
The Lady Bits Team will guide you through gentle exercises and provide manual therapy to keep you balanced and supported as your body grows. Treating, Preventing and Managing common musculoskeletal challenges:
Round ligament pain. As your uterus grows it stretches the ligament which can cause very sharp pains in your labia (what! no one told you about this lovely part of preganacy?!) with transitional movements which can often be resolved in a single visit.
Trunk and Spine Pain: Diastasis Recti, SI pain, Rib pain, Symphysis Pubis dysfunction (SPD), Back pain, Coccyx pain, Pelvic Ring dysfunction
Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: Incontinence.
Learn how to control and relax your pelvic floor muscles before you get to the delivery room.
We recommend pregnant ladies try to come:
Week 18-20: a 90-minute session to balance the pelvic bones and ligaments attaching to the womb and sacrum. This session can also include exercises to keep your core/hips stable and strong for this stage of pregnancy. Please book 2 hours for this if you are having any pelvic pain in order to allow for more time for bodywork and exercised to be customized.
Week 30: Come back for a 90-minute session to ensure balance of the pelvic bones and all ligament attaching to the womb. This visit will also include an internal pelvic floor muscle check to get the baseline of measurements of tension/strength and identify if there are any painful spots holding any tension. This session will also include introducing the concept of perineal massage/stretching to be started around 35 weeks. Exercise changes will likely be made to your home program during this session.
Week 36-37: Last session to ensure balance of the pelvic bones and all ligament attaching to the womb. This session should also include internal work to ensure the pelvic floor muscles are soft and happy in preparation for birth. Plan 60 minutes if you are generally pain free, or 90 minutes if you have been having any pelvic pain during your pregnancy.
As each pregnancy is different, some women may need to come in more often for adjustments in their exercises and self-care. Some women benefit coming in every 4-6 weeks to receive bodywork and exercise adjustments based on their specific body and pregnancy, especially if this is a second+ pregnancy or back to back pregnancy with no or a short break in breastfeeding between babies.