Healthy Pregnancy Programs at Root To Rise PT- Pelvic Floor Therapy
Proactive Care and Support For Your Pregnancy & Postpartum
Should you go to pelvic floor therapist in pregnancy, even if you’re feeling great?
When you first learn you are expecting, it can be an overwhelming time. You might have lots of questions about what to expect and who to include in your support team. You may already know that it is important to find a midwife or OB/Gyn practice that aligns with your values. But, who will make up the rest of your team? What if you are continuing to feel well and don’t have any physical limitations or symptoms? Should you wait until you have urinary incontinence, low back pain, etc prior to going to pelvic floor therapy?
Over the years practicing perinatal and pelvic health physical therapy, I’ve been asked these questions and more like them countless times:
“When is a good time to start pelvic floor therapy in my pregnancy?”
“When is a good time to start pelvic floor therapy after I have a baby?”
“I’m feeling pretty well, should I go to pelvic floor therapy anyway?”
The best is when I hear “I just learned I’m expecting and I’m looking to find my pelvic PT!”- That is how it should be, standard of care, part of the process, not waiting until something “goes wrong”. Although there is still so much work to be done, the tides are changing and more people are learning about the benefits of pelvic floor therapist!
If you’re trying to conceive or currently pregnant, the optimal time to start building your perinatal team is now. It is a good time to start pelvic floor therapy early in your pregnancy and yes, you should go to pelvic floor therapit even if you are feeling great!
Building your team early allows you to develop a deeper relationship with your providers. They can learn more about you, your baseline, and your goals from the beginning and then better be able to guide you throughout the changes that are ahead of you. You have a team to support you when something does come up and you don’t have to worry about looking for providers when you are down to the wire or early postpartum when everything is..well.. foggy and new.
Seeing a pelvic PT can help you stay active, strong and feeling well throughout your pregnancy. In addition, many of the principles you learn while you are pregnant carry over to postpartum recovery and help make reaching your postpartum goals more efficient and less overwhelming!
So what should you expect from your perinatal pelvic floor therapy and how frequently should you have sessions?
At Root To Rise, your initial evaluation is 90 minutes no matter where you are in your pregnancy or postpartum journey. This allows us time to dive deep into your history, lifestyle habits and goals, as well as provide you with the education you need to feel empowered and achieve optimal outcomes. Your follow up sessions are 60 minutes and are always 1:1 with your physical therapist.
Some things we will evaluate and address into include:
Posture
Alignment
Breathing patterns
Functional movement patterns
Mobility and musculature of your spine, hips, pelvis, abdomen, and extremities
Core engagement and pressure management strategies
Pelvic floor muscle internal evaluation (once you have reached 2nd trimester)
Exercise guidelines and modifications
Bladder, bowel, and sexual health
Sleep habits
Stress management
Nutrition
So, how often should I go to pelvic floor therapy?
If you’re feeling well with no current complaints, or just not sure where to start then our Healthy Pregnancy Program is for you! Based on our experience caring for birth givers over the years, we created this guideline for scheduling your sessions with us!
Pregnancy Sessions:
Initial evaluation scheduled as soon as you are able to come in in order to achieve a baseline and for goal setting, education and movement/ exercise guidelines.
Follow up session at ~15 weeks pregnancy (early 2nd trimester, pelvic floor assessment at this time as appropriate)
Once a month until the 3rd trimester, check-in and optimize alignment and movement
Biweekly starting at approximately 30 weeks to address any symptoms, changes in lifestyle, movement and exercise changes and labor/birth preparation
Postpartum Sessions:
Early postpartum session at 2-2.5 weeks postpartum (virtual or home visit)
First in person postpartum visit at approximately 6.5 weeks after due date
Then frequency to be determined based on your individual needs and goals!
Pelvic floor therapy should be the standard for care for all birthing people and if you are planning to conceive, currently pregnant, or postpartum, you don’t have to have symptoms to benefit. We would love to support you throughout your journey!
If you are interested in learning more read our recent blog post Benefits of Pelvic Floor Therapy in Pregnancy as well as our blog post all about our Healthy Pregnancy Programs at Root To Rise PT- Acupuncture.