Pregnancy and Beyond
Pregnancy is a unique experience for every woman. Some women appear to sail through their pregnancy, whilst for others it can be a something of a struggle. The body has immense physical, hormonal and emotional changes taking place over a short period, and the strain on the tissues and organs can be challenging.
Osteopathic treatment can help support you in a number of ways during this period of your life:
- Relieving minor pregnancy ailments, such as back pain, symphysis pubic dysfunction
- Balancing effects on the nervous and hormonal systems.
- Preparing for the demands of the birth
- Support for mother & baby in recovery after labour & birth
Cranial Osteopathy is both a safe and gentle choice for pregnant women at any stage in their pregnancy. Many pregnant women favour using osteopathy for themselves and their babies. Treatments are all carried out by our Registered osteopaths (GOsC ) who undergo a minimum of four years training as well as continued postgraduate training , They use gentle touch and movement during your sessions.
Your appointments with us will normally last for (45 mins- 1hour). Our Osteopaths will check all areas of stress and strain in your body, including the spine and pelvis. Treatment to ensure a balanced pelvis is vital for your comfort, but also to accommodate the growing the baby, water and placenta, which can be heavy as 9 kilos.
Then in the final weeks before labour a balanced pelvis is enormously helpful in readiness to allow passage of the bab
Treatment after labour
Women's experience of labour is very wide, and can be anything from a family based water birth at home to use of stirrups, forceps or ventouse or other interventions in a hospital setting. Women's bodies are magnificently designed to allow the passage of their baby, and so complete a natural birthing process. This naturally involves stretching tissues including ligaments, muscles and some movement of bones. In some cases, after the labour there may be some stitches required and the efforts of the labour can leave mothers feeling 'fatigued' & or 'out of sorts '.
Many new mothers symptoms settle well with rest, but for others there are headaches, ongoing back or neck aches after birth due to unresolved stresses.
Babies heads can also get some strain patterns during the moulding process at birth. Osteopathy is effective at helping you and your baby to recover The cranial approach is particularly effective at supporting the bodies innate rebalancing mechanisms.
It offers support for :
- mother and baby body release some of the powerful compressions that have occurred
- babies in developing good sleeping habits
- torticollis (wry neck)
- early infant feeding
- bonding between mother/father & baby