Pregnancy and perinatal care

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PREGNANCY AND PERINATAL CARE

Pregnancy is a very special moment in a woman’s life. A woman’s body changes all along the 9 months of pregnancy, and again after delivery. The uterus will be at the center of deep mechanical, visceral and hormonal transformations.

Ideally, osteopathy can intervene already before pregnancy to release all blockages and prepare the body to conceive. During pregnancy, osteopathy will help with all the discomforts and tensions created by the body transformation. A proper balance and perfect functioning of all organs and tissues involved in these transformations will allow the body to adapt harmoniously during the pregnancy. It will give adequate space to the baby, and therefore be in the best natural conditions for delivery.

Common pregnancy discomforts and pains

Tensions applied by the uterus on other organs might result in digestive troubles :

  •        Constipation
  •        Gastric
  •        Nausea
  •        Urinary troubles



Tensions applied by the uterus on the structures of the pelvis may lead to  :
  •        Sciatica
  •        Swollen legs / circulatory troubles
  •        Pubic pain
  •        Back pain / Lower back pain
  •        Short breath
  •        Neck Pain
  •        Headaches, migraines


When to receive an osteopathic treatment during pregnancy ?

Osteopathy can help during the entire pregnancy, usually from the fourth month until the very last days before delivery. The manipulations are gentle and safe for the baby, provided your osteopath has received the appropriate training. Delivery is a mechanical event that will see important movements and pressures within the pelvic bones and related structures. Any mechanical blockage may result in slowing down or disrupting the process. This can make the whole event a difficult experience for the mother in addition of the natural discomforts of delivery.

Thus, osteopaths can prepare the physical and mechanical ground for the body to be in optimal conditions of alignment and space for the baby. The state of mind of the future mother and the conditions of delivery will also play a major role in the process of delivery. Low light, intimate atmosphere, presence of trustful loved ones, will favour relaxation and calm for the mother-to-be, allowing the right natural hormones to be secreted to ease the delivery.

And after delivery ?

In the same way the body changed during pregnancy, it will now go through a new process of going back to “non-pregnant” state. Delivery is a short and intense effort, and whatever the conditions of delivery, the body will need to recover and rebalance fully. Moreover, surgical acts like epidural, episiotomy, c-section will create scar tissues that most of the time affect the body balance within 6 months to 5 years. Not to mention a mother needs to be in good physical condition to be able to take care of her newborn and fully enjoy her new parent’s life. Osteopathy is the perfect gentle therapy to assist the mother being comfortable again with her body after the important changes of pregnancy and delivery.

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