Hills Physiotherapy offers a multitude of solutions for women during or after pregnancy, including for pre and post natal pelvic issues, and prophylactic care.
My name is Vanessa- I’m the practice manager of Hills Physiotherapy.
I’d love to share a bit about my second pregnancy with our son Griffin – as my first pregnancy was pretty uneventful until my Caesarian Section, which I swore I wasn’t having. I know now that had I been going to Pilates regularly (yes, during pregnancy) that I might have curbed some of my late stage pelvic pain, and improved my recovery after the birth.
Pregnancy can be a daunting time and for me this started prior to being pregnant as I had to undergo IVF treatment. I have endometriosis and adenomyosis, and thankfully I was referred to my specialist Dr. Jim Tsaltas at Melbourne IVF.
A Caesarian Section is major surgery; despite this it is possible to get back up and running pretty quickly if you have the right team of professionals at hand, and you do a little work up front. Pilates, Pilates, Pilates- before, during, and after, and yes- even way after. This was a complete game changer between the two pregnancies. I was coming off of two rounds of hormones and pelvic issues, and one major surgery just to get pregnant, so by the time IVF was successful, I was a mess. A few short weeks into my pregnancy I started attending a group Pilates class with Ben – only stopping at 37 weeks. It was advised that I’d have to undergo another Caesarian due to birth risks, so I was going to give it all I had to strengthen up prior to this. What a difference this made. I was up and out of bed on the same night and although still an arduous recovery the down time was shorter and I was certainly stronger. After about 6 weeks I began a postnatal Pilates class with Amy Isaac, a few other Mum’s and all of our babies. The class is challenging, but certainly don’t be intimidated by it. There were lots of laughs, a few baby tears, a few feeds in the reception area/treatment rooms and more than a few babies crawling away while we had class. Don’t worry, they don’t get very far. Between my weeks of Pilates with Amy, a bit of treatment from our Physios, and Remedial Massages I was getting into my new life as a busy working Mum of two boys.
There is so much that Physiotherapy and Allied Health can offer for support while you’re growing your family. We have Alysia Raftery- who is a Myotherapist and Naturopath. She’s your “go to” for support while you’re thinking about getting pregnant, if Naturopathy is indicated in IVF support. Alysia even has a new line of teas (Cheeki Tea) that are all Naturopath created and designed for emotional support and wellbeing. Daniel Smit is a Physiotherapist AND Chinese Medicine Practitioner, so if your specialist has suggested that Acupuncture might help – he’s your guy. He should know- he has 4 little ones of his own, and calming is one of his specialities. He’s also a highly skilled Physiotherapist, and can support that familiar back/pelvis pain of pregnancy, and the shoulder/lower back pain of feeding and carrying babies when they have arrived. Amy Isaac is our Pre/Postnatal Pilates expert. Amy is also a highly skilled Myotherapist, and she’ll take you through you Pilates classes before and after baby is born. I always loved that when something felt “weird” or “hurt” -with Amy’s training I knew that she could explain what was happening (and what was normal or not), and whether I was being overly cautious/ when I could push my battle weary body a bit further.
Ok ladies. So there it is. The guide to what we have to offer (some of it, anyway!) for your before, during, and after baby bod. It’s a journey for sure, and if you’re anything like me you’ll need a few professionals on hand to help you sort out what your body is doing!
– Ness