6 Reasons to See a Physical Therapist BEFORE the Baby Arrives
If you’re like me, you grew up thinking that having a baby looked kind of like this:
Your water breaks in a really dramatic gush. You rush to the hospital (that baby is coming any second!) then suddenly are lying on your back with your legs in the air while a doctor in a white coat catches the baby.
Add in some dramatic screaming and pushing and you’ve got the picture.
Can anyone else relate? While yes, there are births that I’m sure look like that—it’s TV.
Many people have days of labor, change positions too many times to count, and give birth not only in a hospital but perhaps a birthing center or a pool or the bathtub or their living room. The possibilities are almost endless, but—especially with the first baby—it’s usually not a quick process.
Labor & delivery is often a long, exhausting event. It’s something you need to prepare for—get in shape for, if you will. For example, if you’re pregnant and want to labor in a squat (a great option for opening the pelvis), you need to make sure you can squat before those contractions even begin. A deep squat takes strength, endurance, and a lot of hip, knee, and ankle mobility.
This is where physical therapy comes in to play with L&D. Most people don’t think of PT before labor, unless they’re having pain of one variety or another and were referred by their midwife or OB. Seeing a PT during pregnancy can prevent pain & discomfort, and prepare you for the big event.
6 Reasons to See a Physical Therapist BEFORE the Baby Arrives:
1. They can teach you perineal massage. While we can’t say if this truly prevents tearing during delivery, we do know it helps you learn how to keep your pelvic floor muscles relaxed during the discomfort of a lot of perineal stretching. A relaxed pelvic floor = an open path to the exit!
2. You can learn how to actually push during labor. Ask your friends: how many of them said they didn’t know how to push when the nurse or midwife started telling them to do it? A PT can help you learn what it feels like to lengthen the pelvic floor while pushing with your abdominal muscles so it’s familiar when the time comes.
3. Practice labor & delivery positions. A PT can make sure you have the joint mobility to get into a deep squat, a lunge, hands and knees, and any other variety of positions that can help open the pelvis and move the baby down. We can educate you on the benefit of different positions and help you figure out which ones you need to practice before the big day.
4. Make sure your partner knows how to physically support you during labor. Bring your partner to an appointment or two so they can learn ways to support you in a variety of labor positions, perineal massage (you might not be able to reach eventually!), and comfort measures.
5. Balance the pelvis & uterine ligaments. If your pelvis is a little shifty or your ligaments have restrictions, it may affect baby’s ability to move down. As long as you’re later in the pregnancy, a PT can use manual techniques to make sure everything is balanced and ready to go.
6. Get educated on postpartum care. When can you start doing kegels? When can you start doing abdominal exercises? What do you do if you had a cesarean? How do you get out of bed comfortably? We can give you guidance on all of this and more (with handouts, of course) so if you have questions after baby comes, you have the resources right there.
If you are expecting (congratulations!), I can’t recommend seeing a PT enough. If you’re in the Tacoma area, schedule a FREE 15-minute phone consult with me to get started. If you’re farther away, check out these resources here and here to find a PT near you. The best thing you can do during pregnancy is to educate yourself and be prepared for anything. Making a PT part of your team will be a huge benefit to that end.
Did you have PT during your pregnancy? How was your experience? What else would have been beneficial to know going into labor? Share in the comments!