Pre and Post natal care
Charlotte is passionate in helping mom’s take a proactive approach to their pregnancy so that they give themselves the best chance for a pain-free and active pregnancy and a smooth post natal recovery.
Prevention is always better than a cure and not only is it safe to exercise during pregnancy, but there is a growing list of benefits to exercising during pregnancy for both you and your baby. Learn more about these below.
If you do experience any of the common aches and pains that can show up in your body during pregnancy then evidence based Physical Therapy can help to return you to your best. Physical Therapy will involve a thorough assessment, hands-on manual therapy, education, behavioral modifications and targeted exercise / rehabilitation.
Exercising during Pregnancy
Many women are unsure how to modify their current training or how to exercise safely during and after pregnancy - and so unfortunately stop!
Exercise is an important part of any healthy pregnancy and we can teach you how to exercise safely during your pregnancy and during your recovery with an extra plus one in your life.
Charlotte can prescribe and modify exercise to address common aches and injuries that occur during and after pregnancy to keep you on the move and feeling fantastic.
Benefits of Exercising during Pregnancy
Improved fitness and cardiac function.
Decreased risk of gestational diabetes and hypertension.
Improved mental state.
Reduced injury / aches and pains.
Potential for a shorter, less complicated labour.
Better post natal recovery.
Pre and Post Natal Physical Therapy
Be pregnant doesn’t have to be painful! Many women suffer through body aches and pains without knowing that these can be treated.
Addressing injuries as soon as they turn up will give you the best chance to reduce them becoming a permanent fixture during your pregnancy - helping you get back to focussing on growing the newest member to your family!
Common Pregnancy and Post Natal complaints:
- Low Back Pain
- Pelvic Girdle Pain / Sacroiliac Joint Pain
- Hip and Knee Pain
- Pelvic Floor Muscle Weakness and Incontinence
- DRAM (Abdominal Muscle Separation)
- Upper Back, Neck and Shoulder Pain (especially once baby arrives)
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Post Natal Physical Therapy and Pilates
While your number one goal is learning to be the best Mom you can be, a structured and evidence based post natal rehabilitation is incredibly important.
Post natal rehabilitation with PT and Pilates will allow you:
- treat any ongoing or new injuries following the delivery and while feeding your baby.
- to regain strength and function in your pelvic floor, treat any incontinence or bladder leakage.
- treat any DRAM (abdominal muscle separation).
- regain function of your deep core muscles.
- safely progress your exercise program back towards your physical goals, whether that is being an active enough to run around after toddlers or something higher level like returning to gym classes, running and playing sports.
- learn about ideal body posture, feeding positions, lifting techniques and more!
Some of our past “Form” moms have given their New York recommendations for navigating pregnancy and having a baby in New York City.
“At my 6 weeks postpartum visit, my OBGYN diagnosed a diastasis recti or ab separation. It was during COVID so she recommended that I find some exercises online and do them at home. I was very active before and during my pregnancy so I thought “sure I can do that on my own”. 5 months later and with hours of pelvic floor / abs work, my diastasis recti was still not resolved and I could tell that my body was not fully recovered.
A friend recommended Charlotte and I was so happy to find out she was doing at-home visits. It’s so much easier with a newborn at home!! In only a few sessions, I started to feel stronger and more flexible. Charlotte is very gentle and explains all the movements in detail. She really helped me visualize and understand how to make the exercises correctly to get the most out of it. After 2.5 months, my diastasis was almost fully healed, I had gained most of my flexibility back and got a lot stronger.
Postpartum recovery is so important and can’t be improvised. I wish I had met Charlotte much sooner!”