Physiotherapy, pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum

Pregnancy is a time when many changes occur in our body, both physical and emotional. To the extent we have more information and the more you work on both aspects, we will be more prepared for childbirth. This translates into the full enjoyment of the whole process of pregnancy and especially birth. But how can a therapist specializing in pelvic floor help you prepare for childbirth?

The role of the physiotherapist is to recover and train the musculoskeletal system. In the case of pregnancy, the therapist must be objective: to work the abdominal muscles in order to minimize strain, work the pelvic floor muscles, and ultimately, physical training for childbirth.

With the perineal massage the pelvic floor is prepared for the big stretch to suffer when you leave the baby's head, and improves the elasticity of the muscles.

Another of our objectives is training in the "push, physiological", effective for the removal of the baby, and respectful to the pelvis and abdomen of the mother.

All this training will give us an important physical and emotional support to cope with childbirth in a better position.

However, sometimes unexpected situations can arise. It is possible that labor is not ultimately as we had expected. In these cases, having carried out the preparation we can help minimize the consequences of a more traumatic birth and accelerate our recovery.

For this reason, in addition, it is recommended that after childbirth the mother has postpartum assessment to analyze how they have been all tissues after birth. This is especially necessary in multiparous women (women with more than one birth) and that as more children are the pelvic floor is weakened more and more, even though the deliveries were by Caesarean section.

As mentioned above not only the pelvic floor is weakened by the departure of the baby through the birth canal but also for the nine months of gestation in which the pelvic floor, which acts like a hammock from all the pelvic viscera, is subject the baby's weight gain.

With physical therapy recovering postpartum muscle function of the abdominal wall without damaging the pelvic floor function returns the pelvic floor muscles and if there are scars, such as episiotomy or cesarean section, treated, preventing believe adhesions and accelerating the normal healing process.

In short, a good preparation and a good knowledge of our body are a great help to benefit fully from the road that leads to motherhood.