Pregnancy, Birth & Postnatal Support
Our team are here to support you through your pregnancy and postnatal journey. We offer a range of services including individual assessment, group classes, preparation for childbirth, perineal massage, pelvic floor release, and obstetric TENS machine hire for use during labour.
We also offer timely treatment for issues related to breastfeeding (seven-day service), including laser therapy for painful, cracked/grazed nipples and therapeutic ultrasound for blocked milk ducts and mastitis.
Pregnancy
If ever there is a time when women want and need specialised care, it is during pregnancy.
This is the time when the unique functions of a woman’s pelvis are realised, as it becomes the ‘home’ for her growing baby and the pathway to meeting her little one face to face.
Our pelvic health physios support women to understand and adapt to the changes in their bodies during pregnancy and birthing.
- We aim to give women confidence in their own body and it’s amazing abilities.
- We regularly work with women to improve common discomforts including pubic symphysis dysfunction, pelvic girdle pain, lower back pain, constipation/difficult bowel emptying, bladder leakage and vulval varicosities.
- Learning to feel and exercise the pelvic floor muscles during pregnancy can be beneficial for the birth process – for mother and baby – as well as for keeping these muscles strong and supple throughout the pregnancy journey. We work together with women to optimise pelvic health during pregnancy and beyond.
- We provide tailored pregnancy and childbirth education to each woman to support her and her baby to birth normally.
- We hire out and educate on the use of Obstetrics Tens Machines for use during labour.
- We help women to understand and connect to ALL the emotions commonly experienced during pregnancy and birth, as we believe this positively impacts a woman’s physiology and physical functioning…and therefore her baby’s.
Postnatal
Also called the ‘postpartum period’ or the fourth trimester, the first year or so after a woman has been pregnant and given birth, is a unique time in her life physically, emotionally and socially.
Our pelvic health physiotherapists support women to remedy symptoms after birth, to restore the most significantly impacted areas, and to return to exercise in a way that works for them. We understand the impact of birth-related trauma on women, their babies and their families. We support women to heal, at their own pace.
- We consider it a privilege to ‘walk alongside’ women during this time.
- We support mothers to breastfeed, and prioritise management of common breastfeeding issues including nipple pain, blocked ducts, mastitis and postural issues related to breastfeeding.
- We provide sensitive and timely management for pain that persists after birth, whether vaginal or Caesarian birth.
- We provide early intervention for pelvic floor trauma associated with birth, including obstetric anal sphincter injury, perineal tears/episiotomy, bladder dysfunction and pelvic organ prolapse.
- We recommend all women have a postnatal pelvic health physio assessment from 6 weeks onward, which includes screening for bladder, bowel, pelvic floor and sexual health issues and provision of an individualised pelvic floor exercise program.
- We expertly assess and manage common musculoskeletal concerns, including rectus abdominis diastasis (RAD/DRA), pelvic floor weakness, abdominal weakness, lumbopelvic pain and wrist pain.
Obstetrics TENS Machine Hire
Many women benefit from the use of TENS during labour. Obstetric TENS machines are specifically designed to provide a safe and effective form of natural pain relief during labour. Obstetric TENS machines are available for hire at Consano and our physiotherapists can guide you through the use and benefits of these devices as part of your preparation for birth.
Treatment for Breastfeeding Conditions
We are here to support mothers to breastfeed, and prioritise management of common breastfeeding issues including nipple pain, blocked ducts, mastitis and postural issues related to breastfeeding. We offer laser treatment to assist with healing of cracked nipples and nipple pain, and ultrasound can be used in the treatment of blocked milk ducts and mastitis.
