Nurturing Strength: The Role of Osteopathy in Holistic Pregnancy and Post-Natal Care

While joyous and exciting, the arrival of a tender, new life can be tumultuous for the mother. For mothers, the physical and hormonal changes of pregnancy can lead to issues ranging from pain to stress.

Holistic care for the mother is of utmost importance. Recognizing the mother as an individual and prioritizing her prenatal and postpartum care is important for the well-being of the mother and the child.

Our body is a magnificent, intricate system that can nurture new life into being and heal itself. Knowing how to connect with your body and treating your whole person can be so empowering for women and families on the cusp of physical, emotional, and mental transformation from pregnancy.

This blog aims to equip you with complete information on osteopathic treatment for pregnant women, new mothers, and infants.

What is Osteopathy?

Osteopathy is a non-invasive, physical therapy that manipulates the body's musculoskeletal systems to strengthen muscles, treat pain, help bring alignment, enhance blood circulation, and improve overall health.

A whole-body approach like osteopathy offers healing and pain relief without side effects and strengthens the body’s muscles and the core which plays a role in more than just movement. Targeted treatment of one part can often release tension in the surrounding areas, improve blood flow throughout the body, and promote overall well-being.

The knowledge that our bodies don't work in isolation has gained a wider reach, leading to increased demand for holistic treatments like acupuncture and osteopathy.

Strong muscles, joints, and ligaments are the foundations of a healthy, upright body that can work independently. Thus it comes as no surprise that osteopathy can be of huge benefit to pregnant women where the body have gone through immense transformation to accommodate a new life.

Osteopathy during pregnancy

Osteopathy for pregnant women is a safe, gentle, and effective natural treatment. A whole-body approach like that of osteopathy can have immense benefits for pregnant women during and even after childbirth.

Following are some ways that osteopathy can help during pregnancy:

Pain Relief

Changes in weight distribution and hormonal fluctuations can cause headaches, lower back pain, pelvic strain, sciatica, and more.

Osteopathy for pregnant women involves gentle and targeted manipulation of muscles and soft tissues to address pain, realign the body, alleviate muscle tension, and improve posture.

Hormonal and postural changes that come from the strain of accommodating a baby can cause fluid retention and swelling, especially in the lower regions of the body. Osteopathic treatment improves blood circulation throughout the body and reduces swelling.

Preparing for labour:

Osteopathic treatment helps strengthen the pelvic floor and relax pelvic muscles which plays a major role at the time of childbirth.

Osteopaths also incorporate gentle manipulation techniques to encourage the baby to adopt a head-down position for a safe, easy labour.

Certified osteopaths also often educate women in osteopathic therapy on breathing techniques, maintaining posture, and appropriate exercises that aid with pregnancy and childbirth. It also helps ease the stress, tension, and anxiety of childbirth.

Osteopathy for post-natal care

Post-partum osteopathy involves helping new mothers restore a sense of former bodily semblance and adjust to post-partum changes in the body.

Pelvic realignment:

It helps with pelvic floor healing after birth. The pelvic region undergoes wear and tear from labour. Osteopathy restores strength in the pelvic region, helping prevent and treat pelvic floor dysfunction.

Scar Tissue Treatment:

A C-section birth leads to the development of scar tissue in the region where an incision is made. Adhesions occur when nearby organs or tissues begin sticking together, leading to pain. Mobility of nearby muscles and regions can also be restricted due to scar tissue formation.

Soft tissue manipulation through osteopathic treatment leads to the breaking down of adhesion in surrounding areas and encourages the mobilization of scar tissues to improve flexibility, reduce pain, and prevent further adhesions.

Breastfeeding:

New and experienced mothers alike can struggle with adjusting to the rhythms and needs of breastfeeding. Incorrect posture can cause distress to both mother and child. Osteopaths recommend exercises and offer guidance to optimize position and alleviate issues such as back pain, neck pain, and other musculoskeletal issues to improve the breastfeeding experience for both the mother and the child.

Stress and postpartum depression:

Our bodies are reservoirs of energy and emotions. Hormonal and physical changes caused by pregnancy can cause post-partum depression. Osteopathy can help reduce distress and improve blood flow, leading to the release of hormones referred to as the body’s natural painkillers (endorphins and serotonin) to boost mental health.

Osteopathy for newborns

For a newborn to go from a dark, nestled womb into our physical world is as hard as it is for new parents to adapt to the reality of childbirth.

Osteopathy has been known to be of great help to infants. It can aid in treating everything from birth trauma to managing symptoms of colic. There’s no minimum age your baby needs to reach to see an osteopath. Babies as young as 4 weeks old can visit an osteopath.

Among infants, osteopathy can help with the following:

Birth trauma:

Trauma from difficult labour can cause tense muscles, misalignment, compressed nerves, and other distress among newborn babies. Osteopathic manipulation for babies is extremely gentle yet impactful. It involves assessing the entire body's musculoskeletal frame to look for signs of misalignment, tension, tear, and compression in the cranial and spinal regions. Cranial osteopathy can help treat plagiocephaly (flat head) and other common skull deformities in infants.

Breast Feeding:

Adjusting to breastfeeding for nutrition can be difficult for babies. Babies with stiff neck muscles (also called torticollis), improper posture, tight jaw muscles, and other issues can struggle with breastfeeding. Osteopathic maneuvering can ease muscle tension and make moving the head and neck easier for breastfeeding.

Colic and other issues:

Osteopathy can help treat colic and gastrointestinal problems. Through gentle manipulation, osteopaths help reduce strain and ease muscles in the abdominal region to ease the baby’s distress. Irritability, frequent crying, and sleep disturbances accompanied by colic are also addressed by osteopathy. The gentle kneading can ease pain and make babies feel soothed, inducing sleep.

Motherhood can be simultaneously joyous and difficult. We can all do a lot to support mothers and infants to make this journey comforting and beautiful. At Unplug Hour Wellness, we aim to support women in strengthening their bonds with their bodies and babies.

Final Thoughts

Still curious about how Osteopathy and other natural medicine practices can help you with your pregnancy journey and through to post-partum. You can also check out our fertility acupuncture service where we offer acupuncture, lifestyle education and herbal medicine to empower your body to heal itself, naturally.

If you are located in Vancouver and have any questions, we would love to hear from you! Don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.