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Pregnancy & Postpartum Care

Osteopathic and Acupuncture pregnancy and postpartum care is becoming increasingly popular by many women as an adjunct therapy to conventional obstetric care.
During pregnancy a woman’s body goes through numerous physical, chemical and emotional changes over a relatively short period of time. The additional weight of baby, placenta and fluids puts a fair amount of physical strain on the organs, tissues, joints and ligaments of the body. The hormone relaxin can make joints more mobile than usual and therefore more vulnerable to injury. In order for the pregnant body to adapt to all these changes it has to find new ways to walk, sit and sleep resulting with new aches and pains arising. Osteopathic care can help relieve these stresses and aid the body in adapting to the new changes.
Pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal recovery are viewed in traditional Chinese medicine as a window of opportunity to enhance the woman’s well being. Value is therefore placed on strengthening the mother and baby as well as dealing with any problems that may occur during pregnancy. Acupuncture can be used in a variety of ways to promote foetal and maternal heath. It is extremely effective at treating nausea, breech presentation, high blood pressure and musculoskeletal problems. It is also an invaluable therapy in preparation for labour, helping the body prepare for the birth and reducing labour time, furthermore it can provide gentle inducement to labour if the baby is overdue.
Once you’ve given birth your body starts the process of returning to normal. You may have incurred misalignments during the birth as well as new changes in posture due to breastfeeding, carrying your baby and picking them up from their cot and in and out of cars, all of which can cause aches and pains. Osteopathy can help your body readjust to the new fluctuations in weight distribution and postural changes.
Acupuncture has techniques to promote postnatal recovery, these include “mother warming” treatments that can be given by a partner, advice on diet and the use of specific strengthening and blood building herbs.
Other conditions that can be helped by acupuncture include, insufficient lactation, wound healing, scar tissue repair and postnatal depression.
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