Maternity Wellbeing

At CSPC physiotherapy, we recognise that while pregnancy is an exciting time, it is also a time of great change within a woman’s body. You can read more about these changes here.

We are keen for pregnant women to enjoy their pregnancy as much as possible and recommend that you see a CSPC physiotherapist within the first 12 weeks of your pregnancy and then book in for regular checks, ideally once a month. Your physiotherapist will monitor changes to your body throughout your pregnancy, check the alignment of your pelvis and lumbar spine, prescribe exercises suitable for you at that point in your pregnancy and treat any other areas that may be causing you pain or discomfort.

After the birth, your physiotherapist will advise you on the correct exercises to do, that are at the right level for you, and will show you how to check you are doing your exercises correctly. This is important to ensure you regain abdominal muscle strength and function. Most women will develop a split between the two sides of the tendon in the middle of your rectus abdominis (the muscle down the front of your abdomen). This is normal and is called rectus diastasis. It is important to learn how to strengthen the abdominal muscles to correct this after the baby is born. You can read more about what abdominal separation is and our advice here.

Should you need to have a Caesarean section or an episiotomy, your physiotherapist can also advise you how to look after your scars in the best way, to help prevent adhesions occurring that can cause problems further down the line.

We look forward to helping you to enjoy your pregnancy and then getting you back to your best as a new mum.