Healing the Body during & after Pregnancy

It all started last spring. There was this Birth Healing Summit advertised on one of my pelvic health groups on Facebook, and since it was presented online and free, I decided to sign up. What did I have to lose anyway..?

This summit was put on by a Pelvic Health physiotherapist called Lynn Schulte who had interviewed different speakers in the birthing field about various subjects. When I saw that Julie Wiebe & Sinéad Dufour – two experts that I highly respect in the pelvic health field – were going to be interviewed, my heart was won already.

I listened to all the interviews with much interest, getting everyone’s perspective on how to heal the body after delivery. But the interview that really got me was Lynn Schulte’s herself. She spoke about her experience treating pregnant and post partum women, and how she found these similar patterns in all of her clients. It was like a light bulb flashing to my eyes, so brilliant, so clear. She was mentioning about how the pelvic bones (sacrum & ilium) need to move and open to let the baby go through the pelvis during labor and delivery. She called it “the open birthing pelvis” pattern. She also mentioned how these bones were stuck in a very stereotypical way in almost every post partum mom she had assessed, leaving the right side of the pelvis (especially the sacro iliac joint) out of whack after birth, triggering similar symptoms such as right-sided low back pain, pubic symphysis pain, feeling of unsteadiness in the pelvis, difficulty to recruit the pelvic floor & core after birth, etc.

But wait…!!? My moms were reporting that too!!! That damn right-sided pelvic pain! This feeling of getting out of bed in the morning and feeling like an 80 yo! This hip pain while sleeping! This “unsettled pelvis” sensation, or feeling that you don’t own your body anymore after delivery! Then it became clear to me:

I had to meet Lynn Schulte in person.

I had to learn everything she knew about fixing the body during and after pregnancy.

The first thing I did was to read everything about her and the Institute for Birth Healing which she had opened a few years ago in Denver, Colorado. I realized that this amazing experienced physiotherapist had worked for more than 25 years helping moms to recover from birth. I discovered her youtube channel which I spent many hours on, watching every video, positively nodding to everything she said, and wanting more. This woman knew what she was talking about, holy!

But what caught my attention was this Birth Healing Specialist Certification that she was offering for professionals in the birth/pregnancy field. This included 3 in-person practical courses at her Institute in Denver. Mmm… this would be a big investment if you count the courses/certification fees as well as travel fees… Plus the Canadian to US dollar change rate was not really helping me…!

But hey! My heart was really calling for this training. Everything I had done so far was leading me to it. Working with pregnant and post partum moms was clearly my path, I knew it deep inside. I needed to offer more to my moms. I needed to help them in an effective way and understand what was going on for them. Make them more comfortable so they can get back to what they love doing without discomfort from pelvic floor disorders. Go back hiking, running, playing with their kids, camping, and whatever they like doing, and feel like their body was not restricting them to do those things.

So I signed up for the certification. In October & November this fall, I flew to Colorado (long travels!!!) to meet with Lynn Schulte and all the amazing women who wanted to learn from her. Our first course was the Holistic Treatment of the Pregnant Body, and the 2nd one the Holistic Treatment of the Post Partum Body.

There is no word to say how much this training has changed my practice already. A few realizations I made…:

• This open birthing pattern where the pelvic bones move for delivery can remain in the post partum body for years if it is not addressed through manual treatment, it can lead to pelvic floor disorders symptoms like pain, prolapse, urine incontinence and so on. So big “hah!!!” moment for me to learn that we cannot just approach things from a strict “muscle” perspective.
• There are quick and effective external manual techniques to fix the bones and put them back where they should be. After trying it in clinic with a few patients, I was so surprised to see how effective these techniques are!!
• During pregnancy, the organs (liver, stomach, small intestine, bladder, uterus) are pushed in all directions to make room for the baby, and can remain “stuck” in these positions after baby is born, causing various issues. I learned how to mobilize these organs and put them back into place. I am thankful for the visceral knowledge that PT school never really brought up…!
• Urinary urgency/frequency that is often reported post partum can be caused by the urethra/bladder being shifted to one side or the other, and I can now fix this with quick effective techniques!
• There is an emotional component from pregnancy and birth that can be held in the tissues, and doing a body/mind connnection through a pelvic bowl meditation (credits to Lynn Schulte :)) can be so so powerful to release it!

  

• Yes, internal vaginal techniques have a big role to play in assessing my moms, but there is much more to it such as external joints & organ mobilizations, release of the abdominal wall & diaphragm, etc, and I am thrilled to now be able to offer more to my clients with a holistic approach
• These techniques are not only helpful for moms or moms-to-be – I have been applying them to many other clients (back/pelvic pain, urinary problems, etc) and they proved to be effective for so many people!!!

These are just a few “wow” moments that I picked up, but there are so many more!!! My last course is coming up in December and we will learn more advanced post partum techniques which I am so excited about!

By the way, I am proud to say I will be the first PT in Canada who has this Birth Healing Specialist certification! What an honour!

Sophie