During pregnancy there are many changes that occur in a woman’s body. Some might be irreversible such as breast size, a widening of the pelvis or a darkening of the nipples. However, most other changes are reversible. These include experiencing faecal and/or urinary incontinence or urgency, heaviness in your vagina, painful sex, a tummy gap (called a rectus diastasis), and pelvic or back pain. At Wandsworth Physiotherapy and Osteopathy all of these issues can be addressed in our POST-natal check-up.

Pelvic floor dysfunction leading to urinary and faecal incontinence affects many women after giving birth, perhaps as many as one in three women will experience incontinence in their lifetime. This can be a deeply embarrassing problem and many women are too embarrassed to discuss this problem with friends, family or GP often ignoring it, or just suspecting that leaking with laughing or running is normal, and you just have to live with it. However, this need not be the case. Incontinence can be significantly improved or resolved with the correct guidance, sometimes some pelvic floor treatment and the correct pelvic floor exercises. At Wandsworth Physiotherapy and Osteopathy our women’s health specialist can physically examine the pelvic floor and/or ultrasound scan the pelvic floor, the bladder and other pelvic organs and teach you optimal pelvic floor function through ultrasound imaging feedback.

The tummy gap that most women acquired during pregnancy called a rectus diastasis can be a concerning issue after giving birth. This can often affect a woman self-esteem and make them body conscious of the mummy tummy. At Wandsworth Physiotherapy and Osteopathy we can physically assess as well as ultrasound scan the tummy gap, measuring the gap and also imaging the ability to apply tension through your abdominal muscles to close or stabilise the gap. Being able to stabilise the gap is the key to regaining function such as being able to go to the gym or run again without the fear of back or pelvic pain.

A C-section is a major abdominal surgery. If you were to have knee surgery or back surgery you would have at least one or two follow up consultations with the surgeon and be referred for post op physiotherapy. However, this is often not the case after a C-section. At times the best you get is a 6 week check up from a GP or mid wife. We need to change the narrative on this. We can’t make the surgeon review you but we can certainly provide you with immediate post op advice including exercises that can be done in the first few weeks, advise on wound care and scar tissue massage. At around the 7-9 weeks mark we can do a POST-natal check-up and begin treatment and rehab for your surgery, much like a physio would for you after having knee surgery.  Don’t settle for anything less. Book a POST-natal Check-up today.

All appointments are secured with payment. All appointments cancelled within 24 hours of the start time or not attended will not be refunded.

How we can help you…

Every women needs to have a POST-natal Check-up 6 weeks after vaginal delivery. It’s extremely common to suffer pelvic floor trauma during birth and if you don’t rehabilitate these muscles after having your baby you are much more likely to suffer from a number of problems described below.

During a Women’s Health POST-natal Check-up we will assess your posture, lower back and pelvic movements, your breathing patterns, your abdominals for rectus diastasis, and the function of your pelvic floor muscles – this may involve an internal assessment of your pelvic floor, but is not compulsory if you are uncomfortable with this.  

After your assessment we will design a treatment and rehabilitation plan to get you back to full function.

Some of the problems you may suffer from after having your baby include:

Incontinence 
Stress incontinence is where you leak when you cough or sneeze, lift, twist or try to get back to sports or the gym. 32% of all women in the UK experience some urinary incontinence, with 45% suffering from urinary incontinence up to seven years after giving birth. You may need to start using pads to combat this embarrassing problem, however this needn’t be the case. Assessment and rehabilitation of the pelvic floor muscle can get this problem under control.  

Lower back pain 
The pelvic floor muscles are intimately linked to the other spinal stabilising muscles and any dysfunction in this system can alter movement, cause joint instability and lead to pain. We will assess your pelvic and spinal movements and core stability function. We can treat areas of stiffness and dysfunction and give you individually tailored core stability home exercises.

Rectus Diastasis 
This is where the abdominal muscles separate whilst you are pregnant. Some research shows that 100% of women have diastasis at 38 weeks. This can lead to constipation / incontinence, and instability and poor function of the spine and pelvis. Our Women’s Health Team can assess this for you and give you a safe, structured and progressive solution for your recovery.

Pelvic organ prolapse 
There are different types of prolapse graded 1-4. The rectum can prolapse in to the vagina (rectocele), the bladder can prolapse into the vagina (cystocele) or the uterus can prolapse into the vagina. Up to 50% of mums who had a natural birth will suffer from a pelvic organ prolapse. A Women’s Health Assessment can identify if you have a prolapse and can give you the right treatment and exercises where appropriate or refer you to out in-house GP partners at The London Doctors Clinic.  

If you have had a Caesarean section you will have a scar just above the pubic area that will cause abdominal muscle dysfunction, or if you had an episiotomy your pelvic floor muscles will not function properly. The abdominals and pelvic floor are important for spinal stabilisation and rehabilitating the pelvic floor abdominals as well as massage and using acupuncture on the C section scar may be warranted. We recommend you book a Women’s Health POST-natal Check-up 7-9 weeks after your surgery.

We will also advise you on safe and effective exercises and help you regain function post pregnancy to regain control of the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles.

Perhaps you are getting wrist pain lifting and carrying your new born or upper back and neck pain from breast feeding.

Physiotherapy or Osteopathy including joint mobilisation, massage and strength exercises will help get these problems under control.

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