Per the CDC, 12% of US women struggle to get pregnant. For couples that want to conceive, it sometimes feels like everyone is trying to sell you on a gimmick to bring a baby into the world. Time for some evidence-based science! A ten-year study published in 2015 looked at how manual (meaning hands-on) physical therapy helped treat female infertility issues in almost 1,400 women. It probably won't come as a surprise to you [...]
GESTATION: the process of carrying the young in the womb between conception to delivery. Cool. You probably knew that already. But so much more happens on the inside to a woman's body during this time! Where do the organs go? Why might you feel short of breath, especially during that third trimester? Check out this great video from the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago (super cool place, btw) -- it'll show you [...]
PSEUDOCYESIS. Yup, it's Word of the Day Wednesday again! Today's word means "false pregnancy." Yes. The morning sickness, the tender breasts, the weight gain, the abdominal distension, in some cases even labor pains -- they are all expected to some degree or another with pregnancy. But these are also present with pseudocyesis... except there is no growing fetus in there. Crazy, right?! The first written account of this was in 300B.C. by our ol' buddy [...]
Here's a Fun Fact Friday that might rock your world. Did you know that the position in which most women deliver in Western hospitals (lithotomy: on your back, legs elevated and spread) puts you at the most risk of a grade III or IV tear - which means tearing down to the anal sphincter - and this is especially seen in women who have had multiple deliveries? (Elvander et al 2015, n>113,000). The theory [...]
A 2008 study (Coldron et al) looked at diastasis recti abdominis (DRA), the separation of your ab muscles that can occur with pregnancy and with obesity (see photo, right side). The study found that in the first eight weeks after delivery, the distance will decrease markedly -- but without any other intervention, like physical therapy or (the right!) exercise training, there was no more closure in the gap after the first year postpartum. It's [...]
Should You Be Concerned About Pregnancy-associated Osteoporosis (PAO)? I’m willing to bet that one of the last things on your mind as a mama (or soon-to-be mama) is bone mineral density. Not the sexiest topic, I know. But pregnancy-associated osteoporosis (PAO) is a real concern, and for those if you due soon or currently breastfeeding, *please* consider speaking to your physical therapist or physician if you are experiencing severe back, hip or leg pain, [...]