Here at Blizard Physiotherapy, we are proud to offer Women's Health advice and services, including specialist advice and treatment for pregnant women.

Our own Kate Stowers is particularly keen to raise awareness of these services, not just those offered at our clinic, but also on a national level. She is concerned that too few women are well-enough informed about the help they can receive with ante-natal issues, as well as the topic of exercise in pregnancy.

Kate recently spoke about her desire to improve care for pregnant women at a Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) conference, where she aimed to highlight the need for improved understanding regarding the benefits of exercise in pregnancy, and the availability of physiotherapy for pregnant women struggling with back and pelvic pain.

She explained the issue: "UK birth rates have risen by nearly 20 percent over the last decade, but provision for women's health physiotherapy is variable around the UK, meaning women experiencing pain are not receiving timely treatment. As many as two thirds of women report back pain in pregnancy, with a fifth seeking help for pelvic issues.

"Worryingly, those who do look for treatment often experience long waiting times for an appointment, and some have even been told to just ‘live with it, it will be over once the baby is born’! Easy to say if you’re not the one experiencing rapid weight gain at the same time as your body is relaxing all of your ligaments!"



Magnifying the negative effects of treatable pregnancy pains is the fact that many women are misinformed about exercising during pregnancy - the advice that continuing an approved exercise programme during the three trimesters can be perfectly safe is not reaching a wide enough audience. Providing sound advice is sought from your GP to ensure your individual medical situation has been assessed before resuming your preferred activity, there is no need to worry.

Kate adds: “Most women are perfectly fine to continue with exercise during pregnancy, although it is advised to avoid contact sports, and not to start new forms of exercise.”

Encouragingly, Kate’s fantastic suggestions were listened to and taken forward, with the hope that the CSP will better promote the role of Women's Health physiotherapists.

Our Blizard physiotherapist is hopeful that this will mean an improved awareness for issues such as exercise in pregnancy - allowing women to make more informed decisions about continuing activity throughout the nine months - as well as better management of back and pelvic pain in the three trimesters.



Kate summarised: “Here at Blizard Physiotherapy, we are trained in advising and treating pregnant women in pain, or those who need guidance on what they can and can’t do during pregnancy. We are more than happy to direct women to reliable resources, provide advice on the specifics of exercise, and provide hands-on treatment to those suffering with back and pelvic pain.”      

So if you are struggling with any of the issues mentioned in this article, give us a ring at the clinic and we will be happy to help you!