A woman’s body changes a great deal during pregnancy — ligaments soften, weight increases, and posture shifts to accommodate your growing baby. These changes can lead to extra pressure on the joints in various parts of the body, including the spine and pelvis.
At Dorchester Osteopaths, our practitioners bring particular experience in caring for pregnant women, offering the same careful, individual approach we bring to every patient.
What we can help with
As with any patient, we’re able to help with general back, neck, shoulder and joint pain — which can become more noticeable during pregnancy as ligaments soften and your posture adapts to your changing shape. We also see many pregnant patients for the general aches and pains that can come with these physical changes.
Pregnancy massage
If you’re looking for a gentler way to ease tension alongside your osteopathic care, Iona offers pregnancy massage at the clinic — a soothing treatment tailored to the changes your body is going through, helping ease muscular tension and promote relaxation at any stage of pregnancy. Find out more about pregnancy massage with Iona →
After your baby arrives
Pregnancy’s physical demands don’t end at birth. New mums often carry additional strain from the day-to-day mechanics of caring for a newborn — extra bending and lifting, and hours spent in nursing positions that weren’t designed with your body in mind. As with anyone carrying ongoing physical strain, this can show up as back pain, headaches, and general tension.
Our treatments are designed to support your recovery from both the physical changes of pregnancy itself and the everyday demands of caring for your baby.
A gentle approach for your baby too
If your baby also needs to be seen, you’re in safe hands. A baby’s skeleton is softer and more flexible than an adult’s, so we use correspondingly gentle techniques — most often cranial osteopathy, a subtle, safe and non-manipulative approach often used with young children and newborns. We’ll always assess your baby individually to see what might help.
(See our full [Osteopathy for Babies & Children] page for more detail.)
Trained to keep you safe
Osteopaths are statutorily regulated primary healthcare professionals, and all our practitioners are registered with the General Osteopathic Council. As part of our training, we’re taught to screen for medical conditions that fall outside osteopathic care — so if anything we find during your assessment needs input from your GP or midwife, we’ll always tell you and help point you in the right direction. We’re also happy to liaise with your midwife or health visitor where that’s helpful.
What to expect at your appointment
As with any first appointment, we’ll begin with a full case history, followed by a physical assessment, so we understand exactly what’s going on for you before treatment begins. From there, we’ll agree a plan built around your stage of pregnancy, and explain clearly what to expect at each step.
