Relieving Pregnancy & Postpartum Pain with Pelvic Floor Momma | 106

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Becca: So true. 


Trish: So I have done something to tweak my back working out this morning and Becca has had how many hours of sleep? Like maybe three. Okay. So she's had three hours of sleep. I've hurt my back. That being said. I'm going to go ahead and actually introduce my guest. As you can see, already on the path to not doing this very well today. 


Becca: Yeah, so I am pelvic floor mama. I do pelvic floor physical therapy pelvic floor specialist. My Favorite thing is helping pregnant moms overcome their pain, especially when so often they are told that it's normal and it's common. And I feel like when we tell someone that it's normal, it's something that's can't be fixed or can't be helped. 


Trish: know. No it's insane. And I love it, Becca, because I've been there with you from the beginning. I still remember when we had a, I don't remember if it was a zoom or just a talk. 


And you were saying that you really wanted to focus in this area. And it is needed, like you said, because what the heck why have so many hundreds of years gone by that women think, oh, that's just part of pregnancy. It's just part of pregnancy that I'm in pain. It's part of pregnancy that I pee on myself. 


So let's go ahead and talk about that So what I'm thinking is let's talk about maybe the top two that you hear the most From your clients your in person clients and your online audience. So if you want to just jump in 


Becca: yeah, so a lot of times the biggest complaint I'm hearing is it feels like my Pelvic area, my grime, my pubic bone, however they explain it is like ripping apart or like super sharp, stabbing, uncomfortable. 


But there are so many different things that you can help to help support your pelvis to help decrease the pain that you're having. And essentially that like instability within the pelvis that's taking place and can improve like your pregnancy. Like I just had actually a couple of mamas in the clinic who had this and one of them. 


Felt so much better that she started going back to like her lifting at home and like her exercises and stuff. And when she came to me, she's I can barely walk. I'm getting like no sleep because no matter what I do in bed, I can't move. And now she's lifting. Yeah. And now she's lifting. And actually her due date is in three days. 


I forgot. So it's just, there are things that can be done to help it. And listening to that being such a, Top pain complaint. I guess I decided to really not only just target that within my course. But there is like a huge section within a module of just feeling better. If you're having this type of pain and things to do to limit the exposure to that pain, right? 


Because every time you're rolling out of bed, or every time you go to put your pants on, you're like, ouch. So if we can find a little more comfortable to do those and then work on things that are going to essentially give you pain free pregnancy, then let's do that. So that's what the course is all about. 


So all of that can be helped. It's a common part of pregnancy, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's something that everybody has to suffer through. And sometimes I've. Especially with like my online mamas, they just do a couple of exercises and they're like, Oh my gosh, I'm feeling so much better. 


This is the best sleep I've got. And I'm like, all you gotta do is like maybe five to 10 minutes of these intentional movement, which is one of the biggest things I preach. And you'll be feeling better. And so that's what a lot of them have already started to do. And they're already noticing the difference and some of them are having babies now, which is crazy. 


Yeah. 


Yeah. And some of you might have relief not all of us, like you said, do that, but just being able to enjoy your daily life. That is prize enough because I remember with Grayson, I had really bad sciatica and it was like I just, there was a portion of my pregnancy that I didn't get to enjoy because that pain takes precedence over everything. 


And I, I just hate that. Yeah. I really hate that for these moms. So I love that you said that. And for those of you guys listening, we'll have a link in the show notes to Becca's what is the name of your course again? It's secrets to releasing pregnancy pain. There you go. That's exactly what we want. We want those secrets. 


Becca: Yeah, so I'm a pelvic floor specialist. 


So I have not just moms. I have all types of Women come into my clinic. Not my clinic, but the clinic. And we address whatever's going on. So a lot of times there's pain with intercourse, there's leaking or incontinence. Some have had children, some have not. There's a lot of postpartum mamas, pregnant mamas All of the above even have a couple endometriosis patients in the clinic as well. 


But I would say like the incontinence and I'd say the incontinence right now is the most common which is also seeming to be a trend too. Cause even like the coughing and the sneezing, everyone's Oh, I just had a baby, so that's why. And it's that might be caused it, but that doesn't mean you have to stay. 


Yeah. 


From having so many babies, but it doesn't have to be. Our bodies are so incredible. 


Becca: They really are. And so often too, sometimes like a lot of the moms that I get postpartum aren't necessarily like at their six week checkup, this is what's happening. A lot of the moms are coming in two, three, four, five years after having a baby and they're like, I'm having these issues. 


And it's when did they start? It's Oh, six months after I had my baby or within the first year after having my baby. were you able to do any of these things after you had your baby, like reengaging your core or working on your pelvic floor or understanding any of those things? 


So then there's less problems and maybe more prevention of things that can happen during labor birth or postpartum. 


Trish: And that's where knowledge comes in because it's exactly like Me with mine I want to get these first time moms, even though I love my moms who have had babies before, like you, who find me for the VBAC lab, or for com labor, but I really want to educate them before they feel traumatized by their birth, or they were coerced into a decision they don't agree with, and now they know, in hindsight, man, I wish I would have been educated. 


And I want to go back to something you said. So you said a lot of these moms come years later. Do they still, is it still possible for them to find relief? So if someone's listening right now, she could still come to you and get relief. 


Becca: Yes. Yeah. So we, yes. And sometimes it can take a little bit longer if it's something that you have been dealing with for so long. 


Women in the clinic have no idea how to do. I don't even use kegels ever. I don't use that word. I, but they don't know how to do a public floor contraction. And sometimes they don't need necessarily to learn how to do the public floor contraction because they do know that they need to relax their public floor. 


And I think so oftentimes moms are like I had a baby and in quotations, like I'm all loose now. It's. Usually completely opposite. Your pelvic floor is now tight. It's hypertonic. Those muscles are in a constant state of contraction, and if we don't address it, then they can stay that way, and then that can lead with the pain with intercourse, the back pain, the hip pain and incontinence. 


So there's so many different things that Can contribute to things, but we definitely can get them better. And it just depends on one, how they can, how quickly they can understand how to utilize, like to use their muscles and different areas. And then two, how long has it been going on and how diligent are you going to do these things at home too? 


Trish: Yeah, 


So just incorporating. Daily activities until they're already thinks that they're doing so 


Trish: if you had someone come to you for let's say You're saying you teach them how to do everyday things To help would that also apply to the mamas who are coming to you pregnant and with pain are they? Also, are you also going to teach them like proper positioning? 


Yes 


Those are daily tasks like those. You have to be able to do those. To function essentially. So teaching them like the proper changing the mechanics, maybe of what you're doing teaching you how to breathe, which sounds so silly, but so many times moms do the opposite of what you want to do. 


A lot of times pregnant moms are told not to do core strengthening. And it's what do you think is working or helps you sit up? Or stand up or pick something up. Like your core is working. So if you're not working on your core while you're pregnant you're still like, you're going to weaken your core because now you're not engaging it when you go to stand up. 


So to say down the road. 


Trish: I love that so much, and it's so important that the moms that are listening that maybe have been living with this and thinking there's no hope, there is. There are things you can do, because that can be exhausting to have all those things and not to be able to do your normal daily activities because of pain. 


It's a cycle because if you try to have sex after baby and it hurts really bad, then you're scared. So then you're more tense and then it hurts worse and it's this negative cycle you get into. So what is like one tip you would give these moms? 


Like one win. Thank you. 


Becca: Listen to your body and communicate with your partner. So I guess there's not just like one. Okay. It's so hard because there's so many different things. I feel like especially the postpartum, it's so mentally exhausting. 


Trish: Yeah. So I guess what let me rephrase that in a way. 


Becca: There, I guess there is some breathing, but a lot of times it's more so like mobility. Your pelvic floor is tight. Your pelvic floor attaches in your vaginal canal, but if you look at the mod, like if you look at a model of your pelvis, your tailbone, your like sacrum, like your hips, everything is connected and there's all these different muscles that attach to it. 


So working on mobility of like your pelvis and your low back and being able to do certain things can help decrease the tension throughout some of those muscles in that area, and then can help decrease the public floor, the tension throughout the public floor as well. And so just making sure that you have the coordination and the flexibility for lack of better word can help decrease some of that pain that you're having. 


Trish: it's funny you said that because I had someone reach out to me one time on labor nurse mama, and she has never enjoyed sex because it's so painful. 


And she's not had, she's not had babies. And I believe the reason she reached out to me is because she's afraid to have a baby. Because she feels so much pain during sex and she, if I'm remembering correctly, I think she had only been married for a very short amount of time and it was really affecting their relationship too. 


Because she was constantly in terror of him wanting to have sex and she didn't because she was in so much pain and my heart was, of course I told her to see a public floor specialist. And a therapist, because that's a lot of mental work that you have to work through too. Because like I said I think that you get yourself into this cycle that sex represents pain instead of pleasure. 


Becca: Keep moving. 


I feel like when we won first trimester so hard. So give yourself grace at first try. I never tell anybody What they should be doing during that time because for me personally I was exhausted and I couldn't do much of anything outside my everyday activity but then working on keep moving because so often pregnant moms are like, Oh, I'm pregnant. 


I can't do this, and that. Actually you can, unless you are like a high risk or there is some medical reason within your pregnancy that you cannot do these things, keep doing them because it's going to help you. And those who have more movement in their pregnancy, it's shown to want to improve their pregnancy, improve their health, improve their baby's health and improve their labor and birth and postpartum experience and along so many other things. 


And so during pregnancy, you really need to work on like your mobility side of things. So that way you can decrease the pain and tension because a lot of times the pain that you get at night. It's because of the things you're doing during the day. So if you can just improve like the motion and the mobility your body has, like I get you're pregnant and everything seems. 


Lacks people say but there's certain things that are going to tighten up, especially with the further along you get and like the added weight and how your body changes to help support the carrying that weight and things like that. So I like keep moving and work on your mobility or you're stretching because those 2 things are going to, help overall. 


One thing that I learned from another pelvic floor specialist that I had on the podcast that it totally makes sense now, but I really quickly before we end this episode, I wanted to chat with you cause I don't know that we have, but she was talking to me about even breach positioning can sometimes be a result of a pelvic floor issue. 


Which was like, Oh, wow, that does make sense. 


Becca: Yeah. Yeah. Cause if you're having the tightness and stuff throughout like your pelvic floor, throughout your glutes, throughout your hips, like there is no room for your baby to turn and be head down. So working on like that mobility, relaxation techniques and things like that and the stretching. 


She saw me at 40 weeks, six days, and she did some soft tissue to my hip flexors. Cause I was Terrible about doing mobility with her. Oh, listen to that. The pelvic floor mama was not doing what she's saying. I was terrible. The amount of information I've learned, even from having her to now is insane. 


And I even tell my husband, you want to do a redo? I want to redo. 


Trish: Oh, 


Becca: I'm all about a redo. Come 


Trish: on 


Becca: now, 


Trish: then you can come back with me. 


Becca: So anyways she did just some soft tissue stuff and I'm not kidding. When I stood up off her table, I. Felt my daughter like slide into my pelvis. And I was like, Ooh, that's a lot of pressure. 


And I was like, I don't know if it's going to be that quick. Sure enough, like 12 hours later, maybe 18, I'm like texting her like I'm definitely having contractions. I think I need to 


Trish: get this moving. And it's just, that's the whole thing. I get all this, all these questions from moms, especially post date moms. 


Like, how do I get my contractions to start? How do I, like, how do I get oxytocin fluid? You get it by the baby's head putting pressure on the cervix. Instead of us trying to drink all the things and do all the things, that's why Linnea and I You know, our team doula and I created that really low cost. 


I think it's 7 guide on the pelvis and the inlet and the outlet and the mid pelvis, because it doesn't matter what's going on. If the baby is not in proper positioning, your labor will never flow properly. Now you may end up giving birth, but those are the moms who have a baby in a wonky position or what have you. 


Okay. Becca, thank you so much for coming here today and chatting. Cause I know you're exhausted and I'm miserable right now. But, we did it, hooray, that's how we do. So tell everybody where they can find you again. 


Becca: Yes, so you can find me, it's PelvicFloorMama, but unlike LaborNurseMama, it's M O M A. You can find me on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or the website where you'll find the course is PelvicFloorMama. 


com. And if you use the code L N M, like LaborNurseMama, love, you will get a discount 


Okay, mamas. I hope the biggest takeaway that you have today is that you don't have to suffer. You do not have to be in pain. All Although it's common, it's not normal. So take action as always. Education, knowledge is power, but you have to use it. So hit the link in the show notes and check out Becca's powerful course on pregnancy pain and use the code LNMLOVE and you're going to get a sweet little discount and possibly even a little gift from me.