I’ve been dying to share my thoughts on the one pelvic pt pregnancy course I chose to take as I prepared for my first birth. As I was researching courses, I instantly felt overwhelmed with it all. Being a first time mom, I wasn’t sure if what I was experiencing was normal or what I could do to prepare my body for birth. Luckily, my sweet client Kayla released her “Holistically Well” Pregnancy Program and I was absolutely sold on trying this one out. It focused on education-backed advice to make your pregnancy and birth the best it could be.
What is a pelvic pt?
Before I dive into the program itself, I wanted to create space to inform readers what a pelvic PT is and why this program taught by one was most intriguing.
A pelvic physical therapist (PT) focuses on the muscles of the pelvic floor – think bladder / bowel or sexual function. As I began reading more on the birthing process, I learned that often a women’s pelvic floor is affected at some point during pregnancy or postpartum. Surprisingly, this is a topic that’s not talked about enough!
Our client Dr. Kayla is a holistic pelvic floor physical therapist and after completing her project, I was very interested in her knowledge around pregnancy. Not only does she have the education to provide support on this topic, but she’s a mama of littles and has the actual experience.
What makes this course different?
It seemed that most pregnancy courses were “goal-oriented”. One focused on preparing for an at-home birth while the other prepared for a planned c-section. Because I wanted a more natural birth, I needed the education about my pregnancy to better understand how that ties into the birthing process.
From friends to family members, I knew that birth really can take control if you aren’t prepared. I wanted to have all of my information gathered so that I could prepare as best as possible. Dr. Kayla’s “A Holistically Well” Pregnancy Program tackled birth from many different angles:
- Pregnancy tips
- Symptom management during each trimester
- Prepping for delivery
- Exercise & movement
As soon as I dove into the curriculum, I was completely put at ease with how much information she gave. Let’s dive in!
The Outline of a Holistically Well Pregnancy Program by Pelvic PT
For the rest of this blogpost, I’ll be reviewing each section of the Holistically Well Pregnancy Program. I think it’s important for you to know the type of content you’d receive and my thoughts of the information provided. Again, Dr. Kayla is a pelvic pt and a lot of sections are rooted in this knowledge!
Resources from a Pelvic PT
I easily thought I was going to skim through these sections as most of the time they are generic resources that aren’t applicable to my situation. This was not the case in Dr. Kayla’s program. This section was actually one of my most referenced!
Being a holistic provider, this section focused on Dr. Kayla’s “tried and true” recommendations for pregnancy. She gave her input and suggestions on:
- Skincare
- Makeup
- Recipes for optimal energy during pregnancy
- How to prep for postpartum (honestly – now being postpartum this was so valuable)
After reviewing all the resources, I felt like I had a “toolbox” of resources at my disposal that were actually helpful!
First trimester
Each trimester review from Dr. Kayla starts off with a “what’s expected” module. Think of this as your TLDR version. I took this program starting in my second trimester but still reviewed the first trimester and thought “wow – she was so right about X”!
A lot of the first trimester content was focused on symptom management which would have been so helpful had I began the program earlier. For example, something many women experience during the first trimester are food aversions. Dr. Kayla reviews some really great tips on nourishment during the first trimester when food can be yucky!
Second trimester
For me, the second trimester was where I actually started to “feel” and “look” pregnant. Around this time was when my midwife informed me I may have to begin altering my workout routines. Dr. Kayla reinforced this same idea.
I found the demo videos of core-coning especially helpful in this section because I truly had never seen what this looked like on a real person!
Third trimester
The third trimester section was the shortest, mainly because we also got a “labor & delivery prep” section next. Candidly I hadn’t even expected to learn about labor and delivery as well, so I was so pleased with this addition.
In the third trimester, I found myself referring to the “Movement Routines for You” & “Pain Points” sections. During my third trimester, I was starting to get uncomfy as baby grew more (I now get the term growing pains!). With that in mind, finding movement options that were safe and comfortable were hard. Dr. Kayla provided me with so many options to choose from that I found myself going back to these videos often.
Lastly, pain points became real. For me, lower back pain started in the beginning of my second trimester. It was so nice to have guided video provided by a licensed professional on how to combat my back pain.
Labor & delivery prep
Even though this is technically within the third trimester, I wanted to include this as a separate section because it’s so good. As a first time mom, birth feels scary. You have zero idea what to expect! Dr. Kayla provided evidence-based tips on how to prepare for labor (like those dates and raspberry leaf tea tricks!). The most helpful video for me in this section was practice for breathing during labor. I vividly remember referencing these tips in my brain during pushing!
My Recommendation for Pelvic PT Pregnancy Courses
Overall – Dr. Kayla’s A Holistically Well Pregnancy Program did it’s job. It educated me, gave me confidence and provided comfort in a very wild and changing time for my body. You can use code “CHLOECREATIVE” for 20% off your purchase of this program.
I loved the holistic approach Dr. Kayla takes within her courses and with her private 1:1 clients. I highly suggest she and her team if you are located in the Ohio area or virtual.
Moving forward from pregnancy, Dr. Kayla recently released her A Holistically Well Postpartum program and I cannot wait to dive into those contents to help manage all the things I’m experiencing postpartum.
