Yes, bodywork is within the scope of practice of physiotherapists.  Bodywork is also within the scope of other health professionals such as registered massage therapists, osteopaths, chiropractors, etc.  I’m so glad that healing touch is a modality that can be offered through many disciplines. 

Physiotherapy includes many treatment modalities such as education, sensory/motor re-training, manual therapy, electrotherapy, application of physical agents, exercise prescription, etc.  It tends to be quite active and participatory in nature.

Bodywork focuses on the therapeutic touch aspects of physiotherapy care and usually focuses on the external body. It is a powerful modality where direct and intentional interaction with the body’s tissues has immediate effects on the nervous system and fascial network.

Bodywork also involves the giving and receiving of touch, “reading or listening” to the body, and the recipient attuning to whatever arises in her psyche and soma.  It tends to be less “active” in nature and require more patience as we wait for the body to respond to the specific touch input.

At The Mama’s Physio, a physiotherapy session may include elements of bodywork.  On the other hand, a bodywork for birth session is a full 60 or 90 minutes of hands-on work with the soft tissues. 

I’d love to be able to make guarantees about turning breech babies or babies who may be lying in other positions in utero.  However, that is the choice of the baby as he or she interacts with the landscape of that specific womb.

Rather, I approach a woman, her baby, and both of their bodies with open handedness and gentleness.  I seek to work with physiology rather than with force, and I don’t place pressure on myself, the woman, or the baby by demanding a specific outcome.

Bodywork is about creating balance in the pelvis and uterus, and inviting suppleness into the soft tissues surrounding the entire region.  If a baby is positioned in a specific way in the womb, it is often due to tensions or imbalances in the tissues influencing the uterus.  Thus bodywork offers an opportunity to change tensions, create space, and restore balance.  Once this happens, babies will often move into areas of newly created spaciousness and re-orient in utero.  

But sometimes that reorientation doesn’t happen; and if this is the case, we can respect the interior wisdom of the body and baby, trusting that there is a very good reason – even if we do not yet know or understand it.  

An ECV (External Cephalic Version) is a procedure that is done by an OB who places hands on your belly and attempts to manually rotate your baby into the “right position” before labour begins. It’s usually offered for around 34-36 weeks if baby isn’t head down (vertex) by that time. EVCs can range from quite mild to quite forceful in nature and the success rates in research studies seems to vary widely.  Please read more about ECVs on this excellent Evidence Based Birth article.  

The goal of bodywork for an ECV would be to help soften, balance, and prepare the body to be more receptive to the procedure and make it a little less forceful on the maternal tissues and the baby.

So if an ECV is on the menu, I’d suggest that:

1) You ideally receive body balancing and bodywork prior to 34 weeks. It may be a one time session or it may be multiple sessions.

2) If this is not possible, then book at least one 90 minute bodywork session as close as possible to the scheduled ECV (within 24h or less).  Your birth partner is highly recommended to attend this session as well so I can share some techniques. 

3) Whether or not the ECV was “successful”, please return afterwards to help your body integrate the procedure and to help settle your nervous system and settle your baby. If the EVC was successful, gentle bodywork post ECV can encourage your baby to stay in the new position.

I’d highly suggest a 90 minute session, especially if it’s your first time getting bodywork. The time goes by surprisingly fast…plus it feels utterly luxurious for you and your baby. 

It can be a little tricky to find a 90 minute time slot in my online booking system – so please text me to set this up.

Note: for an additional fee, bodywork sessions may also offered outside of regular work hours, and/or within your home.