Prenatal Care in Lynchburg & Forest, VA: Pelvic Floor PT, Labor Prep, and Prenatal Lactation
Pregnancy and those first months with a new baby are some of the most exciting times of life. While many moms focus on preparing the nursery and stocking up on baby gear, it’s just as important to prepare your body for birth, recovery, and even feeding your baby. I want this blog to serve as a practical resource for moms in Lynchburg and Forest, VA, sharing trustworthy care and local professionals who truly support you.
Through maternity and newborn photography, I’ve seen how much the way a mom feels in her body impacts the level of support she has and her ability to be fully present during these tender seasons. That’s why I’m grateful for the chance to introduce The FEM PT in Forest, VA. Dr. Katelyn Bosch and her team provide specialized care, from pelvic floor therapy and prenatal massage, to group classes and lactation consultations before baby arrives, all designed to give moms the support they need to thrive in pregnancy and beyond.
This blog post is Part 1 of a 3-part series with Dr. Katelyn designed to serve mothers with clear, local guidance:
Part 1 (you’re here): Prenatal Care
Part 2: Postpartum Recovery
Part 3: Baby Feeding & Early Development
Ready for practical support?
Here’s our Q&A with Dr. Katelyn Bosch from The FEM PT.
She’s here to share practical ways prenatal pelvic floor therapy, labor preparation sessions, and prenatal lactation consults can support you before the baby arrives. Let’s dive in.
Hello! Thanks for allowing me to be involved with this blog. I am excited to talk about pelvic floor PT to help ladies better understand how this can help them! I consider it such an honor to be part of the village for moms!
Katelyn Bosch PT, DPT
What is pelvic floor therapy and who is it for?
Pelvic floor physical therapy is physical therapy with a specialized focus on the deep core muscle system. These muscles include the respiratory diaphragm, transverse abdominis, pelvic floor, and multifidus. I truly believe that the deep core is the foundation for our movements/function! We take a holistic head to toe approach at The Fem PT so it’s likely that we would also address things like your spine, hips, feet, neck, and more to provide longer lasting results! We don’t want to just treat the symptoms, we want to find the root cause of why you are having them!
How did you decide to specialize in pelvic health, and what keeps you passionate about this work?
I didn’t originally plan to pursue pelvic health until I was postpartum with my second child. At that time, I had experienced a very difficult labor with my firstborn, extremely difficult postpartum after baby #1, and then severe pubic symphysis pain with baby #2. I tried everything I knew as a PT to help with the pain during my second pregnancy and nothing I did worked. I thought this pain would go away after my baby was born and I was very wrong. My pain turned into SI joint pain and it was a struggle to return back to exercise (specifically running) even after 9 months postpartum. In another perspective of my professional life as a PT, I was wanting to see patients in their homes to provide outpatient physical therapy services. I had a friend encourage me to pursue pelvic floor PT and I quickly said NO! However, that night I couldn’t stop thinking about the suggestion and my brain went spiraling with ideas on how I could help ladies in this specialty! Once I started taking pelvic floor continuing education courses through the American Physical Therapy Association in 2018, I learned I had pelvic floor dysfunction. Once I started applying what I learned, my pain almost disappeared instantly. Everything started getting better in many areas of my life including pain, exercise, bowel movement regularity, and comfort with intimacy. These were major changes…and that’s when I became so passionate about pelvic floor PT! I knew that I could help ladies with these often private issues to help improve their quality of life.
Which pregnancy aches are common, but not normal and how does PT help?
Most pain during pregnancy is actually musculoskeletal! This means we can treat the pain by addressing muscles, joints, and the nervous system. I often tell ladies that sometimes asymmetries in the body can hide and the body continues to function without telling us there is a problem. However, when a lady becomes pregnant, oftentimes pain can present since her body is changing at a very rapid pace (changed center of gravity, decreased balance, change in rib cage/pelvic positioning, abdominal muscles stretching, etc.). I commonly see ladies during pregnancy with low back pain, hip pain, SI joint pain, pubic symphysis pain, round ligament pain, abdominal pain, rib cage pain, and pelvic floor/vaginal pain. The list truly goes on! All of these are areas that can be helped with pelvic floor PT! Pain truly is a message to your body that something is off. So learning how to get your body functioning better not only helps with pain reduction but also preparation for exercise and daily activities in pregnancy, labor and delivery, and postpartum recovery! It’s worth it to see a pelvic floor PT during pregnancy.
Why is it important to begin caring for your pelvic floor and deep core before labor and delivery?
This is important for many reasons! I oftentimes find that ladies are learning about their bodies in a completely different way when they are pregnant and then also in postpartum. Seeing a pelvic floor PT during pregnancy can help you learn about your body, it’s anatomy, and how things function. If ladies are having adverse symptoms (leakage, constipation, pain, etc.), it’s a great thing to start addressing these symptoms now to optimize their pregnancy and labor. We teach ladies how to use their deep core muscles during exercise but also teach them how to use these muscles in a different way to during labor and delivery. My favorite session with our prenatal clients is our “labor prep” session and we go over all the things that we can be intentional in/control during labor to optimize comfort and decrease risk of injury. We teach ladies how to use their deep core during contractions, pushing mechanics, how to decrease risk of tearing, optimal positions, and so much more!
What transformations do you see in women who come in with back pain, hip pain, or pelvic pressure during pregnancy after receiving pelvic PT?
It’s so awesome to be able to see almost instant relief of symptoms even after one pelvic floor PT visit. We spend 1-2 hours with each patient for our sessions which means this is loaded with purposeful education and hands on manual therapy to help ladies feel their best fastest! I love teaching ladies how to treat themselves and ladies love this too. If they know how to reduce their pain at home, this is a huge win to give them more control at managing/lowering pain.
Many moms don’t realize lactation support can begin before their baby is born. How do prenatal lactation consultations help babies and moms before birth?
Yes! We actually have 2 in house IBCLC lactation consultants at The Fem PT. Joy Knapton is an IBCLC who sees clients through The Fem PT and Jessica Smith is an IBCLC who sees clients through Blue Ridge Lactation. They both see clients at our space in Forest. I hear them often talk about the importance of seeing an IBCLC prior to birth in order to learn fundamentals of feeding (whether bottle or breast). This can also help moms recieve help faster postpartum if their lactation consultant has already established them as a client! At The Fem PT we offer therapeutic ultrasound for blocked ducts and this is a safe/conservative and evidence based practice which can help prevent mastitis and prevent the need for antibiotics. This is also a great thing to be aware of during pregnancy in case if a mom does have a blocked duct!
What changes do you see most often in women who invest in prenatal care at The FEM PT?
We actually have had certain midwives reach out and tell us they notice a difference in how ladies give birth when they see us at The Fem PT! I consider that one of the best compliments! Mom’s usually return postpartum and say they are so glad they went to pelvic floor PT as it helped them prepare for labor and understand their body. I believe this can create an atmosphere for birth where there is less fear and more empowerment! Personally as a mom of 4 who has had 4 natural non-medicated deliveries, I can attest that pelvic floor physical therapy has made a huge difference in how I labor and recover postpartum. I noticed significantly less pain levels during birth, decreased/no tearing, and improved recovery times. This is something I also see in our patients.
What do you want new moms to know about caring for their bodies in pregnancy?
It’s worth it to start now! Taking care of your self will help you function and feel better as a mom, wife, friend, etc. Most ladies wait a few years to get help and then when they come they often say “why didn’t I do this sooner?!” If you didn’t get the chance to see a pelvic PT during pregnancy or postpartum, it truly is never too late. We would love to help you at The Fem PT!
Thank you Dr. Katelyn for sharing such clear, practical guidance for expecting moms. The care you and your team provide at The FEM PT gives local families the support they need before baby arrives.
Next steps
If want support before (or after!) baby arrives, The FEM PT offers prenatal pelvic floor therapy, labor preparation sessions, and prenatal lactation consults in Lynchburg/Forest area. They also offer free 15-minute consults to help you decide your next step.
Contact The FEM PT
www.thefempt.com
assistant@thefempt.com
Call/Text: (434) 922-0340
Up next in this series:
Part 2: Postpartum Recovery & Pelvic Floor Therapy
Part 3: Baby Feeding & Early Development (IBCLC lactation + pediatric speech/feeding therapy)
Photography Credit for FEM PT photos: Kristen Euhus.
During the month of October, you can attend Yoga Class to be entered to win a portrait session and a digital package. Head over to The FEM PT’s instagram to learn more.
