Pieton Physical Therapy Provides Pelvic-Floor Care
‘Motherhood Is an Athletic Event,’
Says Dr. Christine Pieton
By Brandi Rivera
Read all of the entries in our “Self-Care in Santa Barbara, 2023 Edition” cover here.
Having a pelvic-floor physical therapist on your birth team is recommended by Dr. Christine Pieton, owner and founder of Pieton Physical Therapy. “Motherhood is an athletic event,” she reminded me as we chatted about her practice. Pieton encourages people to consider interviewing and finding a pelvic-floor PT early in pregnancy, or even before getting pregnant, to establish a relationship the same way you would a doula or lactation consultant. Her practice offers 15-minute consultations that can easily be scheduled through her website.
I am six months postpartum from a twin vaginal delivery and overall would call the delivery “uncomplicated.” As I was preparing for our call, I wrote down my symptoms, including lower back pain and being unable to hold my pee as long as I used to. I’d considered these regular side effects of childbirth, and among my mom friends, they wouldn’t even constitute a conversation.
But at six months postpartum, 25 percent of women still experience pain with sex, 33 percent still deal with urinary leaking, and 50 percent still endure low back pain, Pieton explained. She was kind and clear in her delivery that “it’s never too late to get stronger” and that her practice wants to help moms restore their strength so they can get back to moving, exercising, and the heavy lifting parenthood requires.
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