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5B Programs can ease
pregnancy Gentle
stretching: Hadley Christi, Chambersburg, uses
a birthing ball to assist her on a pregnancy
exercise Thursday at the Summit Health Center in
Chambersburg. The area has a variety of exercise
and support programs for pregnant women.
Hadley Christi, Chambersburg, expected to have back pain when she became pregnant seven months ago, but when the pain began to interfere with her daily life, her doctor sent her to a physical therapist. "Toward the end of the day, it just brings tears to my eyes, it's so achy," Christi said. The therapist gave her a Mother-To-Be, a brace to help relieve her pain. Christi also enrolled in exercise classes for pregnant women. "I didn't know that there was so much available, like exercise, water therapy, physical therapy. It's not uncommon for pregnant girls to go to physical therapy," Christi said. While pregnancy itself has not changed, there are braces, classes, education and medication available to help ease some of the aches and pains surrounding it. Early in the pregnancy, morning sickness can be an inconvenience or an interference. Andrea Rankin, a physical therapist with Summit Health was getting to the point where the nausea associated with morning sickness made her not want to work. She was prescribed an anti-nausea medication. After talking to three pharmacists who assured her the drug would not harm the baby, she took it and felt better. Medications such as Zorfan and Anzinet are a fairly new treatment for anti-nausea in people on chemotherapy. They have also been effective in treating morning sickness, Orndorf said. The only problem is those medications are usually very expensive. But if morning sickness is so severe that a woman becomes dehydrated, the medications can help her become re-hydrated, Orndorf said. "There were drugs you could use for that but they always recommended they tough it out," said Ann Christi, Fayetteville, Hadley's mom. She gave birth to Hadley 21 years ago. As the baby begins to grow and the woman's body accomodates it, muscles, ligaments and bones can shift and be painful. Braces such as the Mother-To-Be can help alleviate the pain. "Women just read or assumed back pain was part of pregnancy and there was nothing they could do," said Andrea Rankin, a physical therapist with Summit Health. Methods to treat back pain before were traction or bed rest, two methods later proven ineffective or even harmful for some, said Tom Orndorf, medical director at Keystone Women's Care. Staying active or taking medication without steroids are two beneficial ways to help back pain, Orndorf said. With the braces, physicians must refer patients to physical therapists, Rankin said. Rankin, who is about six months pregnant, is using a brace to help with abdominal pain. Braces are covered by most insurance plans. Different braces to
alleviate back and abdominal pain are available.
Physical therapists can help a woman determine
which brace is best. Doctors should refer patients
to therapists.
The Baby Hugger
helps reduce abdominal and lower back pain by
supporting the belly.
The Si-Loc is
helps keep the connections to the sacrum, or the
heavy bone at the base of the spine, and the hip
bone symmetrical. As the tendons holding the sacrum
and hip bones relax during pregnancy, they can
become asymmetrical and cause back pain. Massage
and exercises help return the bones to their
original spot, and the Si-Loc keeps them
there.
The Mother-To-Be
helps support the abdominal muscles as they
separate during pregnancy. It also relieves low
back pain and muscle spasms.
- Source: Andrea
Rankin, physical therapist with Summit
Health.
Nancy Burghard, Chambersburg, had lower back pain until she joined an exercise class taught by Rankin at the Summit Health Center on Norland Avenue in Chambersburg. Burghard took all the classes she could, including one for breast feeding and water exercise. "Who's to say if it helped or not, but my delivery was four and a half hours," Burghard said. Tom Orndorf, medical director at Keystone Women's Care, Chambersburg, suspects Burghard's efforts contributed to a quick delivery. Orndorf has found women who join an exercise program and keep with it have an easier time in the delivery room. He does not know whether exercise reduces complications during labor, but he has run into fewer problems and less need for intervention with women who exercise. Orndorf has not conducted any formal studies to determine exactly why this is the case, but one possible reason for his experience is women having a better mental outlook. It's also possible the exercise program strengthened the muscles women need to deliver the baby. Something else that has helped make pregnancy a little more comfortable is education. "My mother went through Lamaze classes with me and she was shocked. They didn't even have any classes like that back then," Burghard said. June Martin, Carlisle, was pregnant with Burghard about 30 years ago. When she saw the doctor during her pregnancy, she was not told anything, Martin said. She happened to be at a doctor's appointment when her water broke, signaling the beginning of labor. "If I had been home I would have been scared to death," Martin said. Martin was very nervous about delivering her daughter, an experience her daughter did not have. "Nancy, she had more of a relaxed attitude about going in to have the baby," Martin said. The classes her daughter took helped her know what to look forward to, Martin said. Orndorf said his patients are generally more educated about pregnancy, which is crucial. Education helps patients and the doctor feel more satisfied with their experience, he said. In the exercise classes, women do stretches and work to strengthen the muscles used during delivery. They also use a birthing ball, which resembles a large, stronger beach ball. The ball helps absorb the pressure on a pregnant woman's back, Rankin said. After using the birthing ball in class, Burghard purchased one for home. Sometimes she did exercises on it, other times she would just use it instead of a chair. "Just sitting on it felt better. A lot of the chairs were very uncomfortable," Burghard said. When women get to the later stages of pregnancy, Rankin suggests they move to from the exercise class held on land to a water exercise class. Pool therapy helped relieve a lot of stress for Burghard, she said. While Ann Christi does not see the experience of being pregnant any easier now than before, it is safer, she said. "I think there is more of the same in terms of services and education," she said. In the delivery room, the composition of an epidural, or something to help with pain, has been changed to have less impact on labor, Orndorf said. Previously, epidurals had been accused of slowing the process of labor. This led doctors to use forceps or other tools to help bring the baby out of the birth canal. The new composition of the epidurals have helped make birth a little safer, Orndorf said. But back pain, morning sickness and exercise are secondary to the point of pregnancy: a new life. "No matter how the pregnancy goes, it's worth it. That's the bottom line," Ann Christi said. Emily Phelps can be reached at 262-4754 or ephelps@mail.pubop.com. |
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