OKANAGANS TOP PERINATAL & PEDIATRIC CENTER & WOMENS HEALTH CLINIC

Visit our Location
434 Cedar Avenue
Kelowna BC V1Y 4X3
Opening Hours
Monday-Saturday

POSTNATAL Stage

Postnatal Acupunture

Acupuncture balances the body’s systems to achieve overall optimal health. Acupuncture is a gentle and relaxing treatment that can enhance the efficacy of other treatments and services.

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Postnatal Chiropractic Care

Pain after having a baby is common, and doesn't make life any easier. A postpartum chiropractor can help.

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Postnatal Massage Therapy

Our Registered Massage Therapists are specialists in fertility, pregnancy, postpartum and pediatric issues. Reduce physical and emotional stress levels, and alleviate sore muscles and anxiety.
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Postnatal Naturopathic Medicine

Naturopathic medicine can be invaluable during the "fourth trimester" aka postpartum providing support for the new mom with recovery.

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Postnatal Nutritional Support

The postpartum period requires a unique approach to nutrition. Between pregnancy and birth depleting the body of nutrients, lactation, and caregiving for a new infant.
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POSTNATAL Acupunture

Being a parent isn't easy!

Being a new parent comes with massive amounts of exhaustion, a fair dose of stress, and to top it off, our hormones are usually a bit unbalanced for a while after giving birth. Acupuncture can help get all of that sorted out – and the relaxing treatments give you some much-needed downtime while you enjoy your “acu-nap”.

Postpartum conditions commonly treated with acupuncture:

    • Sleep issues
    • Milk supply issues
    • C-Section Healing
    • Fatigue
    • Irregular periods
    • Absent periods
    • Midcycle bleeding
    • PMS
    • Endometriosis
    • PCOS
    • Uterine Fibroid

POSTNATAL Chiropractic Care

Congratulations, you had a baby!

Life with a new baby can quickly shift from the most magical experience of your life to a time of insurmountable physical and emotional stress. Your body has just performed miracles. It has put up with the biomechanical burdens of increasing weight, shifting centre of gravity, and ligament laxity. It has survived the extreme sporting event of child birth. In some cases, you may have even undergone major surgery. And now, as your body is trying to put itself back together, you are carrying around a squirmy little sack of potatoes roughly 20 hours a day, hunching over to feed it, and not sleeping. Being a mom is magical, but it’s not easy!

At AltaVie Health, our postnatal care and rehabilitation program is designed to help you stay healthy, feel good, get strong, and avoid injury while meeting (and exceeding) the unique demands of motherhood. Whether your goal is to be able to lower baby gently into her crib without excruciating pain or to run your first half marathon since your motherly transformation, we can help you get back to your activities and to feeling good, safely. Postpartum Chiropractic Care can mean different things to different people.

Postpartum Chiropractic Treatments

Common postpartum conditions:

Pain after having a baby is common, and doesn't make life any easier. A postpartum chiropractor can help. Some of the conditions that we see in the office postpartum include:

  • Neck pain often related to infant feeding positions and posture
  • Low back pain
  • Pelvic pain
  • Tailbone pain
  • Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
  • De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis (aka "mommy thumb” or "mommy wrist") 
  • Plantar Fasciitis (pain on the bottom of your feet)
  • Diastasis Recti recovery

Postpartum treatments may include:

  • Soft tissue work to ease tension and hypersensitivity
  • Joint adjustments/manipulations (we have a VARIETY of techniques to choose from and will find the right fit for you)
  • Clearance for return to exercise
  • Specific exercise prescription for your particular situation and goals
  • A referral to a pelvic floor physiotherapist, if needed
  • We have great RMTs on staff too! Registered massage therapy (RMT) sessions can encourage relaxation and healing
  • Accessories for support at home
  • Kinesiology taping

POSTNATAL Naturopathic Medicine

 

The first three months after birth, or the ‘fourth trimester’, is a time for recovery.

It’s also a time for bonding with your baby and adjustment to a new routine; whether it’s with baby number one or baby number four. Often breastfeeding isn’t as easy as we think it will be, or our emotions don’t settle back to normal (whatever that is!) after the first six weeks. Emotional and physical support during the fourth trimester can make all the difference in how well a woman recovers and her success with breastfeeding.

Naturopathic medicine can be invaluable during this time providing support for the new mom with postpartum recovery:

  • Pain management
  • Vaginal/perineal healing
  • C-section healing
  • Breastfeeding issues, including help with determining food sensitivities
  • Postpartum depression/anxiety and other mood issues
Please note – at AltaVie Health, once you’ve had a baby, we consider you postpartum forever.  Feel free to join us for a naturopathy appointment whether your little one is 6 weeks old, or much older.  It’s never too late to get started.

Lactation & Feeding Support

Lactation & Feeding Support

What is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and when should you see one?

If you are having any latch issues (painful latch, baby not latching, feedings taking long, needing to supplement all the time), you should get in touch with a lactation consultant ASAP.

An International Board Certified Lactation Consultant® (IBCLC®) is a healthcare professional who specializes in the clinical management of breastfeeding.

Lactation Consultants are the only healthcare providers who are specifically trained and experienced in breastfeeding. They have to go through intensive training and pass an International Board exam. You wouldn’t take your car to someone who is just “familiar” with it, why would you do so with your breastfeeding!

 


Infant feeding problems we can help you solve:

Latching & Positioning:

    • painful latch, nipple damage, vasospasm

    • baby refusing the breast

    • bottle preference/nipple confusion

    • tongue & lip tie

    • ergonomic problems (carpal tunnel, stiff neck)

    • clogged milk ducts

    • mastitis, thrush

    • poor breast drainage

Milk Supply Challenges:

  • previous breast surgery 

  • slow newborn weight gain

  • Forceful milk letdown 

  • oversupply

  • exclusive pumping 

  • poor milk transfer

  • insufficient glandular tissue /hyoplastic breasts

  • medical conditions (diabetes, thyroid, anemia, PCOS, high blood pressure)

  • return of menstrual periods

Other Concerns: 

  • milk suppression after loss

  • lactation supports for LGBTQ+ families

  • co-lactation, induced lactation

  • delayed feeding start due to NICU stay

  • neonatal jaundice

  • dysphoric milk ejection reflex

  • cleft palate or lip

  • feeding twins & multiples

  • weaning

POSTNATAL Massage Therapy

Postnatal Massage Treatments

Your comfort is the absolute importance to us. We have special cushions and tables to ensure your body is in the best position for you to relax. Our team encourages you to bring baby if you like, you are welcome to nurse/feed while sidelined on the table - WHATEVER makes our new Mamas most content we will make work!

Registered Massage Therapy Treatments can improve:

  • Relaxation and stress levels
  • Blood circulation
  • Tight hips and lower back muscles
  • Headaches and neck pain
  • Rib pain
  • Leg cramps, muscle cramps, and charley horses
  • Depression and anxiety
  • Sciatic Nerve Pain

POSTNATAL Nutritional Guidance

Postnatal Nutrition

The postpartum period requires a unique approach to nutrition. Between pregnancy and birth depleting the body of nutrients, lactation, and caregiving for a new infant, the importance of addressing the nutritional needs of postpartum individuals cannot be understated. AltaVie Health Registered Dietitian can help individuals to reach weight goals, address nutrient deficiencies, and work with clients to create individualized nutrition plans to support lactation and infant health.

Nutrition is just as essential postpartum as it is during pregnancy. Let us help if you’re asking yourself any of the following questions:

      • What foods should I avoid while breastfeeding, and how many calories should I consume?
      • How can a healthy diet help battle postpartum depression?
      • What should I be eating postpartum?
      • What supplements should mothers take after birth?
      • How do I increase breast milk flow?
      • Where can I find a reliable postnatal nutrition meal plan?
      • When and how do I lose the weight I gained during pregnancy (baby pounds)?
      • How do I know what health information is reliable?
      • How do I balance caring for myself and for my child?
Start your Postnatal journey!
Book your appointment now.

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