WHITE Circle

10/12/2020

Gráinne caught up with WHITE Circle co-founder Laura aka Physiofem last week to discuss her postnatal recovery. Check it out here https://www.instagram.com/tv/CIQMVB_KHm-/?igshid=2p9x8uz2zna8

12/09/2020

Special Announcement 📣

We have had a new WHITE Circle baby ⭐⭐

Our very own Laura Physiofem had a beautiful baby boy last week. I think this picture captures what it is all about. Love, life, support and empowerment.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks to months when we will hear all about Laura's birth experience 💕

22/05/2020

Mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, psychosis & stress are common and the symptoms usually appear gradually over time.

It’s reasonable to experience low mood, anxiety and irritability at points in your life but if these are ongoing, along with other symptoms such as feeling teary, sleeping less/ too much, inability to focus /complete daily tasks, become isolated or have suicidal thoughts, this is an indicator that you are suffering poor mental health.

As both health and fitness professionals, we are often faced with women mentally struggling throughout pregnancy and beyond into the postnatal period. Perhaps such women have always struggled with their mental health; often it is related to birth trauma or unexpected pelvic health symptoms as a result.

Albeit we are focused on their physical wellbeing & rehab, we have a duty of care to best assist and signpost women where they can best access help.

Seeking advice from your Gp is always a good start but the necessary approach to mental health management should be multifaceted; there are many platforms and clinicians in NI that can help with counselling, therapy, CBT, life coaching, nutrition, fitness and physical rehabilitation.

What I want women to know is that they are inherently strong and resilient. There are things that YOU can purposely focus on to change YOUR mental health both in the short and long term. It likely won’t be easy & definitely not immediate but anything worth doing always requires commitment and consistency to the cause. And that’s ok..decide that you want better for yourself, rise to the challenge and believe 💯 that you can create a healthier mind.


.physio

22/04/2020

April is Cesarean section awareness month.

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Since the 1970’s, C section rates have risen around the world. There are enormous regional differences; rising levels of maternal obesity and increasing maternal age in childbirth have influenced rates of C section births.

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As of 2017, an audit discovered NI had the highest rate in the NHS - 34.5% of women compared to the UK average of 25%, despite a strategy in place aimed at improving maternity care between 2012 and 2018.

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C - Sections cost the health service almost twice that of a vaginal delivery - £3, 724 compared to £1, 933.

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The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority carried out a report in 2017 to probe how the health service have responded to the necessity for improvement of maternity servis. Each Trust had attempted to improve midwifery-led care but concerns remained about staffing levels, having to rely on locum doctors and an increase in midwives retiring.

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Ultimately, C section births can be a life saving procedure when complications arise during labour but there is scope for reducing variations across all NI Trusts.

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Women should inform themselves about modes of delivery and be familiar with what can be offered to help assist a birth.
A ‘birth plan’ setting out hopes for an active spontaneous vaginal birth may not be followed but having acquired a level of understanding antenatally, we can process why a c section was necessary when debriefing with the maternity team.

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A c- section delivery is considered a ‘normal’ delivery but since it is abdominal surgery, more caution around immediate care & activity within the first 12 postpartum weeks is recommended to promote scar healing.

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Female pelvic health physiotherapists are best placed to guide scar rehabilitation with soft tissue release / massage, breath work & functional movement, ideally beginning 6weeks since birth (however early advice can be administered to help decrease pain levels and improve global movement).

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Plan your postnatal recovery in your 4th trimester.

.physio

15/04/2020

Aimee & Kerry @ Bodyfit Mums are launching the ‘Sisterhood in Isolation’ platform for pregnant and postnatal mother’s. They have worked tirelessly over the past number of weeks to collaborate with local businesses in NI to establish a plethora of online support services.

It will be a community space where expectant and new mums can have virtual coffee dates and attend various classes and tutorials all centred around baby & mum life.

These services will be accessed for FREE in a bid to support the BFM campaign. Expect to tune into baby sensory classes, yoga, pilates & mindfulness sessions, women’s pelvic health seminar, baby massage and first aid tips amongst many others.

The Covid - 19 pandemic has caused significant stress and uncertainty globally. As life continues to happen, we must adapt and prepare for change. This platform will play a small part in the bigger picture but ultimately, it could have massive impact to women in NI as they transition into motherhood and need reassurance they aren’t alone during this time of isolation and social distancing.

‘Sisterhood’ is the core ethos of Bodyfit Mums and women’s health is the crux of WHITE Circle. This is a time where both are crucially important!

Please like and share this post if you feel joining the platform could benefit you or someone in your family/ circle of friends.

Go to the Bodyfit mums social media to join the platform which is due to be launched very soon.

Take care, WHITE Circle team.



.physio

08/04/2020

The Public Health Agency has released Covid - 19 advice for pregnant women and parents in NI (www.ni-maternity.com).
The information is displayed under nine categories including ‘Coronavirus infection and pregnancy, ‘antenatal care,’ ‘planning for birth’ and ‘postnatal care.’

General advice is that if you are infected with Covid - 19, you are still most likely to have no symptoms or a mild illness from which you will make a full recovery. If you feel symptoms worsening, contact the NHS on 111 or your maternity unit.

Women above 28 weeks gestation should be particularly attentive to social distancing. There is no evidence to suggest an increased risk of miscarriage but it is probable that the virus can transmit from mother to baby during pregnancy or birth (all cases to date have shown that babies have recovered well).

It is important that you attend antenatal appointments; the advice is to attend alone to aid infection control.

Some consultations will be held on the phone / video link to reduce the number of people attending the hospital. Do not attend a routine clinic if you have symptoms.

Register for the free online antenatal and postnatal education modules to prepare.

Maternity services aim to facilitate women’s birth choices. A Home Birth may not be possible due to reliance on ambulance services or a water birth if a woman is presenting with symptoms.

One birth partner is permitted during births - provided they aren’t symptomatic and the procedure isn’t an emergency / occurs under general anaesthetic.

Visitors are not permitted and it is advised that family adhere to social distancing guidelines when you & baby are discharged home. Prepare for this beforehand - be familiar with online calls, join online breastfeeding or parental support groups.

It is a stressful time for expectant parents and especially those experiencing pregnancy, birth & the ‘4th trimester’ for the first time. Continue to be informed with the correct advice and guidelines delivered by the PHA, RCOG and local maternity services.

14/01/2020

This is a sobering read. Climate change is real. The devastating impact that it has on our lives and future needs to be understood and change needs to happen now

The bushfires turned an abstract fear into a concrete reality. Having lived on the frontlines of climate collapse, I’m not sure I will choose to get pregnant again

18/12/2019

Thanks Align Pilates & Physiotherapy love this message...

02/10/2019

October is breast cancer awareness month. Do you regularly check yourself? The earlier breast cancer is diagnosed, the better chance of successful treatment. Common signs and symptoms to be aware of are; a lump or swelling in the breast, upper chest or armpit, puckering of the skin, inflamed or painful breast tissue, a rash around the ni**le or perhaps discharge coming from a ni**le. There is no specific technique to check breasts for changes - just become familiar with your norm and check routinely. Breast Cancer Now aim to get as many people as possible involved in raising awareness and funds in order to support life-saving research and life-changing support. WEAR IT PINK is one way to help with this campaign. Will you be one of the thousands of people wearing pink on the 18th October? £33 million has been raised since 2002 for research. Go to wearepink.org to register and receive your fundraising pack.

30/09/2019

We received so many comments and requests about the variation of pelvic floor cues that Gráinne mentioned when she spoke at the NI Positive Birth Conference last week that we decided to post it up.

Did you know that no one cue is optimum for everyone and that is why having a pool of cues to pull from is best to ensure all women understand how to recruit the pelvic floor. What number works best for you?

28/09/2019

The WC team had a great day at the NI Positive Birth Conference yesterday where we presented about pelvic health in the perinatal phase and proudly sponsored an award.

We connected with like minded people and professionals in the field including Mark Harris, the 1 of a kind Niamh Mc Cabe, Wheelie Momma, Christen O'Neill and A Chiropractic Touch Family Practice Omagh.

Some of the things we wanted to get across yesterday include:

⚫ The role of pelvic health physiotherapists is poorly understood.
⚫ We need to serve women, including future generations, better by breaking taboo.
⚫ We need to change the focus from treating women after they have symptoms to educating and empowering women with the knowledge to avoid or minimise them.
⚫ There is a significant influence of physical pelvic health issues and mental health.
⚫ Pelvic health issues are one of the main barriers to women maintaining physical activity. This has huge implications for overall physical and mental wellbeing.
⚫ Different pelvic floor cues resonate better for different people. There is no one size fits all. Post coming soon on examples of different cues...
@ Queen's University Belfast