Today we’d like to introduce you to Aimee Bennett and Lauren Paradiso.
Hi Aimee and Lauren, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
We both Doctors of Physical Therapy and started our careers in orthopedics which was how we initially met each other. After having children, we realized we had similar stories of struggling with pain while pregnant and getting back to working out after having a baby. We were both experienced working with athletes and both kind of just assumed it would be easy for us to “rehab ourselves.” Well …it did not work like that. That’s when we decided to dedicate ourselves to women’s health and took advanced classes that specifically focused on pregnant and postpartum patients to be able to give more women the personalized care they deserve.
We created Empower Postpartum Physical therapy to help decrease the stress, burden, and isolation women feel during this early postpartum period and help shed light on the fact that we can help to educate women, empower women, and give them the confidence to return to running, jumping, lifting, carrying a baby, coughing, laughing or simply playing with your kids with carefree confidence.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We have struggled to get our name and vision out in the community. One of our main goals is to change the standard of care for women in the fourth trimester. We want to help educate women and medical providers that we can help not only treat but also prevent issues such as leaking, diastasis, prolapse, and pain. Currently, it is still common practice for a woman to deliver a baby, then when discharged from the hospital, they will go 6-8 weeks before their next follow-up. Once they are medically cleared around that six weeks mark, there is currently no guidance given to women to return to activity whether that is lifting their kids or returning to exercise. We want to help bring awareness to this gap in care for women during this critical and emotional time in their lives. We take a different approach to healing from pregnancy, labor and delivery and view it just like any other physical trauma/injury. In orthopedics, if you sustain an injury, you go to the doctor and you are generally referred to physical therapy. With pregnancy, we already know the injury is occurring so our goal is to connect with women soon after delivery so we can assess their bodies, help heal any injuries or issues they are currently having and then help prevent future injuries. We also want to educate women on how to start re-engaging their core and correcting pregnancy changes in the early postpartum period so that when cleared for exercise by their medical provider their bodies are ready.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are two moms who are also Doctors of Physical therapy, who specialize in working with pregnant and postpartum women. We have a passion for helping women learn how to move their body with confidence as it changes and adapts. We offer in-home private treatment sessions to women who are pregnant, early postpartum or at any stage in their postpartum journey to help them establish a solid understanding of their bodies capabilities, what is normal and what is not, and how to safely return to exercise with confidence.
We are proud to combine orthopedic whole-body assessments combined with pelvic floor Physical therapy so that we can accurately address the root cause of our patient’s issues and help to provide long-lasting results.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
We work with OBs, midwives, doulas, chiropractors, lactation consultants, massage therapists, doulas and more. We try to connect and establish relationships with other providers so that we can build the best network of people to help our mamas feel supported, loved and cared for throughout every stage of pregnancy and postpartum. If you know of anyone who is pregnant or postpartum or if you are struggling with pain, leaking, pressure, or an inability to return to an exercise routine that fits your life, give us a call. We are here to help! Similarly, if you work with any of these women and need a reliable, empathetic physical therapist to help them overcome or prevent any dysfunction, give us a call, we would love to connect with you.
Contact Info:
- Website: Empowerpostpartumpt.com
- Instagram: @empowerpostpartumpt
- Facebook: @empowerpostpartumpt
Image Credits
Sam Bennett, Cutting Edge Images Inc
