La rédaction de ce billet s’est faite en partenariat avec l’équipe du Centre Odyssée.

What is interdisciplinarity? How can this way of working contribute to helping a pregnant woman, couple or baby after childbirth?

In fact, interdisciplinarity is work by a team where the client is at the heart of the action plan. All the team members bring together their knowledge, expertise and experience to help the person. They will prepare a personalised action plan and use different approaches and practices to set a common goal to meet best the person’s needs associated with aspects of a given problem.

Interdisciplinarity is increasingly used in the provision of healthcare because to take care of a person, you have to work with them at every level (from the physical to the subtle) to get a broader vision of the situation.

This is how the therapists at the Odyssée Centre have chosen to work for their clients’ wellbeing. These caregivers specialise in perinatal services, from preconception, pregnancy, childbirth to the postnatal period.

C’est d’ailleurs ainsi que les thérapeutes du Centre L’Odyssée ont choisi de travailler pour le mieux-être global de leur clientèle. Ces intervenantes ont une spécialisation dans les services périnataux, allant de la préconception jusqu’à l’enfant en passant par la grossesse, l’accouchement et la période postnatale.

How to Access these Services?

You need to contact the receptionist, who will guide you to the therapist best suited for your needs. The therapist will likely suggest that you participate in their “Healthy at Every Level” program, which offers a personalised plan using three complementary approaches. It also gives you free access to a fourth approach to optimise your path to health.

In this first article, I will present several caregivers from different disciplines who make up the Odyssée team, including an acupuncturist, osteopath, massage therapist and naturopath. I will present other members of the team in a future article called Healthy Mind and Body during Pregnancy.

Dans ce premier article, je vous présenterai plusieurs intervenantes de différentes disciplines qui composent l’équipe de l’Odyssée soit : la professionnelle en acupuncture, en ostéopathie, en massothérapie et en naturopathie. Pour poursuivre les informations par rapport aux autres intervenantes de l’équipe, je vous invite à continuer votre lecture avec l’article Bien dans sa tête et dans son corps durant la grossesse.

Acupuncture

Karèya Audet, Acupuncturist
Registered with the Order of Acupuncturists since 1998.

Acupuncture can play an essential role in promoting fertility and for monitoring pregnancy. Early identification of disbalances can make the treatments more effective.

During pregnancy, acupuncture can relieve nausea, anxiety, pain, treat constipation, circulatory issues, carpal tunnel, nosebleeds, sinus infections, prevent premature births, modify the baby’s position if they are breech between the 30th and 34th week (85% success rate according to recent studies).

Before childbirth, acupuncture can help start labour if a woman is past term, help soften the perineum and simulate contractions.

After childbirth, acupuncture soothes uterine retraction contractions, post-partum depression and baby blues, reduce post-childbirth recovery time and treat breastfeeding problems.

Acupuncture treatments are always personalised, with no fixed plan. Karèya will help improve the health of you and your baby.

Osteopathy

Marie Panier, DO
Specialising in Pediatric, Obstetric and Aquatic Osteopathy
Member of Ostéopathie Québec

Osteopathy aims at improving structural mobility (joints, muscles, nerves, veins) where once free, are less likely to become congested, slowed down or painful.

During pregnancy, improving pelvic mobility and harmony and optimising the baby’s position are two critical aspects that help facilitate easy childbirth. Perinatal osteopathy techniques are mild and precise and are not painful or dangerous for the baby as they are adapted to the mother-baby team.

Mechanical (lumbago, sciatica, pubalgia) and digestive (reflux, nausea, constipation) issues, headaches, insomnia, dyspareunia (pain during sexual relations) are all discomforts that can be relieved through osteopathy treatments.

During the postnatal period, pain associated with breastfeeding, the rebalancing of the pelvis, pelvic floor, intestines, hormones can all be treated using osteopathy.

For the baby, an evaluation, even if merely preventative (if the baby is fine, sleeps well, drinks well, moves well and is healthy) will check to see if the baby is fully mobile at every level.

Massage Therapy

Nathalie Gingras et Jacinthe Lavoie, Massage Therapists
(Perinatal Californian and Shiatsu)

Massage therapy helps relieve ailments occurring throughout pregnancy. It is a great time to stop, relax and build deep links with your baby.

A Californian massage provides overall deep relaxation as the pregnant woman can finally lay on her stomach using specially designed supports.

Shiatsu, which is an energising Japanese massage occurring on the floor on a futon, helps mobilise the pelvis and chest, zones that are called upon during pregnancy. This massage soothes and relieves accumulated tension.

Regular sessions allow the body to slowly adapt to the constant changes that occur during pregnancy and prevents the deepening of ailments at the end of a pregnancy. The stimulation of specific points can also be used to prepare for childbirth and encourage the start of labour at around 39 weeks.

During the postnatal period, when the upper body is often tense due to breastfeeding positions, you can go in alone or with your baby to help your discomforts and relax at the same time!

Naturopathy

Marie-Ève Bernard, ND.A.
Certified Naturopath
Osteopathy Student

According to the naturopathic approach, a person is taken care of in a global way. In addition to dealing with symptoms, naturopaths look for the causes of disbalances to solves health problems permanently. To do so, they use different tools: natural health factors (diet, stress management, environmental factors, physical exercise), nutritherapy (vitamins, minerals, etc.), medicinal plants, essential oils, homeopathy, etc.

Since each person is different, the treatment plan will be personalised based on your needs.

Specifically, naturopathy monitors women throughout all the stages associated with conception. During the preconception period, they can promote fertility, prevent future problems for the baby (asthma, eczema, etc.) and strengthen emunctories.

During pregnancy, naturopathic monitoring soothes different ailments such as nausea, constipation, circulatory issues, anemia, gastric reflux, pregnancy mask, etc.

During the postnatal period, naturopaths can help the body recover optimally (energy, perineal care, diet, etc.), produce sufficient milk, or deal with other issues (baby blues, hypothyroidism, thrush, mastitis, etc.).

Additionally, naturopathy is an effective natural solution for different ailments or health problems with the baby. For more information, go to www.marieevebernard.com.

Plus encore, la naturopathie constitue une solution efficace et naturelle dans le cas d’éventuels malaises ou problèmes de santé chez le bébé. Pour plus d’information : www.marieevebernard.com

In the case of Noémie, she could start with osteopathy to improve her pelvic mobility and harmony, reduce future inflammation due to her sciatica, free the uterus so that the baby has enough space to develop and relieve structures that may discomfort its mother properly…during this appointment, acupuncture could be suggested to Noémie to complete the treatment, or massage therapy to relieve tension in her buttocks and thigh to reduce discomfort based on her symptoms. She should even go to our naturopath if it seems that she could be helped for her metabolism, digestion or hormones.

This is just an example, but the possibilities are endless. They can be developed based on the needs and the person because there are as many solutions as there are different situations.

This is the first in a series of articles about interdisciplinarity and pregnancy! Please continue reading with Interdisciplinarity and Pregnancy 2 to discover other beneficial practices.

Merci à l’équipe interdisciplinaire de L’Odyssée pour sa grande collaboration à cet article.

	L’Odyssée, d’une naissance à une autre Centre de ressources périnatales et familiales 29 chemin Beaudette, Canton de Hatley  J0B 2C0 819 842-4545 [email protected]
	www.odysseenaissance.com

Talk soon,

Marie
The Baby Expert