Marley Sisler, OTR/L is a Level I Trauma Center OT who is leading a discussion with parents and healthcare providers who will have a shared opportunity to discuss personal accounts of their own or observed birth experiences and the interventions that they received or provided to others during and immediately after birth. This live virtual discussion invites attendees to share their birth experience and what they would have changed. Open access: inviting mothers, pregnant individuals, and occupational and physical therapists who wish to learn more of the benefits of expanding access to OB rehab services in the hospital and home during pregnancy and immediately after birth.

Join us for an exciting discussion with Dr. Michelle Figueira, PT, DPT and her team of occupational therapists who are offering rehab services to individuals in the hospital after birth. Dr. Figueira is a manager of rehabilitation services and she and her team are on a mission to improve mental and physical function during postpartum recovery, starting in the hospital before individuals and their families return home.

Learn how to educate people sooner to enhance their recovery and function after birth starting in the hospital and home.  

Dr. Juan Michelle Martin, PT, DPT is the co-founder of Pelvic PT Doulas, a training program that prepares rehabilitation therapists to provide support to the birthing population in the hospital and home as doulas. In this hospital in-service training on Friday, November 17th at 12:00 PM Eastern Time, she will be reviewing the impact of common labor and delivery induction methods and medical interventions, imaging for birth-related orthopedic trauma, and administrative support for OT and PT services starting in the hospital after delivery. Join live for a Q/A to follow or view the recorded training later. Perfect for health professionals and hospital administrators who want to improve the quality of service and recovery options accessible to individuals at the time of hospital birth.

Do you believe that individuals after birth should be informed on how to enhance their function immediately after delivery without having to wait and figure out things on their own? Are hospitals in your community offering rehab services DAILY after elective surgery yet not offering therapy ONCE to patients after cesarean section? Are you a leader in your field, advocating to improve maternal function now to avoid unwanted symptoms later? You can establish a new standard for care globally by optimizing function after birth and pelvic surgery directly in hospitals, birth centers, and at home where recovery begins.

After listening to the experience of a woman who gave birth in a U.S. hospital, occupational and physical therapists learn why their discipline, certifications, specialties, and ultimately business doesn’t matter when they are absent during recovery.

We’ll discuss preeclampsia, IV magnesium sulfate, and what every person who gives birth in a hospital should know before they return home. If you or someone you know feels that you should have been provided with rehab services in the hospital after birth or after a major pelvic surgery, please share your experience with the Pelvic Health Network at: info@pelvichealthnetwork.org to help us intervene earlier for people with the information they need to enhance their recovery.

For the past few months, I have been doing a deep dive with doulas and therapists who are finding ways around hospital red tape and “lack of research” that justifies a decision to not offer rehab within the first few days of physical trauma after birth, including a major open abdominal surgery. These professionals span acute care, private practice, and virtual health and they are inspiring me towards possibilities I didn’t consider before. Today, I’m speaking with Dr. Sabina Khan, PhD, OTD, OTR/L about her research, her why, the house visits she does for her patients, including teen moms - all of it. WATCH THE REPLAY