At FIT4MOM we love supporting woman-owned, local small businesses. This post highlights a few amazing Bay Area businesses we have worked with and love! This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it's a great place to start taking care of your yourself.
Healthy Pelvis Physical Therapy
We’ve all heard about the importance of having strong pelvic floor muscles and how they factor into everything from bladder control to sexual function to stabilizing the spine. Weak or tight pelvic floor muscles can plague women’s prenatal and postpartum experiences and create issues such as bowel incontinence, diastasis recti, and pelvic organ prolapse.
Like many other muscles in our bodies, this group can also be strengthened with regular care and exercise. And that’s where Dr. Tanya Goodrich and her team at Healthy Pelvis Physical Therapy come in. They work with patients to develop rehabilitation programs that can involve retraining muscles to contract and relax on command and manually releasing trigger points.
Healthy Pelvis Physical Therapy has locations in Belmont and Los Altos. You can learn more here.
Our bodies go through a lot during pregnancy and post childbirth. Problems like sciatica, round ligament pain, and lower back pain can pop up during the prenatal stage, while pain in the neck, shoulder, and hip can be postpartum issues. Dr. Janelle Provost uses her chiropractic training to address these issues. Through her career dedicated to prenatal, postpartum, and pediatric care, Dr. Provost’s practice has combined chiropractic care, soft tissue techniques, the Webster technique, and craniosacral therapy.
The Provost Family Chiropractic provides office and in-home chiropractic care to Santa Clara County. You can contact Dr. Provost at (408) 502-6358 or email her at info@provostfamilychiro.com or fill a form here.
When people say “It takes a village to raise a child” they weren’t kidding. Giving birth and learning to take care of a newborn while trying to take care of yourself as a new mom is no joke. Support in all forms is welcome, and doulas are one such support system. Kristin D'Ambrosio is a certified doula who helps women navigate the postpartum stage and newborn care. Her services include assisting with feeding, diaper changes, swaddling, and sleep support. She can also help out with tasks around the house including washing pumps and bottles, and some laundry tasks.
You can contact Kristin at (408) 753-0814 or email her at Info@thrivedoulasolutions.com.
Breastfeeding may sound like the most natural thing our bodies can do as mothers, but it’s best to understand the ins and outs around topics such as latching, using breast pumps, pumping at the office and more. Liz Chang is a certified lactation counselor who walks new moms through these and other breastfeeding-related subjects. She can speak English and Spanish and offers in-home and virtual consults, in addition to e-learning sessions, workshops, and office counseling sessions.
You can contact Liz at (908) 938-5320 or email her at liz@prettymb.org.
Pregnancy and postpartum stages can be a challenging time as your identity and sense of self goes through many transformations and you come to terms with the idea of being a mother. There are physical, emotional, and psychological changes constantly playing out. But it doesn’t have to be lonely. Marnie Levenson, a licensed therapist, runs Becoming Mothers Counseling to support moms in their motherhood journeys. Through individual and group sessions and mentor networks. Marnie helps women grow into their new roles while taking care of themselves. She offers home-based and virtual sessions, and in office sessions in Palo Alto and San Carlos.
You can contact Marnie at (650) 241-9914 or email her at marnie@becomingmotherscounseling.com.
Have you worked with these businesses? Or want to share some of your favorite women-owned/mama-owned businesses? Let us know by emailing us at sunnyvale@fit4mom.com!