You'll leave knowing exactly how to move, breathe, and work with your body through every phase of labor.
Birth preparation
Birth prep appointments at Strength & Dignity Wellness are dedicated educational sessions designed to give you the pelvic floor knowledge and physical tools that standard childbirth education doesn't cover.
Sessions are hands-on and incorporate practice time so we can give you personalized cues for each exercise. An internal exam with push practice is available and recommended, but never required.
Each session covers:
Pelvic mobility exercises for each phase of labor
How to help your pelvic floor relax for an easier birth
Pushing positions and how to push effectively
Perineal massage to reduce the risk of severe tearing
Optimizing baby’s position
Pain relief techniques for labor
Early postpartum recovery guidelines
- Pelvic mobility exercises for each phase of labor
- How to help your pelvic floor relax for an easier birth
- Pushing positions and how to push effectively
- Perineal massage to reduce the risk of severe tearing
- Optimizing baby’s position
- Pain relief techniques for labor
- Early postpartum recovery guidelines
Who are birth prep Appointments For?
Birth prep sessions are designed for moms between 32 and 36 weeks of pregnancy. They are especially valuable for first-time moms, those who experienced a prolonged labor or extended pushing phase in a previous birth, and moms planning a VBAC.
We believe that pelvic floor therapy is the most ideal way to prepare for birth, but we understand that everyone’s situation is unique and may prevent them from committing to a full round of care.
For moms who know they can only commit to one session during pregnancy, our Birth Preparation service is our gold standard recommendation.
The Difference
There is a meaningful difference between knowing that your pelvic floor needs to relax during pushing and actually being able to do it, having practiced it, received feedback, and understood what it feels like for your body specifically. We created these sessions to make sure moms are physically ready when labor begins, not just educated about what to expect.
Birth is a physical event that you can prepare your body for.
Moms with better pelvic mobility tend to have shorter pushing phases and are at a lower risk for stalled labor, C-sections, and severe tearing. This matters for any birth, but especially for moms planning an unmedicated birth, where a stalled labor or severe tear means an increased likelihood for additional interventions.
Childbirth is one of the most significant moments of your life. We want you to go into your delivery confident in what your body can do and equipped with all the strategies proven to give you the best possible chance at the birth experience you are hoping for.
at your appointments
What to Expect
Your first session starts with a detailed conversation about your symptoms, concerns, health history, your birth history if applicable, and your goals. From there we move into the examination, which includes an internal assessment to evaluate your pelvic floor strength, endurance, coordination, and tension patterns, and identify the cause of your symptoms. You are never obligated to have an internal assessment and can decline at any time. Your comfort is our top priority.
During the physical exam we'll also look at your core, posture, and general movement patterns to assess how everything is working together. Depending on your symptoms, we may perform manual therapy or other interventions to help provide relief and decrease any pain you may be experiencing.
Your first visit provides the foundation for your plan of care. You will leave with 2-3 exercises to begin performing at home, a full understanding of what is causing your symptoms, and a plan on how we’re going to address your symptoms and help you reach your goals.
Follow-up sessions are always with the same provider, and include a combination of re-assessment, education, functional exercises, and manual treatment as needed. We may also provide ergonomic recommendations, like how to best position and carry your baby, along with lifestyle guidance, including nutrition & nervous system support tips, to support your progress between sessions. Treatment progresses according to how your body is responding and what will be most helpful for your specific needs.
testimonials
"Leah and Katie are both amazing. I saw Leah for some prenatal support to help eliminate pain in pregnancy and look forward to returning and really putting in the work postpartum. It's wild to me that this isn't something recommended and referred to at every mom's 6 week OB follow up. Take care of yourself ladies, let Strength & Dignity help!" (Kari)
"Katie is such a pleasure to work with! She has great bedside manner, being both patient and knowledgeable. In just one session we were able to work on breathing and strengthening techniques to help relieve some of the pain I had been experiencing. I highly recommend Strength & Dignity Wellness." (Amm)
"Dr. Katie is awesome! She's super personable and knowledgeable. I went in to see her for a birth prep session at 35 weeks pregnant and she gave so many practical and helpful tips to help me prepare my body for labor. I'm so grateful I was able to meet her and learn from her expertise! She also has a platform where I can review stretches and exercises we went over during the session so I can continue to do them at home without having to remember all of them. She's truly a blessing and joy to work with!" (Keleigh)
"From body building, multiple miscarriages, multiple pregnancies, and breastfeeding my body has felt so beat up and overall weak. Since seeing Katie I've regained confidence that my body can in fact be strong again. I'm so grateful to have found her. She's amazing to work with and I've seen noticeable results from just a few sessions with her. Can't recommend her enough." (Jade)
"Very personalized, compassionate care, exactly what I needed late in pregnancy and postpartum. Katie is relatable, thoughtful, and knowledgeable. I have been to other pelvic floor PTs but I’ll never need to find another one as long as Katie is practicing!" (Hannah)
"Leah was great! Wonderful birth prep and also helpful in teaching stretches to help with dislocated ribs pain. Highly recommend their services!" (Taylor)
"I’ve worked with quite a few Pelvic Floor PTs over the years of pregnancy, postpartum and navigating chronic pelvic pain. Dr. Katie has by far been the BEST experience! She goes the extra mile to provide truly high-quality, personalized care and get to the root of your symptoms. I deeply appreciate her well-rounded expertise in both core and pelvic health and returning to functional movement and fitness, with her orthopedic background which allows her to take a full-body approach. She creates a very intimate care experience and a safe, judgment-free environment to share vulnerably what you're experiencing, and the way she welcomes and receives you fully as a mother (which often means bringing a baby or multiple kids along to appointments, etc.). I always feel seen and known as a human being, in what can often be highly sensitive unspoken struggles that affect my relationship with my body and marriage, and I have walked away from every session feeling deeply supported. I'd highly recommend her to any pregnant, postpartum mama, or woman navigating core & pelvic health symptoms and wanting to feel stronger, more confident and more like yourself in your body again." (Megan)
"Dr. Katie truly heard my struggles and concerns and worked to help me in the short term as well as provided exercises to build my strength and resolve the issue altogether. She was excellent in providing information to explain why I was experiencing pain as well as always made sure I had access to an app to review the exercises and how to do them once I got home and memories of everything we discussed in our appointment started to fade. I’ve discussed my hip pain during pregnancies with multiple providers and never felt anything came of reaching out for help. Dr Katie not only partnered with me but also resolved it so much that I was able to continue keeping up with my two other small children, our house, and my full time job well into my third trimester with minimal discomfort. Yes, there will always be discomfort in the third trimester- but because of Dr Katie I’m able to function in a way that would not have been possible without her. 🙂" (Lizzie)
"Dr Katie is wonderful! She’s helped me in my postpartum journey to get back to being ME. Super kind and super professional! My program has been customized to my progress and adjusted as needed. Highly recommended! (My little one loves Dr Katie also!)" (Angie)
"Dr Katie is not only for postpartum care, I saw her after a back injury where I need to work on core strength and stability. She was great! She provided hands-on care during office visits as well as exercises to do on my own and helped me get back to lifting pain free!" (Kristen)
"Katie absolutely changed my postpartum life. I was 6 weeks postpartum with nerve damage and severe back pain in 2025 that could not be relieved. Katie helped diagnose all the issues, gave me stretches and strengthening exercises to practice at home and within a couple weeks I was able to live a normal life again. I was with her for about 6 months as she helped me rebuild my strength and fully recover. Although we had to sacrifice a bit for the cost of pelvic floor therapy—I would do it all over again so that I could function and enjoy my sweet children. I recommend Strength and Dignity to everyone I know and will be back with future pregnancies/postpartum." (Gracie)
The Strength & Dignity Wellness Approach
Every client moves through our five-phase framework, at a pace that matches their body and their life.
Relief -- from your pain, leaking, and heaviness
Reconnect -- with your breath, deep core, and pelvic floor
Retrain -- functional movement patterns
Rebuild -- strength and endurance
Reclaim -- your life
We re-evaluate your symptoms & goals each session to meet your body's evolving needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
For most women, yes. We screen for any conditions that would make a pelvic exam inadvisable during pregnancy. If there is anything in question, we will reach out to your provider for guidance before proceeding.
No! Your consent matters and you are never required to do anything you don’t feel comfortable with. You may also revoke your consent at any time.
An internal exam can give a lot of information including pelvic floor muscle, strength, endurance, coordination, and trigger points. It is also used to determine to what degree (if any) pelvic organ prolapse is present. Most of this information can be gathered from a thorough history, but depending on your symptoms it is helpful to confirm specifics through both external and internal examination.
We are out of network with all insurance companies. We are happy to provide you a SuperBill with diagnosis and treatment codes for you to submit to insurance for reimbursement. We cannot make any promises as to what your insurance will reimburse.
Staying out of network with insurance allows us to provide you with a higher quality of care without having to worry about the rules and restrictions insurance places on how we practice. We prefer to see patients one-on-one so our focus can be solely providing you with the high-level of care you deserve
We have seen mothers as early as 1 week postpartum. Due to tissue healing timelines and infection risk, and internal exam cannot be performed until 6 weeks postpartum. That being said, starting to reconnect with your breath and core early on can help speed up your recovery. Early visits can also provide valuable education on proper lifting and feeding positions if there was an injury during birth or to avoid injury postpartum.
It is always a great idea to establish care with a Pelvic Floor PT during pregnancy. In an ideal world, you would be seen at least 1x/trimester to optimize pelvic floor health and more if there are signs of dysfunction such as leaking, heaviness, symphysis pubis dysfunction, or low back pain.
It is also helpful to be seen for a birth preparation appointment between 32-36 weeks. In this appointment we will discuss the anatomy of how birth happens, exercises to optimize pelvic mobility in before and during labor, perineal massage and pushing techniques to reduce tearing, and tips for early postpartum recovery. If you would rather have access to the exercises and education online, we have a labor and delivery course, just for you! Learn more about that course: HERE.
First of all, congratulations for choosing to invest in yourself. My goal for this program is to make it very attainable. While this program is not a "quick fix", in my personal & professional experience, long term consistency will set you up for greater success in the long run. Learn more about this course to help without scheduling regular appointments: LEARN MORE HERE.
