Pregnancy and Postpartum Care in Lindenhurst, NY
Supportive care through pregnancy and the months after, working alongside your obstetrician or midwife rather than in place of them.
What This Is
The part nobody schedules for you
Pregnancy care is well covered. Someone is watching the numbers, the scans, the dates. What is less well covered is everything that happens to you in between those appointments, and almost nothing is covered once the baby has arrived and the attention moves.
That is the gap we work in. Back and pelvic pain that nobody has time to address. Sleep that has stopped working. Nausea, exhaustion, the tension that settles into the shoulders when you are carrying something all day. Then afterwards, a body that has been through a great deal and a schedule that assumes it has not.
All of it is supportive care. It runs alongside your obstetrician or midwife and it does not replace a single appointment with them. We have written more about this on the blog, in acupuncture for pregnancy and postpartum.
Across The Stages
What tends to come up, and when
Select a stage. What is worth treating changes considerably as you go.
Early on
Nausea and exhaustion dominate this stretch, and both are the sort of thing you are expected to simply absorb. Treatment here is gentle and conservative, and your practitioner will want to know exactly how far along you are before anything begins.
This is also the stage where a lot of people first ask whether they can keep coming in at all. The answer is usually yes with adjustments, and the adjustments are the point of telling us early.
The middle stretch
Energy tends to return and this is when most people feel able to think about themselves again. It is also when the physical load starts registering: the lower back, the hips, the beginnings of the pelvic discomfort that will define the third trimester if nothing addresses it.
Prenatal-appropriate massage therapy does a great deal here, and it is easier to stay ahead of this than to catch up with it later.
The last stretch
Back and pelvic pain, swelling, and sleep that has become genuinely difficult. Most people at this stage are not looking to be fixed, they are looking for a few hours of relief and a night that is better than the last one.
Treatment is positioning-adapted and unhurried. Sessions are shorter if that is what suits, and nothing is done that your practitioner is not comfortable doing at this stage.
After the baby
The stage where care tends to stop and demand does not. Recovery, depleted energy, a body carrying and feeding for hours a day, and sleep that arrives in fragments. Neck and shoulder tension from nursing is close to universal and almost never treated.
Where mood is part of the picture, say so. Postpartum depression and anxiety are medical matters and belong with your provider, and we will work alongside that treatment rather than around it. Support for the physical side sits well next to it, and treatment aimed at the stress response can be part of that.
What We Use
Adapted, not just booked
The same treatments offered elsewhere in the practice, delivered differently because the situation is different.
Acupuncture
Point selection is adapted throughout pregnancy, which is why your practitioner needs to know you are pregnant and how far along before the first needle. More on acupuncture here.
Massage therapy
Positioning-adapted work for the back, hips and shoulders, and afterwards for the neck and upper back that nursing quietly wrecks.
Reiki
No needles and no pressure, which makes it an option at stages where other things are being kept conservative. More on reiki here.
What we need to know, and what we will not do
- Tell us you are pregnant and how far along when you book, not when you arrive. It changes what is appropriate and it changes it at every stage.
- Herbal medicine is practitioner-selected only. A great many herbs are not suitable during pregnancy or while nursing. Nothing is dispensed without our herbalist reviewing your situation, and nothing should be self-prescribed.
- NAET allergy elimination is not appropriate during pregnancy. If you are a current NAET patient, that course pauses.
Everything here is complementary care alongside your obstetrician or midwife. It does not replace prenatal appointments, it does not manage complications, and it is not a source of medical advice about your pregnancy. Anything concerning goes to your provider first and to us second. Keep them informed that you are seeing us, and bring your medication list to your first appointment.
Common Questions
Questions we get asked
Is acupuncture safe during pregnancy?
Point selection is adapted during pregnancy and certain points are avoided, which is exactly why your practitioner needs to know you are pregnant and how far along before treatment begins. Tell us when you book. If you have a high-risk pregnancy or any complication, clear it with your obstetrician or midwife first.
Can I take herbs while pregnant or nursing?
Only what a licensed herbalist has selected for you after reviewing your situation. Many herbs are not suitable during pregnancy or while breastfeeding, and this is not an area to experiment in based on anything read online.
When can I start after giving birth?
That depends on your delivery and your recovery, and it is a question for your provider as much as for us. Call and we will talk it through, and we would rather you waited a fortnight longer than started a fortnight too early.
Does this replace my prenatal care?
No, and nothing here should be read that way. This is supportive care alongside your obstetrician or midwife. Keep every prenatal appointment and keep your provider informed that you are seeing us.
Is any of it covered by insurance?
Coverage depends on your plan and what is being treated. Submit your details through our intake and insurance page and we will verify benefits before your first visit.
Patient Reviews
What our patients say
★★★★★The staff were very welcoming, the environment was relaxing. The staff member I had in the room to help me was very kind and helpful especially since I was with my 10 month old son. I would definitely recommend The Balance Health and Wellness Center to everyone 10/10!
Kayla Torres, Google
★★★★★He took the time to talk to me and listen to my concerns/trouble areas, and customized to my personal needs. I felt like a different person walking out of there!
Jen Westfall, Google
Individual results vary. Outcomes depend on your situation, your history, and your wider care.
Related Treatments
What runs alongside this
Get Started
Book a visit
Send a message or call 631-309-2242, and please mention that you are pregnant or postpartum when you get in touch so we can book you appropriately from the start. You can also read about Joe first.