Early Bird Sale
April 1st - 30th
High Risk Pregnancy for PTs & OTs
What to expect:
High-risk pregnancy complications often come with activity restrictions up to and including bed rest. Survey studies estimated that ~20% of pregnancies will involve activity restrictions and ~95% of maternal healthcare providers prescribe them. Physical and Occupational Therapists are well aware of the negative consequences of reduced activity including reduced cardiopulmonary fitness, increased blood clot risk, psychological impact and financial stress particularly if a patient’s ability to continue paid work is affected.
PT and OT have established benefits during general pregnancy to manage common musculoskeletal pain complaints, pelvic health, psychological stress, preparation for childbirth and postpartum recovery.
This course is designed for the PT and OT that have some basic pregnancy care knowledge who want to integrate high-risk pregnant patients into prenatal therapy care but feel unsure how to safely treat this population beyond simple bed rest exercises or putting therapy on hold.
In this course you’ll learn the most common pregnancies complications, the activity restrictions prescribed for these complications, the implications of hospitalization for pregnant patients and their families and what therapists can offer this population including: coping strategies, psychosocial support and problem solving, managing acute pain, creating safe movement and exercise programs and preparation for birth and postpartum.
What will you learn?
At the completion of this course, participants will be able to:
Understand the basics of uncomplicated pregnancy physiology and the pathophysiology of common pregnancy complications for which patients are admitted to the hospital.
Be able to provide appropriate assessment and intervention to high-risk pregnancy patients admitted to the hospital.
Be able to design a safe and effective exercise program for high-risk pregnancies.
Have a working understanding of the signs and symptoms of the most common postpartum complications and be able to determine when/if to proceed with therapy intervention.
Erin Locati, PT, DPT
In addition to her clinical work, Erin has been teaching community education classes on pelvic health during pregnancy and after birth for a non-profit doula organization since and teaching professional continuing education courses in her specialty for physical and occupational therapists since 2022. Erin is passionate about improving the standard of care for the pregnant/postpartum populations and expanding access to pelvic health services.