How’s Your Pelvis? Pregnancy & Postpartum Pelvic Floor Therapy

How’s Your Pelvis? Maya Lespinasse, PT, DPT is dying to know. Dr. Lespinasse is a Pelvic Floor Therapist and the founder of How’s Your Pelvis?, based in Foxboro, MA who services the greater Boston and Rhode Island areas. 

You might be wondering what a Pelvic Floor Therapist does and why you need one during your pregnancy and postpartum recovery. Pelvic Floor Therapist is an undervalued support for everyone, no matter the stage of their parenting journey. This can be Pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy and postpartum. One of our new moms went to visit Dr. Lespinasse to see how her pelvis was and learn about what pelvic floor therapy was all about. 

What Is Pelvic Floor Therapy? 

Pelvic floor therapy is a specialized form of physical therapy that focuses on the muscles, ligaments, connective tissues, and nerves in the pelvic region. These muscles support essential functions like bladder and bowel control, sexual health, posture, and core stability. When the pelvic floor isn’t functioning optimally—whether it’s too weak, too tight, or uncoordinated—it can lead to issues like urinary leakage, constipation, pelvic pain, pain with sex, core weakness, and more.

What does a pelvic floor therapist do?

A pelvic floor physical therapist assesses how these systems are working together and creates a personalized plan to restore balance, improve mobility, reduce pain, and help you feel more in control of your body. Treatment may include hands-on techniques, movement-based retraining, breathwork, and education to support you in your healing journey. 

Pelvic floor therapy is valuable for people of all genders and all life stages, but is especially supportive during times of major change—like pregnancy, postpartum, menopause, or recovery from surgery.

How can pelvic floor therapy help with fertility for those trying to conceive? 

Pelvic floor physical therapy offers holistic, non-invasive support for those trying to conceive—naturally or with assisted reproductive technologies like IVF and IUI. These therapies enhance blood flow, reduce pelvic and abdominal tension, and improve organ mobility, creating an optimal environment for implantation and conception.

Pelvic floor therapy addresses muscle imbalances, scar tissue, and pelvic congestion that can interfere with reproductive function, while visceral manipulation releases restrictions around the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, and surrounding organs. When combined, these approaches support hormone regulation, reduce inflammation, and enhance nervous system balance—factors that can positively impact IVF and IUI success rates.

Hands on pelvic floor physical therapy for infertility support

In Maya’s practice, she also works with individuals navigating infertility, providing gentle, targeted techniques such as visceral manipulation. This hands-on method improves mobility in and around the reproductive organs (like the uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes), enhances blood flow, reduces adhesions or scar tissue, and decreases pelvic congestion. These changes can help create an internal environment that is more supportive for conception—whether naturally or through assisted reproductive technologies like IVF or IUI.

Pelvic floor therapy for your pregnancy journey & postpartum recovery

Dr. Lespinasse not only works with parents as they begin their journey, but facilitates an open and welcoming environment for patients throughout their pregnancies. There are often aches and pains associated with pregnancy that can be overlooked by your OB or midwife as normal pain. Dr. Lespinasse works with pregnant parents to strengthen the pelvic floor and help with the ease of delivery. 

One of the most beautiful things she offers is pelvic floor therapy for  postpartum birthing parents. Let’s be real. Once you give birth, the appointments dry up. The concern over your well-being seems to diminish greatly in the medical world. You can go from appointments once or twice a week to a “here’s some Tylenol, see you in six weeks.”

It is isolating to move from patient to mom with little to no support. It’s why Well Supported Family exists, to help support postpartum families as they heal. Well Supported Family is dedicated to supporting families with postpartum care, including providing Newborn Care Specialists, Postpartum Doulas, comprehensive sleep training and allows parents to get some much needed sleep.

It’s also why Dr. Lespinasse founded How’s Your Pelvis:. To help parents in that vulnerable time after birth when their bodies aren’t their own and the healing process is left unexplained, after both a vaginal or cesarean delivery. 

How Dr. Lespinasse supported one of our moms through her postpartum journey 

Walking up to the suite at How’s Your Pelvis is a moment of peace. Set back from the busy streets of Foxboro, MA, the small, cottage-like building is charming and sets the tone off right. Dr. Lespinasse, or Maya, has made her suite just as welcoming as the outside. A clean space, with sunshine streaming throughout, calms  the nerves of seeing a doctor to help with a body that feels alien. 

Maya herself is extremely welcoming, chatting with her patients  before digging in to the real star of the show: their pelvic health. Dr. Lespinasse begins with an evaluation, which will later determine not only the treatment plan, but the number of sessions needed to repair and strengthen her patients’ pelvic floor. 

Anna, a mom who used Well Supported Family’s overnight newborn care services, raved about her experience working with Dr. Lespinasse. She had given birth nine weeks prior with a cesarean delivery. During the operation she lost a significant amount of blood and had a very slow and tedious healing process. 

After waiting for her incision to fully close, she was left wondering what was next. She had significant back pain, core pain and generalized weakness. Though cleared to start moving her body, she had no idea how to start working out after giving birth. In came the idea of pelvic floor therapy, which was recommended by Anna’s Nightingale, and in turn, Dr. Lespinasse. 

During the evaluation, Maya noted that Anna had a variety of conditions that her OB/GYN hadn’t noticed at her two or six week postpartum appointments, including upper and lower back tension, lower abdominal scar tissue tension, swelling, a decreased range of motion, and slight diastasis recti, or abdominal separation. 

When Anna was uncomfortable lying on her stomach due to breastfeeding and pressure on her incision, Maya offered her a more comfortable solution before moving forward. It is truly those seemingly little gestures that make a huge difference during such a vulnerable time. During Anna’s evaluation, Maya also used massage, mobility exercises, cupping and more to not just address the root cause, but also to ease some of Anna’s pain. Massage by releasing tension, improving circulation, and enhancing mobility.

How pelvic floor therapy fits into your overall postpartum care

A major issue in postpartum care is that there really isn’t any. Parents are expected to heal from birth and move on, with little to no assistance. After regular prenatal appointments during pregnancy, this is an issue that leaves many feeling lost and unsure of how to move forward. 

Dr. Lespinasse helps parents feel they’re taken care of, while also empowering them during their fourth trimester. She decided to open her practice using a private pay model so that she can work outside of the limitations set by insurance companies. 

When Anna left the office (with a cute and thoughtful gift bag) she felt hope for the first time in weeks. Parents can feel overlooked after birthing a child, their needs secondary, even though there is often emotional and physical trauma associated with giving birth. 

The postpartum period does not come with a guide and it certainly leaves much to be desired. Having a professional such as Dr. Lespinasse is something that more parents should be aware of. 

Dr. Maya Lespinasse is here for parents in the same way that Well Supported Family is: to aid, educate, and support families through the early stages of parenthood. Both our teams are committed to making sure parents feel empowered and cared for, even when their usual support networks waver.If you’re based in Massachusetts or Rhode Island and looking for a Pelvic Floor Specialist,  Learn more about Dr. Maya Lespinasse and her services today.