Wholistic Prenatal Care
Written by Shasta Zeeman, BScN PHC-NP | February 21, 2021
Hey Mama!
Welcome to the motherhood club!
I’m Shasta Zeeman, a Nurse Practitioner and the newest member of the Holistic Physiotherapy & Wellness team!
Pregnancy is a wonderful and exciting time, but it can also be a time of great uncertainty. During this miraculous time, the female body changes immensely to grow another life, these changes create many questions & concerns.
Prenatal care is the medical care received during your pregnancy to keep you and your baby healthy. Even in the healthiest individual pregnancy is risky and prenatal care is essential to improve the chances of a healthy and risk-free pregnancy and birth.
For many, prenatal care is the first time seeking a healthcare team to support their health and wellbeing and it’s a unique opportunity to receive individualized wellness care on a regular basis.
In Canada, there are four different types of providers who can provide prenatal care: Obstetricians, Family Doctors, Midwives & Nurse Practitioners. All of which can deliver your baby except for Nurse Practitioners. As a Nurse Practitioner I do not deliver babies.
As a Nurse Practitioner I provide primary healthcare services that care for both you and your family. I can provide prenatal care for pregnant women up until delivery and then immediately postpartum & beyond. I hope to create relationships that last a lifetime and include caring for you, your newborn, other children as they grow, and your partner who often gets left out during this monumental time.
The childbearing years are a special time for parents and are accompanied by great physical and emotional transitions.
As a mother of a beautiful 8 y/o daughter while I experienced great physical changes I was not prepared for the emotional transitions. I went into my pregnancy thinking “I got this!” but quickly learned I was in for a wild ride and there was no “how to manual”.
I had a traumatic delivery that required a c-section, difficulty breast feeding & suffered from severe postpartum depression. I felt like a failure, alone, embarrassed, & envious of the mothers at play group who seems to have it all together.
Parenthood has been the most humbling experience & greatest teacher for me personally & professionally.
To this day I have no idea what I am doing as a mother and honestly, I’m just winging it most days. If I could write a book about it, I’d call it “The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly”, it’s just plain hard most days and then there are these magical moments that make it all worth it.
But what was shocking to me is NO ONE prepared me for what I was about to experience. No one shared their struggles or the reality of parenting. But when I started talking about my experience every parent had a similar story.
As a mother and a Nurse Practitioner I have found that support and reassurance are essential during this time and it’s the difference between surviving & hating motherhood or thriving, showing ourselves compassion & enjoying the journey!
As a Nurse Practitioner I provide the care I wished I would have received.
I want women and their partners to:
· Feel supported and have a place to be seen & heard.
· Have their emotional, mental, physical & spiritual health all addressed & prioritized.
· Have a provider invested in the health & well being of their entire family through all life’s milestones.
Birth is not only about making babies. Birth is about making mothers – strong, competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength.”
– Barbara Katz Rothman
It takes a village to raise a child and it takes a healthcare team to support you on your journey!
Let us at Holistic Physiotherapy & Wellness be part of your healthcare team.
My Services:
Initial prenatal visit: 90 minutes.
Prenatal and postpartum follow up visits: 60 minutes.
Once COVID19 restrictions lift the option for home visits will be available.
Wholistic Prenatal Care includes:
Monitoring the health of you and your baby
Monitoring the babies heart rate
Monitoring weight, blood pressure, mood, & physical symptoms
Managing chronic diseases (hypothyroidism, diabetes, anemia, perinatal mood disorders etc.)
Manage & prescribe medications and supplements as needed.
Provide support for pregnancy symptoms such as nausea, heartburn, fatigue, constipation, back pain, and headaches etc.
Order screening blood work and ultrasounds
Referring to Obstetrician/midwife and cultivating shared care relationships.
Health education on anything & everything (providing you with the “how to manual”)
Screening for Perinatal mood disorders and provide treatment, emotional & mental support.
Providing psychotherapy, Reiki, crystal healing, aromatherapy, and intuitive guidance
Referrals to allied healthcare providers creating a healthcare team to support you.
Shasta Zeeman
Nurse Practitioner & Life Coach
Owner of Unmask and Evolve Wholistic Health & Wellness
Resources:
1. What is a Nurse Practitioner (NP) https://npao.org/about-npao/what-is-a-np/
2. A Sensible Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/healthy-pregnancy/healthy-pregnancy-guide.html#a9
3. The Saskatchewan Prevention Institute has many resources about pregnancy and parenting (for both moms and dads) and infant care. https://skprevention.ca/
4. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC) has a website that provides information for preparing for a healthy pregnancy, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. https://www.pregnancyinfo.ca/
5. Baby’s Best Start Book (British Columbia Ministry of Health) https://www.health.gov.bc.ca/library/publications/year/2019/BBC-7th-edition-FINAL-Nov2019.pdf
6. Mom & Kids Health Saskatchewan is the Jim Patterson Hospital website that provides information of the care they provide during pregnancy, labour, delivery, & postnatal and newborn care. https://momsandkidssask.saskhealthauthority.ca/pregnancy-birth-newborns/prenatal-care
