Services

Pregnancy Care Services at Lakeside

How can naturopathic medicine help during pregnancy?

The most common health conditions seen by naturopathic doctors during pregnancy and postpartum include:
• Infertility or repeated miscarriages can often be addressed by restoring balance to the body. Often a combination of acupuncture, botanical medicine and clinical nutrition will be used.
• Common Concerns such as nausea, constipation, backache, heartburn, leg cramps, as well as overall wellness check-ups that include exercise and nutritional counselling.
• Strep B: Using clinical nutrition and botanical remedies we can reverse and prevent a diagnosis of strep B, we can strengthen amniotic membranes, and increase immunity thereby lessening the risk to the fetus.
• Pregnancy Induced Hypertension: We work closely with women who have developed PIH or who have a history of hypertension to continue to have healthy, medication free pregnancies.
• Post-dates Pregnancy often a combination of homeopathics, botanical remedies and acupuncture can prevent a hospitalized induction.
• Labour and Birth concerns: Our clinic provides a unique on-call service or private attendance at labours where we address such issues as: stalled labour, long labours, backache, retained placenta, postpartum hemorrhage
• Post partum: episiotomy healing, tonification, prevention of infection, afterpains, cesarean scar prevention and minimization with acupuncture.
• Breastfeeding: breastfeeding consultations, thrush, sore nipples, cracked nipples, low milk production

Naturopathic Labour Support (Doula) Services:

A doula is someone experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after childbirth.

Studies have shown that when doulas attend births, labours are shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier and they breastfeed more easily. Whether it is a first time birth or the third time around, many families elect to have a doula as part of their health care team as the added support provided by a doula can allow the labouring woman and her partner to cope more successfully with challenges that can come with labour and the post-partum period.

A doula provides objective information to a woman and her partner so that they are able to make informed decisions. A doula facilitates communication between a labouring woman, her partner, and clinical care providers (including both midwives and obstetricians). A doula also helps the woman’s partner to participate in the labour at their own comfort level.

Dr. Jessica Liu, ND offers doula services to women and their partners as part of her naturopathic practice at Lakeside. In addition to traditional doula support, Dr. Liu incorporates naturopathic therapies to support families throughout the entire prenatal, birthing, and post-partum experience. A typical perinatal care package includes two prenatal visits, assistance throughout labour, and one or more postnatal visits. To arrange an introductory meeting with Dr. Liu or for more information about doula care, please contact the clinic at (905) 274-4375.

Dr. Jessica Liu, ND is a peri-natal naturopathic doctor and an active member of the Association of Perinatal Naturopathic Doctors, which specialize in the pre and post-natal care of expecting mothers and their babies.