Therapy at
BLOOM THERAPY LLC is designed to specifically address the unique needs of the woman and infant to optimize their developmental outcomes and achievement of independence with their daily activities.
⌒
Pelvic Floor Therapy | Consultation | Neurodevelopmental Occupational Therapy | Infant Feeding
An occupational therapist is educated and skilled in assessing how an individual’s daily occupations are impacted by illness, injury, medical complications, and/or life altering changes to the body, such as pregnancy. Daily occupations for prenatal and postpartum women may include working, driving, bathing, dressing, toileting, raising children, eating, exercising, and sleeping, to name a few. For infants, daily occupations include demonstrating emergence and integration of age appropriate reflexes, achieving developmental milestones, eating (bottle, breast, or table food), sleeping, playing, engaging socially, self-regulating, and communicating their needs to their caregiver. Pregnant and postpartum women engage with their daily occupations differently given their changing, growing, and recovering bodies. Infants may have difficulty with their daily occupations as a result of complications during pregnancy and/or delivery, requiring care in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), developmental delay, and/or congenital deficits. As a result of the life altering changes that occur, this is the perfect time frame for occupational therapy interventions to assist in optimizing the well-being of both the woman and infant.
Women’s Services
We believe that every woman deserves access to comprehensive postpartum care and specialized support for their well-being.
∘ Used to treat urinary frequency and incontinence, chronic pelvic pain, trauma, vulvar pain, painful bladder syndrome, painful sex, pelvic organ prolapse, general weakening of pelvic floor muscles, pubic symphysis disorder, diastisis rectus abdominis
∘ Pelvic floor issues may also appears as abdominal, low back, and hip pain, soreness, weakness
∘ Pelvic floor therapy incorporates a whole body physical assessment to include postural alignment, pelvic alignment, walking patterns, standing/sitting posture, muscular tone and strength in abdomen/hips/low back, external vaginal palpation, internal vaginal examination (when necessary)
∘ Involves a therapeutic treatment plan combining strengthening and stretching designed specifically for you to decrease the suboptimal muscular effects of pregnancy and birth
∘ Utilizes evidence based interventions to support you as you regain strength, confidence, and control over your body
∘ 8 week visits are provided complementary to all women who are in care with Tree of Life Midwifery
∘ This consultative service is also available to all women either virtually or in-person for a small fee to begin discussing recovery beyond 6 weeks
∘ This 1-hour appointment discusses pelvic floor dysfunction, urinary incontinence, exercises to complete to ease back into daily activities and fitness, proper breathing techniques and patterns, infant development, infant massage, and classes available at BLOOM THERAPY LLC
∘ The goal of this appointment is to help women feel empowered to continue their recovery journey and connect with their bodies and their babies along the way
Infant Services
During the first year of life, an infant's brain undergoes an incredible transformation, doubling in size. By the age of three, the brain is nearly 80% of its adult volume. To facilitate optimal development in a child, early, consistent, and purposeful interaction plays a crucial role. Collaborating with an occupational therapist can be instrumental in promoting proper long-term development and laying the foundation for a bright future
∘ Common diagnoses that are treated with occupational therapy include: developmental delay, generalized weakness, torticollis, delayed achievement of milestones, difficulty crawling/walking, decreased/increased tone, prematurity, neonatal stroke, brain hemorrhage, and so much more
∘ Designed to promote optimal neural connections for infants birth to 3 years of age to aid in laying the groundwork for long-term development
∘ Utilizes a standardized assessment (Peabody Developmental Motor Scales) to appropriately assess each infant’s level of function and create a treatment plan and goals that are specific and individualized for each infant’s needs
∘ Provides therapeutic interventions via a treatment plan created to assist with appropriate social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development and provide families with education on key activities to utilize in the home environment
∘ Common diagnoses that are treated with occupational therapy include: developmental delay, generalized weakness, torticollis, delayed achievement of milestones, difficulty crawling/walking, decreased tone or strength, and so much more
∘ Designed to promote neural connections and pathways for infants 0-3 years of age to aid in laying the groundwork for future development
∘ Assesses an infant’s physical and cognitive level of function in comparison to peer normative values
∘ Utilizes a standardized assessment (Peabody Developmental Motor Scales) to appropriately assess each infant’s level of function and create a treatment plan and goals that are specific and individualized for each infant’s needs
∘ Determines any delay an infant might be demonstrating
∘ Provides therapeutic intervention via a treatment plan to assist with appropriate brain development and educating the family on key activities to continue in the home environment
∘ Feeding issues might include: tethered oral tissues (tongue/lip ties), difficulty latching at the breast or bottle, decreased endurance and strength required to feed efficiently, structural and muscular asymmetries, and much more
∘ Assessment of oral motor tissues, muscular tone, suck/swallow/breathe synchrony, and sucking strength/coordination will be made before, during, and after a feeding session to determine any deficits that may be present
∘ Stretching, strengthening, and/or oral motor exercises designed to increase your infant’s success with bottle and/or breastfeeding will be provided on an individual basis
∘ Designed to help ease stress associated with feeding, improve age-appropriate weight gain, decrease the need for supplemental nursing systems or nipple shields, and decrease sore or painful nipples
Talking about it will help.
Trouble with your pelvic floor can cause all kinds of painful and embarrassing symptoms, so it can feel super vulnerable to bring them up.
Is what I’m experiencing “normal”?
Could pelvic floor physical therapy help?
Who’s the right person to ask about this stuff? My doctor isn’t concerned, but I am.
If you’re having trouble, we want you to know you’re not alone, there’s nothing to be ashamed of, and we can help. Just one consultation can put you on the path to a fuller, happier, more productive life.
And if you’re pregnant or planning to be and hope to avoid pelvic floor issues, you’re absolutely in the right place. Proactively preparing for pregnancy and childbirth sets you up for an easier, faster recovery. You can even begin pelvic floor physical therapy ahead of your six-week postpartum checkup.
Get your life back.
Online consultations can help with:
menstrual discomfort
urinary leakage, urinary urgency, or urinary frequency
painful sex
pelvic pain (dyspareunia, vulvodynia, vaginismus, pudendal neuralgia)
pelvic organ prolapse (pelvic heaviness or feeling like something is falling out)
safe prenatal and postpartum exercise
preparing for labor and birth, including vaginal, cesarean, and VBAC
recovery from a vaginal or cesarean birth
returning to exercise or sex postpartum or after pelvic surgeries
cesarean or perineal scar adhesions/restrictions, pain, or numbness
diastasis recti (abdominal separation)
pubic bone pain, SI joint or tailbone pain, low back or hip pain
constipation
pelvic floor muscle and core strengthening
please note online consultations are an additional fee for members
We’re just a video call away.
Although online sessions don’t include physical exams or hands-on treatment, you’ll receive education and practical guidance to help resolve your symptoms.
And you can do them from anywhere. No need to miss work, find a sitter, or hassle with traffic. Just connect with one of our therapists via secure video chat, and you’ll be feeling better in no time.
Here’s how it works:
1
1
2
3
Book a Session
We’ll follow-up with a confirmation, consent form, and link to our HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform. Sessions are an additional fee to membership.
Tell Us What's Up
During your session, you’ll have a chance to share your concerns, and your therapist will ask good questions to get to the bottom (heh) of what you’re experiencing.
Get Guidance & Support
Your therapist will offer clear next steps relevant to your specific concerns—so you can let go of embarrassing or painful symptoms and get back to the activities you love.
WILL I HAVE TO SHOW YOU MY… DOWN THERE?
(And other super-smart questions.)
-
Our conversations take place via our secure, telehealth platform. We’ll spend 45 minutes together in your initial session. Follow-ups are 30 minutes long. We’ll talk about your health history and current symptoms, and you’ll have plenty of time to ask questions. It’s a completely confidential, judgment-free environment!
After the session, your therapist will send you a recap of your time together and a list of recommendations. If your therapist suggests any products, they’ll include links in the message.
-
You’ll receive a text and email to confirm your session. Thirty minutes before your scheduled appointment, you’ll receive an email with login instructions and a consent form. If you don’t receive an email, please reach out to hello@thevagwhisperer.com or call 504-233-0609.
-
Initial sessions (45 minutes) are $110, and follow-ups (30 minutes) are $80. We also offer three- and six-session packages for a discount. You’re welcome to wait until after your initial consult to choose a package. V-Hive members receive a 10% discount on all online sessions.
-
We’re out-of-network with all insurance companies so we can provide the one-on-one care that best meets our clients’ needs.
Online consultations are considered a coaching wellness service, which does not qualify for health insurance reimbursement, FSA, or HSA.
-
Just a good, strong internet connection and some kind of device with video capabilities: smartphone, tablet, or computer. If you prefer to do a telephone instead of video call, please let us know.
-
Email us at hello@thevagwhisperer.com or call 504-233-0609.
-
Depending on your specific concerns, we may ask about peeing, pooping, sex, pregnancy/birth/labor, and/or your daily lifestyle.
You may feel a bit embarrassed at first. But then you’ll remember vaginas and rectums and the rest of our nether regions are just body parts—just like our arms and legs. I promise we won’t make it weird.
-
Nope! You can wear whatever you like for the session—and you’ll keep your clothes on the entire time.
-
Because our online sessions are consultative, they don’t include a physical exam. You’ll talk, we’ll ask questions, and we’ll offer some practical suggestions to help you start feeling more like yourself!
-
Not necessarily! Often, we can suggest at-home exercises, products, and/or lifestyle adaptations that’ll make a world of difference. Based on our conversation, we’ll be able to tell you if in-person therapy sessions are your best next step.
-
It’s totally up to you! You can chat with us from any room in your house—including a closet—or from your car. You can be feeding your baby. You can be moving from room to room. Make this session whatever you need it to be.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to no longer be in-network with any insurance company. It was not a choice we made lightly, but we encountered numerous obstacles with insurance that significantly impacted the quality of care we could provide to our valued clients. In order to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of our practice in the area, we had to terminate our insurance contracts.
The shift away from billing through insurance grants us newfound flexibility in structuring our sessions, expanding our treatment options, and customizing the duration and frequency of our meetings. This change allows us to focus more on meeting our clients' unique needs and tailoring our approach to their specific situations.
Our main goal in making this transition is to enhance the care our clients receive. With the limitations imposed by insurance removed, we can now dedicate more time and attention to each individual, ensuring a more comprehensive and personalized experience for everyone we serve.
While this decision was challenging, we firmly believe it will lead to positive outcomes and enable us to provide an even higher standard of care. Our commitment to our clients' well-being remains unwavering, and we are excited about the potential this change holds for fostering meaningful and impactful therapeutic relationships.
-
Following our recent practice changes, all fees are now considered out-of-pocket. To establish fair pricing, we conducted thorough market research to ensure alignment with other out-of-pocket rates in the area. After each session, we can furnish you with a SuperBill, which you can submit to your insurance provider for possible reimbursement. Many insurance companies offer partial or full reimbursement for treatment expenses.
In our commitment to inclusivity and accessibility, we extend reduced rates to Medicare/Medicaid cardholders. We believe that quality care should be available to all members of the community, and this measure ensures that our services remain within reach for those who may need them.
Though these changes may be new, we are confident that they will enhance the overall experience for our clients and provide greater flexibility in tailoring our services to individual needs. We remain dedicated to delivering exceptional care and ensuring our clients' satisfaction throughout their therapeutic journey.
-
You can use the link under the “Appointments” or “Scheduling” tab to schedule an appointment through our online calendar.
-
We understand that it can be challenging to assess whether we are the right match for you or your child, considering the specific symptoms you may be experiencing. To address this, we provide a complimentary 15-minute discovery phone call, during which we can explore how we might assist with your individual needs. Please don't hesitate to contact us!
Furthermore, we encourage you to visit our "services" page to gain a deeper understanding of what we offer and how we can potentially cater to your unique requirements. We believe that informed decision-making is crucial in finding the best possible support for you or your loved one, and we are here to assist you every step of the way.
-
Pelvic floor therapy offers incredible benefits at various stages, including before, during, and after pregnancy. Numerous physical concerns, such as painful sex, tampon insertion discomfort, and urinary/fecal leakage, may arise even before childbirth. Pregnancy and postpartum can further exacerbate these issues or lead to new challenges. Seeking help from a knowledgeable, skilled, and compassionate pelvic floor therapist is essential, regardless of the stage you are in. Remember, it's never too early or too late to prioritize your well-being and seek the support you deserve!
-
Working with women and infants is integral to our practice as we recognize the interdependence of these co-occupations. By addressing the unique needs and challenges of women and children, we aim to facilitate optimal engagement in daily activities, fostering their well-being and supporting the development of healthy and thriving communities.
-
Occupational therapy is not a replacement for lactation consultants. However, we may be able to provide additional bodywork knowledge for you and/or your infant, as well as oral motor strengthening activities that your little one might need to have successful feeds at the bottle and/or breast.