pelvic floor & perinatal physiotherapy

pelvic health physiotherapy services for every BODY

What we offer

Gravida Physiotherapy is a small practice based in New Westminster, BC. We offer a range of physiotherapy services including pelvic floor & perinatal physiotherapy, as well as orthopaedic physiotherapy, IMS, classes and more. Whether you’re dealing with incontinence, pelvic pain, changes from menopause, or wanting to prepare for birth- Kate can help.

Pelvic Floor

Birth Prep

Classes

Kate von Schellwitz is a leading pelvic floor therapist in Metro Vancouver. She educates and empowers women to take care of their health pre-birth, postpartum rehab, and during menopause.

Nice to meet you,
I’m Kate.

Hi, I’m Kate — a mom, a healthcare provider, and a human being who wants to help you. I’m here to create a shame free space where you feel safe, comfortable, and heard in sharing some of your most vulnerable concerns when it comes to your pelvic health.

What patients have to say

Kate is a phenomenal physio. Not only is she extremely knowledgeable but she really listens to the issue at hand and is amazing at explaining what is going on and why. She constantly goes above and beyond in her patient care. Before working with Kate I had struggled with pelvic pain and urinary incontinence, amongst other things, post forceps delivery and had seen so many professionals to no avail. I felt instantly comfortable with Kate; she didn’t try to minimize what I was going through but still she reassured me that positive change could be possible AND with her support and guidance it has been. I can’t thank her enough for giving me hope and also for helping me get my body back into working condition. I’m finally back to doing the activities that I love!

- Emily

Kate von Schellwitz is a leading postpartum rehab physiotherapist in Vancouver.

FAQs

  • I’m so glad you asked ;)

    It looks like a lot of talking to start. Your story is very important. I’ll inevitably have a lot of questions for you, and some of them might surprise you. I will ask you how you poop. That will happen. And then sometimes — not always, and never if you don’t want to — we’ll do an internal pelvic exam. Occasionally, if there’s a long history involved or we have to cover something more complex, we may not get to a pelvic exam in the first session. If that’s something you want to prioritize, just let me know and I’ll be sure to plan our time accordingly.

    There will almost always be a bit of an anatomy lesson and I’ll also ask you what success looks like for you. As with all my treatments, this is a collaboration. I’m here to guide your experience and help you get where you want to be.

  • Initial Assessments are 55 minutes and cost $190

    Follow up appointments are 40 minutes and cost $145

    In certain cases shorter follow up appointments are appropriate which are 25 minutes and cost $110- for pelvic health related issues I typically recommend a minimum 40 minute follow up appointment.

  • To start, you should book at least 2-3 follow up appointments after your initial assessment, typically about 1-3 weeks apart. I encourage you to book these at the same time as your initial appointment to keep that continuity of care and ensure you get the slots that work for you. As to how many you’ll need, that’s a great question and I don’t have the answer. It’s different for every body. What I can tell you is, when it comes to pelvic floor physiotherapy, it’s not like typical orthopedic physiotherapy or an acute injury where I need to see you twice a week for “X” number of weeks. It varies from person to person. But the idea is that you don’t need me in the long run.

  • OF COURSE YOU CAN. What kind of perinatal care provider would I be if you couldn’t bring your baby with you? I am super skilled at singing The Wheels on the Bus or holding babe while you change. That being said, I do encourage you to come on your own so that you can focus on you.

  • The thing is, this means you had a human being grow inside of your body, stretching your abdominal wall and pelvic floor for 9 months. Then you had a major abdominal surgery. So YES, seeing a pelvic floor PT is still a good idea regardless of how you delivered your baby. I also have specific training in c section rehab.

  • Painful sex, urinary incontinence, urgency, constipation, pelvic organ prolapse and other forms of pelvic floor dysfunction can occur at any point and don’t need to be related to having kids- so yes, if you’re dealing with any of that- this is right for you.

Pelvic floor email news through Vancouver based healthcare professional Kate von Schellwitz

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I gratefully acknowledge that I live, work, play, and learn on the unceded and unsurrendered territory of the Halkomelem speaking people and in particular the q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen), q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), Máthxwi (Matsqui) and Se’mya’me (Semiahmoo) First Nations- whose histories and connections to the land have been made invisible by colonialism.