Lisa Westhorpe, MSc, OTR/L, PCES: OT in Maternal Health
In this post, we will be learning about an occupational therapy practitioner who works in Maternal Health. You will hear from the personal and professional experiences of Lisa Westhorpe, MSc, OTR/L, PCES. Lisa is a masters-level qualified occupational therapist and mum of two who has a passion for supporting women during their transition to motherhood. Originally from the UK, she moved to California in 2014, where she lives with her husband and two young daughters. She founded Nurture Occupational Therapy in 2019 after her (not always positive!) experiences in the postnatal period, to provide evidence-based support for the physical and mental health challenges new moms can face. She provides 1:1 Mom Mentoring sessions, and her innovative Growing Together maternal wellness mom & baby groups, where moms can connect and gain confidence in their new parenting role. Lisa is passionate about supporting more occupational therapists to work in maternal health and is currently training OTs to deliver groups through her online course, OTs In Maternal Health: How To Run Mom & Baby Groups As An OT. She also provides 1:1 mentoring for OTs in maternal health, including business start-up coaching and support; her passion is supporting OTs who are moms themselves to get started in this area of practice, in a way that feels manageable and not overwhelming. Lisa is currently involved in advocacy to ensure occupational therapists are included in maternal health services, and is collaborating with Dr. Carlin Reaume on www.OTsinMaternalHealth.com; a resource for therapists who are interested in supporting new and expectant moms, with a collaborative membership coming soon.
Q & A with Lisa:
Please tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a masters-level qualified occupational therapist and mum of two who has a passion for supporting women during their transition to motherhood. Originally from the UK, I moved to California in 2014, where I live with my husband and two young daughters. I founded Nurture Occupational Therapy in 2019 after a (not always positive!) experiences in the postnatal period, to provide evidence-based support for the physical and mental health challenges new moms can face.
What motivated you to contribute to this series?
I wanted to raise awareness of the positive impact that OTs can have on maternal health, supporting expectant and new mums in their transition to motherhood. I also want to encourage more OTs to work in this rewarding area of practice!
Please describe the UncommonOT work that you do and the setting in which you work, the population you serve, and the needs that you address.
I offer 1:1 online ‘Mom Mentoring’ consultations with new mums to make sure that they can return to the activities they love and avoid the emotional and physical strains that can come with caregiving. More recently, I've been focusing more on connecting mums through my innovative online Growing Together mum and baby groups, where mums can find support and evidence-based information, as well as connecting with other new mums and gaining confidence in their new parenting role. I originally planned that Growing Together would be in-person groups, but I pivoted to make this an online offering during the pandemic. As I've continued to offer my mum and baby groups, I've been approached by other occupational therapists who are interested in this area of practice, and in taking a more proactive, health promotion approach to working with new mums. The more I spoke with these OTs, the more passionate I became about supporting more occupational therapists to work in maternal health and sharing the program I've developed with others; I can't serve every mum, so this information needs to be shared so others can serve the mums in their communities. I've now put together my mum and baby group as an online course and coaching program, and I opened the doors to the beta program for the online course, OTs In Maternal Health: How to Run Mom & Baby Groups as an OT, to teach other occupational therapists how to run my mum and baby groups, in February 2021.
What drew you to this type of OT work?
My own experiences of pregnancy and the postnatal period; I experienced pelvic pain during my pregnancies, core and pelvic floor dysfunction after the birth of my first daughter, and mental health challenges after the birth of my second daughter.
How did you get there?
I took continuing education courses and hoped that a maternal health OT job would appear :) It didn't, so after the birth of my second daughter, I set up Nurture OT to support new moms (my daughter was two months old when I set up the business). I built up the business slowly, and currently work one day per week on my business, around my 4 days per week school-based OT job.
Please describe a typical day or OT session in your setting?
I typical day might look like a mentoring call with an OT in the morning, with a Growing Together mom & baby group in the afternoon. The groups are between 4-10 new moms and their babies (0-6 months old), and focus on emotional and physical wellness for mom, with play and infant development activities for baby.
Can you talk about some recent highs (successes) and lows (challenges) of your current role?
Highs: training 14 OTs to run my Growing Together mom & baby groups and submitting a call for evidence to the UK government for their new women's health strategy, demonstrating how OTs can support women's health. Lows: finding out that the non-profit organization I partnered with had not promoted my new group series, and we had no sign-ups. I used this opportunity to promote it myself and run the group independently for the first time.
How do you continue to learn in order to stay on top of things within your role?
I love taking continuing education courses, but we don't necessarily need extra education to support new moms as OTs. I'm part of a mentoring group of like-minded OTs, and love to network with other OTs.
Anything you can share about the typical salary and compensation, How OT is funded?
Private pay only. My groups currently cost between $99-179 per person, depending on the host location. My 1:1 sessions and OT mentoring are $99/hr, and my OTs In Maternal Health course for OTs is $449 for an eight-week mentoring program combined with online course.
Any career advice for our followers and listeners on how to get started on this path?
Check out my free video course on getting started in maternal health for OTs: https://nurtureoccupationaltherapy.vipmembervault.com Reach out to OTs who are working in this area of practice.
What’s a common myth or misconception about your job/role you’d like to call out?
That you have to have had kids to work in maternal health. Not the case!
How do we find you, follow you, be in touch with you, and promote your unique work?
Clubhouse: @lisawesthorpe
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisawesthorpe/
RESOURCE LIST:
Various Programs
https://www.nurtureot.com/for-professionals
As always, I welcome any feedback from all of you or if you are interested on being a guest on future episodes, please do not hesitate to contact Patricia Motus at transitionsot@gmail.com or DM via Instagram @transitionsot
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