ErgoMama is guided by the Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance (PEOP) model and the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF-4), and grounded in the postpartum musculoskeletal literature.
Developed by Christiansen and Baum (1991), PEOP examines how personal factors, environment, and occupational demands interact to shape performance. ErgoMama targets each component.
Postpartum recovery, joint laxity, fatigue, pain, and ergonomic awareness — addressed through body-mechanics education.
In PEOP, the “Person” is everything a mother brings to a task — her body, her energy, what she knows, and how she moves.
Crib and car height, changing stations, and carriers — addressed through home adaptation and equipment recommendations.
The “Environment” is everything around the task — the spaces, heights, and tools that make safe movement easier or harder.
Lifting, feeding, transferring, and carrying — the routine childcare occupations at the center of the content.
“Occupation” means the meaningful activities that fill a person's day — for a new mom, the everyday work of caring for her baby.
Safer movement patterns, reduced injury risk, and sustained engagement in caregiving occupations.
“Performance” is what happens when the three come together — how safely and sustainably the caregiving actually gets done.
The OTPF-4 (AOTA, 2020) identifies these as core occupational therapy domains — each one ErgoMama directly supports through education and environmental modification.
Caring for others — for a new mom, all the hands-on work of looking after her baby: feeding, bathing, lifting, soothing.
Activities of Daily Living — the basics of caring for your own body, like bathing, dressing, and eating, which pain can make harder.
Instrumental ADLs — the bigger tasks that keep a household running: errands, meals, laundry, and managing all that baby gear.
Looking after your own health — rest, recovery, managing pain, and building habits that keep you strong for the long run.
97.3% of postpartum women experience musculoskeletal pain, affecting the low back, neck, shoulders, and upper extremities, and interfering with caregiving, daily activities, and sleep.
Adams et al., 2023; Sanders & Morse, 2005; Algabbani et al., 2025; Weis et al., 2021
Biomechanical and observational studies show that lifting car seats, asymmetrical carrying, bending, and twisting during routine childcare alter posture and load distribution, increasing musculoskeletal strain.
Brown et al., 2004; Vincent & Hocking, 2013; Pehlivan et al., 2025; Havens et al., 2020; Li et al., 2023
Only 24% of postpartum women report ever receiving ergonomic or injury-prevention education. Post-discharge education prioritizes infant care while overlooking maternal body mechanics.
Adams et al., 2023; Vincent & Hocking, 2013; Koyasu et al., 2015; Madden et al., 2022
Task analysis, body-mechanics education, and environmental modification — core occupational therapy tools — directly address these biomechanical risks and support occupational performance.
Sanders & Morse, 2005; Vincent & Hocking, 2013; AOTA, 2020
Adams, Y. J., Miller, M. L., Agbenyo, J. S., Ehla, E. E., & Clinton, G. A. (2023). Postpartum care needs assessment: Women's understanding of postpartum care, practices, barriers, and educational needs. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 23, Article 502.
Algabbani, M. F., et al. (2025). Prevalence and risk factors for neck and upper limb musculoskeletal disabilities among postpartum women. Clinical and Experimental Obstetrics & Gynecology, 52(2).
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2020). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process (4th ed.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(Suppl. 2), 7412410010.
Bass, J. D., Baum, C. M., & Christiansen, C. H. (2015). Interventions and outcomes: The Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance (PEOP) occupational therapy process. In Occupational therapy: Performance, participation and well-being (4th ed., pp. 57–80). SLACK Inc.
Bass, J. D., Marchant, J. K., de Sam Lazaro, S. L., & Baum, C. M. (2024). Application of the Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance model: A scoping review. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health, 44(3), 521–540.
Brown, H., Paul, L., Hislop, J., & McFadyen, A. (2004). Erector spinae activity during three methods of lifting a baby car seat in postnatal women and matched controls. Physiotherapy, 90(4), 204–209.
Christiansen, C. H., & Baum, C. M. (Eds.). (1991). Occupational therapy: Overcoming human performance deficits. SLACK Inc.
Pehlivan, S., Tanrıverdi, M., Argunsah, H., & Uygur Şahin, T. (2025). Infant-carrying methods and their biomechanical influence on maternal gait patterns and joint mechanics. Journal of Back & Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, 38(5), 1004–1011.
Sanders, M. J., & Morse, T. (2005). The ergonomics of caring for children: An exploratory study. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 59(3), 285–295.
Vincent, R., & Hocking, C. (2013). Factors that might give rise to musculoskeletal disorders when mothers lift children in the home. Physiotherapy Research International, 18(2), 81–90.
Weis, C. A., Stuber, K., Murnaghan, K., & Wynd, S. (2021). Adverse events from spinal manipulations in the pregnant and postpartum periods: A systematic review and update. Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association, 65(1), 32–49.