It’s no secret that during pregnancy your body is completely transformed from the inside out. From ever-fluctuating hormone levels to postural changes, your body is constantly adapting to keep up with the advancing pregnancy.
How can you help your body respond positively to all of the change that comes with growing another human being? One highly recommended way is through prenatal chiropractic care. Prenatal chiropractic care can not only alleviate aches and pains often found in the lower back, hips, and pelvis during pregnancy, but it can also be of great value for you and your baby’s nervous system.
“How can you help your body respond positively to all of the change that comes with growing another human being?”
How does it work?
I take a proactive approach with my prenatal patients and begin by checking their pelvis and lower back for misalignments. Correcting misalignments of the spine allows your nervous system to communicate optimally with your , so that it can function at its highest potential. Moreover, an aligned pelvis is able to open freely during the birthing process which helps decrease pain during delivery. I am certified in the Webster Technique, which is a specific adjusting technique designed for pregnant women that works to correct misalignments of the pelvis. Many birth care providers are seeking Webster certified chiropractors because of their ability to facilitate an easier and safer delivery for mother and baby.
As a prenatal chiropractor, I also address the soft tissue structures that are attached to the pelvis. This includes the round ligaments, which are the ligaments attached to the tailbone and muscles. I use Active Release Technique (ART) to eliminate any issues, such as adhesions and scar tissue, which can cause pain, increased labor time, a painful delivery, asymmetry in the pelvis, and birth canal narrowing.
Physiotherapy before, during, and after your pregnancy is beneficial both for you and your baby. During each stage of your pregnancy, I will fully assess your biomechanics and create a specific physiotherapy plan.
“Correcting misalignments of your spine allows for your nervous system to communicate optimally with the body, so your nervous system can function at its highest potential.”
How will prenatal chiropractic care affect my baby?
When your pelvis is out of alignment during pregnancy, the ligaments connected to the sacrum and uterus is affected. Pelvic misalignment causes tension, or tone, in the tendons, resulting in a distorted uterus and decreased space within the uterus. This directly affects your baby, who now has less room to move while in your uterus. A chiropractic adjustment can realign your pelvis and release the tension in your ligaments, allowing your baby to move freely within the uterus and assume the best possible position. During delivery, your baby descends into the birth canal. When the tension in your muscles, tendons, and ligaments has been released and your pelvis aligned, the birth canal is able to open more freely, creating an easier and safer birth for you and your baby.
“Pelvic misalignment causes more tension, or tone, in the tendons, resulting in a distorted uterus and decreased space within the uterus.”
What can chiropractic care help with during pregnancy?
Studies show that chiropractic care during pregnancy increases comfort in the third trimester and reduces the need for pain medication during pregnancy and delivery. Chiropractic care can also help with:
- Significantly reduced utilization of epidurals, forceps, vacuum extraction, episiotomies, and Cesarean sections.
- Reduced likelihood of postpartum depression
- More comfortable third trimester and delivery
- Safer delivery for mother and baby
- Less painful birth
- Proactive birthing experience
- Increased space of birth canal
- Empowerment during birthing process
- More positive postpartumexperience
- Sciatic nerve pain
- Low back pain
- Sacroiliac dysfunction
- Abnormal fetal positioning
- Mid back and rib pain
- Hip, knee, and ankle pain
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Postural distortion
- Headaches
- Neck pain
- The Quality of Life of Pregnant Patients Under Chiropractic Care: A Retrospective File Review. ACC-RAC Conference 2018. John Edwards, DC, Allison Union, BS and Joel Alcantara, DC.
- Fitzgerald, C. M. (2013). Pregnancy-related lumbopelvic pain: What have we learned? American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,208(4), 242. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2013.02.048
- All About Pregnancy Chiropractic – The Webster Technique. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.healthyhappywell.com/encinitas-chiropractic-benefits/encinitas-chiropractic-for-pregnant-moms
