Chiropractic has been great for pregnant women and non-pregnant women alike. It’s a great way to keep the spine and nervous system healthy. When you really think about what’s going on in the pregnant woman’s body, there are a lot of changes that go on.
The main thing that happens is, number one, there’s a significant amount of weight gain. When you start to gain weight, you start to add stress to the spine and the spinal joints.
The second thing that happens is your center of gravity moves forward. As the belly pushes forward, the center of gravity moves forward, and that loads the sacroiliac joints, the sacrum, and the pelvic girdle differently, which can put a lot of stress on the lower back and can cause back pain, discomfort, and also affect the way the baby is delivered.
An important segment of chiropractic is making sure that the pelvic girdle is aligned. We use the Webster technique to align the pelvic girdle, which certainly helps with a lot of pain or discomfort and relaxes the round and ureteral sacral ligaments. It stretches the hip flexors. It helps align the pubic symphysis and the sacrum.
When the spine starts to get more pressure on it with the added weight, then the spine is easier to misalign or what we call subluxate and that puts pressure on the delicate spinal nerves. By using chiropractic techniques, particularly the Webster technique, we can provide women with safe and natural relief from back pain, neck pain, and sciatica. These things just come along with pregnancy, and everyone thinks they are common or thinks they are normal, but they are just common in the expecting mom because of those changes. It’s always better to have chiropractic care than to go without it because the aches and pains associated with pregnancy start usually in the second trimester and can build all the way through.
Some moms are lucky enough where they have very little issue and very little pain, but I’ve always stressed that chiropractic isn’t just about pain. It’s about optimizing the alignment through the pelvic girdle and making sure that the baby has enough space inside the uterus and making sure those ligaments are relaxed. Chiropractic through the Webster technique, when applied correctly, will almost always provide pain relief, shorter delivery times, and less need for interventions, particularly Pitocin, epidurals, and C-sections. A lot of moms who are seeking to have their kids in a more natural setting, or trying to do a home birth, or working with just midwives and doulas often greatly benefit from using the Webster technique and chiropractic techniques. They almost go hand in hand.
Our practice now is probably 50% expecting women. We’ve really moved the practice in that direction, and we have a lot more experience working with the pregnant population. We see a lot of moms come in here for our advice. That, coupled with regular exercise, drinking enough water, and many other things can provide the best pregnancy experience while using chiropractic care.
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