Pregnancy & Chiropractic!

I'm sure any mother-to-be would agree that pregnancy put's a great amount of stress on the body- chemically, physically, and emotionally. Often women learn to just accept pregnancy discomforts such as nausea, heartburn, shortness of breath, constipation, hemorrhoids, frequent urination, when in fact they don't need to.  The purpose of regular Chiropractic Care is to reduce the amount of stress on the nervous system, and to allow the body to function optimally.   A well functioning nervous system enables a mother to easily combat many of the hurdles of pregnancy.

As your pregnancy progresses, the weight of your baby can become a major load to bear and hormonal changes begin to relax the supporting tissues of the spine.  It is vitally important that your spine maintains correct alignment for both the mother & baby.  Having your spine checked by a chiropractor ensures that your pelvis is sitting correctly to allow optimum room for your baby to grow and move. Maintaining the integrity of the thoracic spine (mid back) with chiropractic adjustments can help alleviate mid back pain (due to an increase in breast size), shortness of breath and heartburn. Maintaining thoracolumbar (mid-to-low back) and lumbosacral (lower) flexibility free of subluxations can help with other unnecessary discomforts such as constipation, frequent urination, sciatica, lower back pain, symphysis pubis pain and pelvic pain.  And of course having your neck checked ensures that you have a proper mind-body connection through this joyous, yet stressful time.

In addition to adjusting your spine and clearing your nervous system, a wellness oriented chiropractor may talk to you about the importance of stretching, yoga or physical activity.  They may also discuss the importance of increasing your water and fiber intake to prevent hemorrhoids.

Research shows that correct alignment of the pelvis and spine contributes to a more straightforward labor with less pain and trauma for mother and child.  It is also reported that women who received chiropractic care in their 3rd trimester were able to cary and deliver their child with much more comfort.  Chiropractic care has been shown to significantly reduce labor time (~average 24% for first time mothers, and ~39% for those who have given birth before) for women who had care throughout their pregnancy. 

These maternal subluxations have also been implicated in fetal constraints (constraint within the uterus within you pelvis).  These constraints can interfere with your baby's presentation at birth and natural delivery, and studies have now begun to look at the more long-term effects of constraints in the uterus and the development effects on infants.

As you can see there are many benefits of chiropractic care for both the mommy & baby pre, during, and post pregnancy! Ask a chiropractor how he or she can help you today!

Please Note: X-rays of your spine will NOT be suggested by the chiropractor (acknowledging that you are pregnant) and techniques will be modified to accomodate for your growing belly.