Pregnancy and Chiropractic
Is chiropractic safe during pregnancy?
“There are no contra-indications to chiropractic care during pregnancy,” according to the American Pregnancy Association. And when you think about how long chiropractics has been around, it could be considered one of the safest procedures that can be performed during your pregnancy. While all chiropractic professionals receive some training in school with regards to the special needs of pregnant women, only some doctors, like Dr. Walker at InHealth Clinic, continue their training and work with pregnancy in their practice.
Why should I have chiropractic care during pregnancy?
As you go through physiological and hormonal changes, your body becomes the perfect environment for developing a child. This can sometimes cause physical stress, which can improve with chiropractic care. Keeping your back joints and pelvis from misalignment and keeping you comfortable means that your baby will have the optimal amount of room in the pelvis to develop. This also means your baby will be in the best position possible for delivery reducing the intensity of back labor during your birth and preventing dysticoa (difficult labor). Additionally, keeping your spine and pelvis in alignment can reduce the occurrence of breech positioned babies.
What happens if my baby is breech?
A wonderful chiropractor, the late Larry Webster D.C., developed a specific chiropractic analysis and adjustment which enables the chiropractor to balance the women’s pelvis and reduce pressure and stress on the uterus so that the fetus will reach an optimal position which is head down in the birth canal. The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics reported in July/August 2002 that the success rate of babies turning vertex was 82% using the Webster Technique. The technique is widely used and much more comfortable than the external version that is performed in many cases. The highest success in turning a breech baby is achieved at 36-38 weeks. Once it gets much past this, the success rate drops due to the baby’s larger size taking up more room in the uterus. It is always best to seek chiropractic care as soon as you are told your baby is breech.
When is the soonest I can see a chiropractor post-partum?
The soonest is immediately, however most women tend to wait about two weeks until they have had time to adjust to being a new mom and have healed vaginally a bit. Our office does make house calls for one special group — our post-partum moms, whether for you or baby. The earliest we have responded was four hours after a birth for a mom that had a C-section and the little one’s head was flexed to one side and not moving. Mom was also having a burning low back pain, which was treated at this time.
What about preparing for labor? Are there things that I can do naturally?
Pregnancy may leave you concerned or tired. Here are a few things we treat with natural remedies.
- Gestational diabetes – diet, minerals and botanical medicine
- Stress – herbal stress reducing minerals
- Preparing the uterus for labor – Uterine tonics
- Breast soreness due to breast feeding – healing salves
- Episiotomy healing – herbal poultices and sitz baths
- Umbilical cord healing – salve and powder
- Nutrition – vitamins, oils safe for pregnancy, and minerals
- Preventing antibiotics for newborn – mom on a strong probiotic
- Morning sickness – homeopathic remedies
We have more tools at our disposal, but the above give you some of the common needs of our patients.
Remember that chiropractic is safe as soon as you need it! At inHealth, we are here to serve you during this very special time. If you have concerns or needs feel free to call our office, we never mind being a resource and promise to direct you to the best person to meet your needs.
Resources:
American Pregnancy Association: http://www.americanpregnancy.org
BABI: http://www.bayareabirthinfo.org/