Why see a chiropractor during your pregnancy?
Most people don’t know that as chiropractors, we have a range of techniques that allow us to help people of any age. This includes mums to be and babies as well!
For as beautiful as it can be, pregnancy also comes with a few physical hurdles which aren’t always going to be fun.
In this blog I’ll start off with explaining to you how we can help. I’ll write up another blog where you can find a few tips on how to make yourself more comfortable at home during pregnancy.
Subluxations during Pregnancy
Some of you might not know what a subluxation is yet: in simple words, a subluxation within your spine is caused when your body fails to adapt to a multitude of stressors which can be physical, emotional or chemical. This causes your spine to stop moving correctly and putting pressure on nerves which then can’t send signals between your brain and body as efficiently as they should.
As we know, pregnancy is a big stress on the body itself (physical), not to leave out all of the hormonal changes (chemical) and emotions that come with it as well. Three of the most common subluxations in pregnant woman all occur in the pelvis.
Also, the mothers body releases hormones which makes the pelvic joints loosen and create more room for the passage of the baby… which is great! However, it’s common for the joints to loosen unsymmetrically. We can help keep the joints sitting in the correct position and get the stiff joints to be more supple for your benefit and the babies.
What other benefits can you get through chiropractic adjustments through pregnancy?
As chiropractors we see amazing results with our clients every day, but let me give you a few points that have been covered in research:
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- Dr Irvin Hernderson MD (member of the American Medical Association Board of Trustees) demonstrated that women who received chiropractic adjustments in their 3rd trimester were more likely to experience a more straight forward labour, with less pain and less trauma.
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- Another study noticed a significant reduction in labour time. That is 24% for new mums and 39% for experienced mothers compared to birthing women with no chiropractic care.
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- Having correct biomechanics of the spine and pelvis during labour allows the baby to apply even pressure on the cervix facilitating dilation of the body.
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- A study showed how all breech baby cases were corrected through a special chiropractic technique called Webster.
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- Another study analysed the effects of the chiropractic Webster’s technique on breech babies. All of the cases addressed through chiropractic were corrected.
These are only a few of the results we see day to day. In the Gonstead system we have a special bench that allows us to adjust mums without putting any pressure on the baby for a much more comfortable chiropractic adjustment, so you have nothing to worry about.
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References:
1. Barham-Floreani J. Well adjusted babies. 2nd edition, Well Adjusted (pg. 173-182)
2. Fallon J DC. Proceeding of the world Chiropractic Congress: 1991. (pg. 24-31)
3. Fallon J DC. Chiropractic and Pregnancy. New York: New Rochelle; 1998. (pg 103-120)
4. Henderson I MD. American Medical Association records released in 1987 during trial in U.S. District Court Northern Illinois Easter Division, No. 76C 3777. May, 1987.
5. Kunau PL. Application of the Webster in-utero Constraint Technique. J Clin Chiro Paed. 1998;3:211-216
