The Ultimate Guide to Chiropractic Care for Expecting Mothers
Pregnancy is a wonderful and exciting time, but it can also bring with it some challenges and discomforts. As your body changes to accommodate your growing baby, you may experience lower back pain, pelvic pain, sciatica, nausea, headaches, and other symptoms. While these are common, they don’t have to be part of your pregnancy journey. Chiropractic care can offer you a natural and safe way to relieve your pain and improve your health and wellness during this special time.
During pregnancy, chiropractic care can have many benefits for both you and your baby, such as:
Reducing pain and inflammation. Chiropractic adjustments can help ease the pressure and tension on your spine, pelvis, and nerves, which can cause pain and inflammation in your lower back, hips, legs, and feet. By relieving your pain, chiropractic care can also improve your mobility, posture, and quality of life.
Improving pelvic alignment and balance. Chiropractic care can help align your pelvis and sacrum, which are the bones that support your uterus and baby. A balanced and aligned pelvis can create more space for your baby to grow and move, and prevent intrauterine constraint, which is when your baby’s movements are restricted by external forces. A balanced pelvis can also help your baby get into the optimal position for birth, which can reduce the risk of breech presentation, cesarean section, and labor complications.
Enhancing your immune system and digestion. Chiropractic care can boost your immune system by stimulating your lymphatic system, which is responsible for filtering and removing toxins and pathogens from your body. Chiropractic care can also improve your digestion by reducing the pressure on your stomach and intestines, which can cause heartburn, constipation, and nausea. By enhancing your immune system and digestion, chiropractic care can help you and your baby stay healthy and nourished.
Reducing stress and anxiety. Chiropractic care can lower your stress and anxiety levels by releasing endorphins, which are natural chemicals that make you feel good and calm. Chiropractic care can also regulate your hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline, which can spike during pregnancy and cause mood swings, insomnia, and fatigue. By reducing stress and anxiety, chiropractic care can help you cope better with the emotional and physical changes of pregnancy, and prepare you for labor and delivery.
Shortening labor and delivery time. Chiropractic care can shorten your labor and delivery time by improving your pelvic alignment, balance, and flexibility, which can facilitate the dilation of your cervix and the descent of your baby. Chiropractic care can also reduce the need for interventions, such as epidural, forceps, or vacuum, which can prolong your labor and increase the risk of complications. A review of chiropractic statistics reveals that first-time mothers who receive chiropractic care during pregnancy had an average of 25% shorter labors. Mothers who had a history of giving birth at least once vaginally and received chiropractic care during pregnancy averaged 31% shorter labors.
Certain considerations do need to be made when treating a pregnant patient, so a thorough exam with an experienced provider is essential, but studies have shown that chiropractic care can not only provide benefits to mother and baby, but also that it can be a safe alternative to traditional methods of managing pre- and post-natal musculoskeletal pain. A retrospective case series was performed to describe the results of chiropractic treatment offered to a sample of pregnant women. 94% of cases reviewed showed “clinically important improvement”, with the average time until relief was found to be a mean of 4.5 days after the initial treatment. The average number of treatments when substantial relief was achieved was 1.8 treatments, and no adverse effects of treatment were reported.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2647084/
There are some precautions to consider before starting chiropractic care for certain patients such as presence of vaginal bleeding, placenta previa, placenta abruption, ectopic pregnancies, or moderate to severe toxemia. If any of these conditions are present, it is best to consult your obstetrician before initiating care.