Chiropractic & Pregnancy
Chiropractic care during pregnancy not only benefits the mother but also the unborn child. During pregnancy, the postural changes and weight bearing changes can create stress on the spine and pelvic area. As the pregnancy continues, the mother develops changes in her gait, which is typically described as a "waddle", this gait can also put pressure on the hips and pelvic area. Chiropractic care can not only help your body adapt to the changes of pregnancy and ease many common complaints such as back and pelvic pain but it can also help with the birth of your child.
Chiropractic adjustments can help align and prepare the pelvis and hips for the ideal position for a successful birth. Women who received chiropractic care throughout their pregnancy have been shown to have significantly decreased labor times than those who did not receive chiropractic care. First time mothers were shown to have a 24% decrease in labor times, while mothers who had given birth before experienced a 39% decrease in labor times. Also 84% of women reported a relief of back pain during pregnancy when undergoing chiropractic care. Chiropractic care has shown to be effective and safe throughout the duration of a woman's pregnancy.
One technique used in pregnancy is called Webster's Technique. Larry Webster developed the technique as a safe and gentle way to restore proper pelvic balance and function in the pregnant women. Many times one of the bones of your pelvis called the sacrum can misalign and cause tightening and twisting of certain pelvic ligaments and muscles. This tightening put stress and constraint on the uterus which doesn't allow the baby to assume the proper position for birth which is head down and face towards mothers back. Instead the baby may end up in a breech or transverse position, which are not ideal situations for a natural birth. The Webster's technique is defined as a " a specific chiropractic analysis and adjustment that reduces interference to the nerve system and balances maternal pelvic muscles and ligaments. This in turn reduces torsion in the uterus, a cause of intra-uterine constraint of the baby and allows for optimal fetal positioning in preparation for birth." Some people refer it as a breech baby turning adjustment because of its success at getting babies to turn to normal vertex position, but the technique it meant to provide the ideal situation for the baby to assume the correct position. It is not an obstetrics, breech turning procedure. Webster's Technique is most successful and designed to be used throughout the pregnancy from the first trimester to the day of the birth.
Chiropractic adjustments can help align and prepare the pelvis and hips for the ideal position for a successful birth. Women who received chiropractic care throughout their pregnancy have been shown to have significantly decreased labor times than those who did not receive chiropractic care. First time mothers were shown to have a 24% decrease in labor times, while mothers who had given birth before experienced a 39% decrease in labor times. Also 84% of women reported a relief of back pain during pregnancy when undergoing chiropractic care. Chiropractic care has shown to be effective and safe throughout the duration of a woman's pregnancy.
One technique used in pregnancy is called Webster's Technique. Larry Webster developed the technique as a safe and gentle way to restore proper pelvic balance and function in the pregnant women. Many times one of the bones of your pelvis called the sacrum can misalign and cause tightening and twisting of certain pelvic ligaments and muscles. This tightening put stress and constraint on the uterus which doesn't allow the baby to assume the proper position for birth which is head down and face towards mothers back. Instead the baby may end up in a breech or transverse position, which are not ideal situations for a natural birth. The Webster's technique is defined as a " a specific chiropractic analysis and adjustment that reduces interference to the nerve system and balances maternal pelvic muscles and ligaments. This in turn reduces torsion in the uterus, a cause of intra-uterine constraint of the baby and allows for optimal fetal positioning in preparation for birth." Some people refer it as a breech baby turning adjustment because of its success at getting babies to turn to normal vertex position, but the technique it meant to provide the ideal situation for the baby to assume the correct position. It is not an obstetrics, breech turning procedure. Webster's Technique is most successful and designed to be used throughout the pregnancy from the first trimester to the day of the birth.
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The picture to the left shows how the ligaments of the uterus are connected to the sacrum (left) and pelvis (right). Any misalignment of these bones can cause pulling or tightening of the ligaments and then torsion of the uterus. Uterus torsion has been shown to cause difficult births along with injury to the child.
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