Pregnancy & Chiropractic: Is It Safe?

Have you ever wondered if chiropractic is safe for mom’s who are pregnant, what it is good for, and why you should go to a chiropractor especially during and AFTER the pregnancy?

Is Chiropractic Safe for Pregnant Mom’s?

Absolutely! Many pregnant mom’s don’t think about receiving chiropractic care until their 2nd or 3rd child when they really start to have back pain or sciatic pain during their pregnancy. We see pregnant mom’s all the time that come in throughout their entire pregnancy. We encourage it because it’s not only important for the mom but for the baby as well to stay healthy. In our office, we actually have a pregnancy pillow for our moms to lay down on when getting adjusted when they are later in their term. This helps them stay comfortable on the table when getting adjusted. many of whom when laying on it never want to get up as it’s been months since they have laid on their belly!

Why Should Pregnant Mom’s Get Adjusted?

We have had mom’s come in during their 2nd and 3rd pregnancy without even thinking about getting adjusted with their first kid. Why? They didn’t think about it or know it was good for them to get adjusted during their pregnancy. This brings up the next question of why they should see a chiropractor throughout their pregnancy. The obvious answer is for low back pain and sciatica. We all want to be comfortable throughout pregnancy, especially when you’re holding an extra 40 lbs on the front of you. The other reason which most dont realize is it helps the process along and make sure things are aligned for an easier pregnancy.

The inside of the womb where the baby is developing is shaped like an upside down pyramid. If the hips are not properly aligned then the base of the pyramid is rotated and the baby cannot flip to head down position when the time is right. Why is this bad? This is considered a breach position and the baby is unable to be delivered naturally and will have to be a c-section birth. C-sections are very traumatic on the mother and child alike. Researchers have actually found they are similar to a grade 2 whiplash on the babies neck when being born from having to pull the head when delivering the baby this way! This in turn can cause the bones to be misaligned in the neck leading to colic, reflux, bed wetting and ear infections during their childhood.

Many mom’s that come in to get regularly adjusted during their pregnancy will say it makes their pregnancy easier with less pains and a shorter delivery time. Sounds pretty good right? There’s a hormone called relaxin that’s released into the body during the preparation for birth. Among other things, it causes ligament laxity in the body which is the reason why many women start to feel clumsy during the end of their 3rd trimester. This helps the pelvis start to expand so the baby is able to pass through during birth. It is this hormone that is responsible for the low back pain and sciatic pain during pregnancy because as things expand, nerves are getting pinched and muscles have to spasm to keep everything together and working overtime at that. Getting adjusted will help to keep everything together and in alignment throughout the process so your body doesn’t have to work as hard.

Importance of Adjustments AFTER Birth

While we encourage the family to take some time to themselves after birth, we also encourage to get checked after the birth as soon as they are able. The reason for this is that the relaxin is still in your body and the ligaments are still stretched form birth. Once this hormone is no longer in the body, everything starts to tighten up for normal activities to resume. Once this happens, the orientation the spine and hips are in are more difficult to change. So, if you don’t get adjusted after birth, it takes longer to fix any misalignments that occurred during pregnancy and birth. This is why many moms will come in and say they have back pain but has gotten worse with the later births. They never got their spine checked and put back into alignment after birth. Instead, it got worse with each pregnancy.

Not only is if good for the mother to get adjusted following birth but for the baby to get checked as well. We will talk about that in another post, so keep your eye’s peeled! If you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, fill out the form below or call our office to see how we can help you and your baby stay healthy and pain free during the process!

Image result for holding newborn baby