Chiropractic Care During Pregnancy

Pregnancy is one of the most blissful yet challenging experiences that one can go through in her lifetime. If you are pregnant, you know that you could use all the help that you get. Many probably believe that having regular visits to their general physician and gynecologist or obstetrician is enough during pregnancy. But sadly, many women undermine how important visiting a chiropractor is during this delicate stage.

Today, we will provide you with all the insights to help you understand how majorly both you and your baby can benefit by visiting a chiropractor during pregnancy. Let’s find out.

Reasons for Visiting a Chiropractor during Pregnancy

Women go through a lot of dynamic changes in their bodies when they are pregnant. These changes start right from the moment of conception. Some changes are drastic while others are more subtle. Several organs and body parts experience a lot of stress during this stage. When you are pregnant, perhaps one of the most stressed areas of your body is your spine.

Since the spine is the epicentre of the nervous system, it is very obvious that it needs special care. This is more of a surface-level answer. Now, we are going to dig deep and look for the details more minutely.

The reasons why you need to visit a chiropractor when you are pregnant are as follows:

Reducing Morning Sickness

Morning sicknesses are terrible to deal with and when you are pregnant, you experience them almost daily. It has been seen that regular visits to a chiropractor can go a long way in reducing the length and severity of vomiting and nausea, which are the main features of morning sickness. 

These symptoms are at their worst during the first trimester of your pregnancy. So, it is wise to get an appointment with your chiropractor the moment you discover that you are pregnant. This way, you can schedule your meeting with him or her beforehand and avoid all those annoying sicknesses in the morning.

Positioning Your Baby

The last three months of your pregnancy will be crucial for a healthy delivery. The way your baby is positioned in your womb plays a major role in this regard. If there is any slight deviation from what is considered to be a healthy position, then you may experience extremely difficult, painful, and even dangerous labour. 

A chiropractor uses spinal manipulation to align your pelvis region, thereby ensuring that your baby is positioned safely before the delivery. In other words, they help make sure that the head of your baby is faced towards the birth canal. Besides, a regular visit to a certified chiropractor clinic will keep your spine healthy and make your muscles and joints strong.

Providing Relief to Your Pain

As we stated earlier, you will experience a lot of pain in your neck, joint, and back during pregnancy. This is primarily because of the growth of your abdomen during this stage, which invariably increases the curve of your back.

Quite naturally, you end up with a lot of strain on your pelvis, hips, and lower back. In addition, chances of incurring various tissue injuries are also very high during pregnancy, which results in making your joints and parts of your spine static. When your joints become immobile, they can get easily irritated.

All these pains can be easily and effectively relieved through spinal manipulation. Chiropractors apply controlled force on the static parts of your spine and joints to restore mobility in them, thereby healing them in the process. 

Minimalizing the Risk of a C-Section

Although many women opt for a caesarean section delivery, the risks involved with it can’t be denied. We all know that you can’t be too careful. Therefore, to resolve this issue, we recommend you to visit a chiropractor regularly. 

This is because regular chiropractic sessions can strengthen your body over time, preparing it for the labour it is about to go through during delivery. So, try and minimalize the risks involved with cesarean deliveries with chiropractic therapy. 

Is it safe to Visit a Chiropractor While Being Pregnant?

A lot of women are skeptical about chiropractic therapy sessions, questioning whether it is safe or unsafe for their babies.

Well, we can tell you that it is not only safe to visit a chiropractor during pregnancy, but it is also recommended to do so. Your spine is the primary avenue of your nervous system since it communicates with the rest of the body. Chiropractors are trained to address the stress and pain that your spine faces during pregnancies. 

Another great benefit of chiropractic care is that it doesn’t involve any incisions, surgeries, or even drugs. It is entirely based on physical therapy directed at reducing the stress from your spinal nerves. It is essentially about adjusting the misaligned joints and the maintenance of the spinal column.

If you still need assurance, you may speak directly to your gynecologist and get his or her advice on the same.

One piece of advice that we would like to give you is that you should look for chiropractors that specialize in parental care. Although all licensed chiropractors are trained in handling all patients, it is better to get service from someone who specializes in handling pregnant women.

When to Avoid Visiting a Chiropractor during Pregnancy?

Yes, we did recommend you to visit a chiropractor during your pregnancy, but there are certain situations when it is recommended to avoid visiting them. These situations are as follows:

• Ectopic pregnancy
• Vaginal bleeding
• Placenta previa or placental abruption
• Toxaemia

In these aforementioned cases, talk to your gynecologist instead and get the required treatment. 

To Conclude

As you have seen, the benefits of visiting a chiropractor are multi-fold. When you are pregnant, simple activities like walking, standing, and even sitting seem painful.  Chiropractors would help you in alleviating these pains and in providing you with the most comfort. 

So, get in touch with a proper medical clinic, talk to your chiropractor, schedule an appointment, and give yourself and your baby the best chance at having a healthy pregnancy. 

References

Cara L. Borggren – PMC – NCBI – Pregnancy and Chiropractic: A Narrative Review of the Literature. Available at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2647084/

Kent J. Stuber and Dean L Smith – PubMed – National Library of Medicine – Chiropractic Treatment of Pregnancy-Related Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review of the Evidence. Available at:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18722200/

Cynthia K Peterson, Daniel Mühlemann, and Barry Kim Humphreys – PMC – NCBI – Outcomes of pregnant patients with low back pain undergoing chiropractic treatment: a prospective cohort study with short term, medium-term and 1-year follow-up. Available at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3994225/

Maria Bernard and Peter Tuchin – PMC – NCBI – Chiropractic Management of Pregnancy-Related Lumbopelvic Pain: A Case Study. Available at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4913124/

Kent Jason Stuber, Shari Wynd, and Carol Ann Weis – PMC – NCBI – Adverse events from spinal manipulation in the pregnant and postpartum periods: a critical review of the literature. Available at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3348005/

Caroline Peterson – PubMed – National Library of Medicine – A Case Study of Chiropractic Management of Pregnancy-Related Heartburn with Postulated Fetal Epigenome Implications. Available at:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22938750/