Pregnancy Chiropractic

Chiropractic care during pregnancy is not only safe but effective at managing the musculoskeletal complaints that often accompany pregnancy.

A pregnant woman should incorporate a chiropractor in addition to her established prenatal birth team to help educate her and address her concerns regarding the physical changes she has endured resulting in an increased lower back curve due to protrusion of her growing abdomen, pelvic misalignments due to increased ligament laxity from the hormone relaxin, as well as altered gait. The added benefits a pregnant woman receiving chiropractic may benefit from include ease of nausea, lessened labor and delivery times, relief of sacroiliac joint pain, pubic symphysis pain, and round ligament pain.

Chiropractic care will help the baby into an optimal environment and position for labor and delivery.

Upon completion of a thorough history and examination, a treatment plan will be implemented. The number of visits needed vary dependent upon how long symptoms have been ongoing, how far along in pregnancy she is, activities that either cause or alleviate aggravation outside the office, etc. Typically, it is not unusual to see your chiropractor more frequently from a few times a week to once a week then every few weeks until the anticipated delivery.

A maternity pillow designed for chiropractic adjustments will be used to support the abdomen of the pregnant woman while lying face down on the chiropractic table. The Webster Technique is a technique that couples a chiropractic specific evaluation and adjustment with focus on the sacrum, pelvis, and ligaments surrounding those structures. The Webster Technique will help aid in optimal fetal position-ideally, baby head down- for delivery by creating more space within the pelvis to allow baby to turn.

A pregnant woman can expect a detailed history, thorough examination and evaluation consisting of range of motion, neurological reflexes, orthopedic tests, postural analysis, a customized treatment plan based upon the findings within the examination, and an opportunity to review the treatment plan with the chiropractor and ask questions. Once completed, the pregnant woman will assisted onto the adjusting table face down with support of her abdomen from a maternity pillow specific for chiropractic care. The chiropractor will utilize a gentle, yet effective adjustment tailored to the patient’s tolerance, to correct the areas of misalignment.

Our approach to pregnancy care differs from other chiropractic offices beginning with a thorough history, evaluation, and examination-pinpointing the cause not just treating the symptoms. We take pride in teaching all of our patients, including our pregnant patients, to be advocates and participate in decisions centered around their care. We thoroughly love what we do and therefore believe in giving patients the tools they need to not only prevent but self-manage ailments beyond their comprehensive care/treatment plan.