There are many ages and stages of life where specific approaches in chiropractic can be very effective and beneficial. From tiny newborns to our most experienced senior clientele, chiropractic care can increase mobility, health, vitality and enjoyment of life. But, what about the delicate stages of pregnancy? Is chiropractic care safe during pregnancy?
As a woman goes through the 40-ish weeks of gestation in preparation for birth, there can be significant amounts of all three kinds of stress: physical, chemical and emotional. As these stresses accumulate, the spine and nervous system act a lot like the electrical panel in your home, where the “stresses build and the breaker flips”. The mobile bones of the spine and pelvis then get locked up and stuck, limiting motion, causing stress on delicate underlying nerves, throwing off the required balance needed for optimal pregnancy, labour and birth. This can be mildly uncomfortable, or downright excruciating. Unfortunately, neck pain, upper back and lower back pain during pregnancy are all too common. Prenatal chiropractic care is used to restore normal function to the spine, ease the stress on the nervous system, and help expecting moms get back to being more active and comfortable.
Prenatal chiropractic care can be tremendously beneficial to alleviate these accumulated stresses, restore more normal function to the spine, ease the stress on the nervous system, and ease a ton of stress and tension from the mom-to-be’s life. This can mean better sleep, greater mobility, and more energy. Not only that, but when it comes time for baby to be born, the literature demonstrates that women under chiropractic care may experience shorter labour times, reduced frequency of medical interventions during labour and birth, less trauma to the baby, and greater overall health satisfaction than those not under chiropractic care during pregnancy. But, is it the same chiropractic approach as other people get? Doesn’t pregnancy make it more delicate or different?
While we don’t look at pregnancy as a pathology, or a condition to be treated, we do feel that there is a different, and somewhat special, approach that pregnancy requires compared to other clientele. There are some techniques and styles that we use much more frequently when someone is expecting a baby, and there are a few others that we intentionally use less often.
In later stages of pregnancy, the natural hormone changes that are helping mom get ready to deliver will increase the laxity, or stretchiness, of the ligaments that hold the spine and pelvis together. This means that usually less force is required to make positive changes, so some techniques are toned down, or even avoided. Manual adjusting can be reduced or eliminated completely. (It’s true, you don’t have to get “cracked” to get adjusted, whether you are pregnant or not!)
Further, because there are six ligaments that connect the bones of mom’s pelvis to her womb, balanced function of mom’s spine and pelvis is imperative to allowing baby to get in the right position before birth. We often modify and limit the amount of torsion we introduce into mom’s torso and belly in the later stages of pregnancy, opting for more techniques that are done with mom simply lying prone (face-down). Our special prenatal tables even allow moms to lie face-down comfortably all the way through the third trimester. Prenatal chiropractic care appreciates the nuances of each stage of gestation, and meets mom where she is, to allow for greater benefit, and less stress on mom and baby.
There are a couple techniques or approaches within chiropractic that are more often associated with pregnancy, and we are well-versed in those. The most commonly associated technique is the Webster’s Technique. While it isn’t explicitly designed only for pregnancy, it has had a phenomenal track record as being a great approach to balancing the pregnant pelvis, and restoring function in this high-stress area for pregnant moms. We often get calls to “flip” babies that are either breech or transversely oriented (not head down, like you want them to be when you’re trying to have a natural vaginal birth). Webster’s technique is not designed to make the baby move, nor do any of the procedures we use attempt to manually change the position of the baby in the womb. We do find, however, that specific prenatal chiropractic care, often utilizing Webster’s technique, can facilitate a more balanced pelvis and greater function, allowing mom’s body and baby’s body to work together to find a more optimal birth position.
Pregnancy is the most important time for an individual to seek that delicate balance between the mobility and stability of the 206 bones of the body, and the optimal function of the nervous system underneath, which controls and coordinates the function of the entire body. It’s true that any time someone benefits from the positive changes that chiropractic care can bring, the people around them benefit as well. (Examples: If husband has fewer headaches, wife has less stress and a better partner. If baby is less colicky, parents get more sleep. If grandma is more mobile and active, she can babysit more often!) But, in pregnancy, we have the opportunity to impact the lives of two people directly! Because of the potential impact on the birth process, the beginning stages of life on the outside for a new baby can be drastically changed when mom undergoes care herself during pregnancy. Simply by reducing the number and extent of medical interventions during pregnancy, the amount of stress and physiological birth injury a baby experiences during birth can be drastically reduced. These injuries and interventions have statistical relationships with later developmental and immunological challenges for kids as they get older. Truly, the best approach to raising healthy kids is to start before they’re born.
Other things to support a healthy pregnancy:
Exercise – For some women, pregnancy is the first time they’ve thought about conditioning their body for the physical demands of a future need. They weren’t athletes growing up, or weren’t involved in sports past childhood. Things may have slowly drifted to a more sedentary lifestyle over the years, and now, there’s a huge demand on the horizon, as their body completely changes, and then there’s a tiny demanding being attached to them at all times thereafter!
It is important for an expecting mom to consider the demands that pregnancy, labour, delivery and motherhood entail. Talk to those who’ve been through the kind of birth you want. Take a birth class to find out what that means, and what happens when things don’t go according to that ideal plan. Work to truly understand what your body needs to be able to do, and get the support you need to learn how to make that happen.
There may be a bit more to it than most women expect, but if you take it into account ahead of time you can avoid or limit the consequences of not having certain functional capacities. Here are a few areas of conditioning to think of:
- Core and pelvic stability – It’s no secret that the baby grows in there, and there are distinct changes that occur in this region of the body. As the baby grows, the belly grows, stretching the abdominal musculature, and stressing the ligaments of the spine and pelvis. As the hormone changes of later trimesters creep in, there is also ligament laxity to manage. In addition, changes to mom’s pelvis (widening hips) and an increase in overall body mass often lead to abnormal gait (walking) mechanics and different sleep postures. All of these can amount to lots of stress on the pelvic floor, which can lead to incontinence after birth, and significant challenges to recovery from delivery if mom is starting from a deficit. The earlier you can get a start here, the better, and only a few minutes per day will have tremendous benefit!
- Leg and glute strength – As the weeks go on, and mom gets bigger, even simple tasks like climbing stairs and rising from a seated position require more strength. Simply rolling over in bed can seem like a monumental athletic event that requires a spotter or a helpful push. Follow that up with months of lifting babies, car seats, and diaper bags, and you’ll be grateful for every ounce of strength you gained ahead of time.
- Grip and upper body strength – This is often the most often overlooked area of consideration for women in pregnancy, as they prepare for motherhood. Holding a baby while breastfeeding or bottle feeding, requires sustained grip, prolonged postures and a decent level of strength. If that isn’t there ahead of time, it can easily set the stage for carpal tunnel syndrome and thumb and wrist tendonitis, which are exquisitely frustrating when you just want to lift and hold your baby.
- Postural stability – As pregnancy develops, the hormone changes that are required to prepare mom for breastfeeding can cause her breast size to increase by as much as two to three cup sizes. This adds significant postural load to the muscles of the lower neck and upper back. Once baby is born, breastfeeding postures place a significant demand on the upper back and shoulders. You will be in this position for longer and more often than you may think. If mom was a sloucher beforehand, this only magnifies the underlying functional deficits, and massive amounts of tension and discomfort follow. Simple daily posture exercises and stretches can make a huge difference!
It is safe to exercise and stay active at all stages of pregnancy, as long as you maintain a focus on preventing injury, especially avoiding fall risks. Ask us how to get started or modify your current routine safely.
Nutrition – We try not to paint broad stroked when it comes to nutrition, because of personal and cultural differences, but there are a few rules that apply to everyone.
Some key concepts of nutrition apply at all times, including during pregnancy: Food is fuel. Protein is required. Limit inflammatory foods. Nutrients are important to foster the growth of healthy babies. Supplementation may be required.
There are more tricky aspects to prenatal nutrition for some moms. Food cravings, nausea, full blown morning sickness and hyperemesis gravidarum can throw a monkey wrench into the best laid plans. These require a case by case approach. Each mom may have specific requirements to offset deficits, sensitivities and special circumstances, so supportive help from trained professionals can be instrumental.
Stress Management – The stresses of becoming a mom or adding another member to your family are real. The uncertainty, risk, constant judgement of not measuring up to the picture you’ve painted for yourself can add up to a significant weight carried, long before you have to carry the actual baby. In addition, there are potential health challenges for mom and for baby that have unspeakable fears associated with them. On top of it all, you are almost guaranteed to feel like you’re failing, over and over. It’s a lot to handle. These stresses take a toll on the nervous system, lock up the spine, and can contribute to the physical discomfort that is often felt as tension in the neck, shoulders, upper and lower back.
As the end of pregnancy nears, and especially after birth, the tremendous changes in mom’s energy, physical body, hormones, time and energy, as well as her very perceived identity as a person can be significantly impacted. This can sometimes lead to anxiety, overwhelm and postpartum depression. It is imperative for mom’s to be well-supported during the late stages of pregnancy, through labour and birth, and in those precious few months after baby arrives. Professional support during this time is instrumental to the overall health and happiness of mom and baby.
Bringing it all together
For many women and families, getting pregnant, having a baby and being great parents are the most important lifelong goals that they’ve imagined since they were kids themselves. It is an exciting time, and the experience is second to none in this life.
The journey through pregnancy and birth has countless blessings, and a myriad of stresses to navigate, mitigate and recover from. These stresses can take a toll on the function of the nervous system, which is housed inside the spine, and controls and coordinates all functions of the body. That can cause physical pain and dysfunction that limits the ability for a mom to be able to enjoy and fully engage in and enjoy these precious times. These accumulated stresses can diminish or threaten the health and vitality of mom and baby. Specific prenatal chiropractic care can be instrumental in alleviating these stresses, improving comfort and mobility, and restoring the body’s natural state of health and vitality.
Get more info on prenatal and postnatal chiropractic care here.
