When women take a holistic approach to birth, it allows them to step back and acknowledge the process of birth as it unfolds. They grow an appreciation for the strength and empowerment they have in evolving a relationship with their bodies and their baby over the next 40 weeks. As Chiropractors, we are accustomed to seeing pregnant women during their third trimester due to the size of the baby and the increasing stress of the baby on their mother’s spine. This stress can show up as issues like: back pain, pelvic pain, muscle tension, sciatica and other issues due to the babies position. Although our care is great for providing pain relief and addressing alignment issues, our proactive mom’s recognize the depth Chiropractic care can have on both the mother and child throughout the entire birthing process.
If you are doing your research, you see how Chiropractic can…
- Improve pregnancy outcomes
- Assist women to have shorter delivery times
- Help women experience less pain during delivery
- Result in fewer interventions during pregnancy
Help babies have better APGAR scores.
We’ve mentioned Dr. Jay Warren’s podcast in previous blog entries. Check out this one to see how Chiropractic care can provide better birth outcomes throughout pregnancy. Here are three highlights along with our commentary that talks about why Chiropractic can work in partnership with a woman to allow her body and her child to experience the power of birth.
- Chiropractic helps improve nerve flow: Get adjusted throughout pregnancy not just for comfort. As Chiropractors, we’re working with the nervous system and clarifying the brain-body connection of the woman so that their body and their baby can function at 100%, be strong and not go depleted into the birthing experience.
In addition, getting the mom and babies checked and adjusted after labor and delivery will help moms heal and focus on their parenting experience while helping the baby to grow and evolve in their relationship to everyone and everything around them. - Chiropractic helps relieve muscle tension: When mothers come in wanting relief of musculoskeletal pain to their back shoulders, feet or legs, it can be due to the 25 to 40 pounds moms can accumulate during pregnancy.
We’ve also observed that women who have muscle tension before pregnancy (ex. From previous accidents, traumas or lifestyle habits) can have a more difficult time during pregnancy. This is because the body develops more layers of tension during pregnancy and makes it harder to support her body and weight of the baby. Chiropractic adjustments throughout pregnancy help the muscle system to coordinate better, addresses those old patterns of tension and helps the body adapt to the load better as the baby gets exponentially bigger week by week. - Chiropractic can affect the growth and development of the baby: When women’s bodies are able to function optimally, it allows the baby to develop optimally as well. During pregnancy, we’ve observed that mothers naturally tend to reduce alcohol, eat healthier foods, drink more water and exercise. Because the nervous system coordinates all the bodies process, getting adjustments helps ensure that that communication of these changes help the mother and child evolve through the pregnancy in a safe and effective way.
In addition, hormonal shifts/swings and emotional stresses (ex. Fears and worries as well as excitement about the pregnancy and parenting) that come up can have an effect on the child as well as the moms. The more your nervous system is able to flex and adapt to those stresses, the better and the more enjoyable the experience.
Other ideas and concepts covered in Dr. Warner’s podcast include:
- How Chiropractic care works in partnership with the hormone Relaxin.
- The role of pelvic alignment throughout pregnancy.
- How Chiropractic care can affect the development and contraction of the uterus.
We’ll discuss these topics in future blogs but would love your feedback on what’s most important to you.
All in all, we love working with women in the third trimester of their pregnancy. It’s more intensive work because of a combination of accumulated tension patterns, the exponential growth of the baby and the ability of the mother’s body to adapt to those daily changes. However, we hope that this blog helps you realize how many of these issues can be minimized by incorporating Chiropractic care throughout the birthing process to allow mom’s and their baby to evolve throughout the process instead of reacting to it. As always, feel free to schedule a free consultation if you’re exploring a holistic approach to birth and pregnancy.
Remember, Life is Always Better when you Live it In Color,
Drs. Richard Tran and Michelle Hsu