Is Chiropractic Care Safe During Pregnancy?
Over the course of decades, there has been the assumption that chiropractic care at any time is fraught with risk, that it’s violent manipulation and definitely not advisable during pregnancy. This is what used to be conveyed to expectant mothers by many medical doctors. In fact, the opposite is true. Chiropractic care is a great benefit to pregnant mothers for a few reasons.
Pregnancy is natural thing, but in our society, we have often treated it like a disease that needs to be interfered with at every turn. We now inject pregnant mothers with vaccines, yet tell women they shouldn’t eat sushi while pregnant. We know that a growing foetus starts to put stress on the spine and the release of hormones to facilitate the birth process causes ligaments to become lax.
Many doctors view pregnancy as a ‘medical’ condition and so what do you do when you have a condition? You have to treat the condition with one thing or another and while there have been life-saving procedures developed, few doctors try to encourage women to have completely natural birth which is better for all concerned; mother and child. It may not be so lucrative for an obstetrician.
We’re not saying that obstetricians aren’t necessary, but the majority of women with proper care and support of a midwife can have natural births.
What is the role of chiropractic in pregnancy?
Many think a Chiropractor only treats back and neck pain but many more women have discovered other benefits. Prenatal chiropractic care can mean less morning sickness, lower back pain and a shorter more quality labour and delivery. But more than that, Chiropractic care supports the integrity of your pelvic function, which includes the uterus, the muscles and ligaments, and the interfacing of the nervous and hormonal system which is important for you and your baby.
During pregnancy, the stress of a growing baby put extra stress on the spine and pelvis. The increase in size of the abdomen as the foetus grows pulls the lower spine into a hyper-lordosis, meaning the lower lumbar curve is increased. The result is increased pressure on the spinal joints and more irritation of the spinal nerves. Also, there is some distortion of the pelvis, not only from the weight of the foetus but also because of loosening of the ligaments making the pelvis more susceptible to misalignment. This can affect the birth process, making it more difficult. A more difficult birth is more likely to result in caesarean section and instrument births which can negatively impact a newborn.
The important question is not whether chiropractic is safe during pregnancy, but is it important? That is a definitive yes. It is important to correct and reduce vertebral subluxations that interfere with the nervous system, and that includes adjusting pelvic misalignments to ease the delivery process.
As the belly grows, we can still accommodate a woman lying face down via the use of a table with an adjustable abdominal section, which cradles the pregnant belly and allows one to lie on their front comfortably. This way we can continue to check the spine and adjust lying face down.
