Chiropractic care during pregnancy, are there benefits? Yes, ma’am, there are – actually, there are benefits from chiropractic care before, during and after pregnancy. Chiropractic care during pregnancy can help whether you’re pregnant and looking for symptom relief, promoting your overall health and your baby’s development, or preparing for the smoothest possible birth. It’s a safe, non-invasive, and drug-free tool for expecting moms from preconception through post-delivery.
Can Prenatal Chiropractic Help With Pregnancy Symptoms?
The truth is, while the pregnancy is miraculous, sometimes it is extremely challenging and can involve mild to debilitating symptoms. Chiropractic care can help. When pregnant, your body is going through an extraordinary amount of change — physiologically and structurally, not to mention emotionally. This is a dramatic increase in the body’s workload so fatigue, anxiety & feeling stressed or depleted are common unwanted side effects.
Here is a quick and simple science lesson to give a little foundation as to why chiropractic can help. The brain is the control center of the body. It sends electrical and chemical information down through the spinal cord and out nerves to every cell, system, organ, and structure in your body. Those cells, systems, organs, and structures send information back through the nerves, up the spinal cord, and to the brain. The brain processes the information and directs all functions. The brain, spinal cord, and nerves are collectively referred to as the nervous system, it is your communication system. It controls all aspects of your health as well as, directing the development and growth of your baby. Less interference within this system means a healthier body for you, better development for the baby, and improved chances for a smooth birth.
Chiropractic Care & Pain Relief In Pregnancy
Can chiropractic care help with physical pain during pregnancy such as headaches, joint aches, and low back discomfort? The short answer is yes. The longer answer is, as the baby grows, your physical structure must change to accommodate the size & positioning of the baby. As the structural changes occur, joints may become fixated & not move correctly. These fixations put additional tension on your nervous system and make adaptation to already present stress even more challenging. The result is often pain: headaches, backaches, sciatica, and pubic pain to name a few. The pain can then cause or exacerbate already existing fatigue and anxiety. Chiropractic adjustments restore range of motion correcting the fixations that create nervous system interference. It is common for pain and discomfort to resolve and even have an increase in energy and decrease in anxiety.
Gut, Immune & Hormone Changes
Your body is growing an entirely new human – creation from nothing into something. The physiological changes during the development process of the baby stretch and stress the function of all of your body systems including your gut, immune and endocrine systems. Before pregnancy your body may have had no issue digesting foods or having bowel movements, once pregnant you experience heartburn or constipation. You may find yourself less likely to fight off colds and other sickness with a challenged immune system. Headaches and moodiness may be frequent and those can be a result of hormonal changes. Your system is in overdrive because of baby development; this is a normal part of the process that can have uncomfortable side effects.
Chiropractic adjustments while reducing tension on your nervous system and allowing your body to adapt better to stress can positively affect and increase the bandwidth of these systems to deal with the stress of baby development. Thus, it’s common for pregnant women who are under active chiropractic care to have an increase in immune system health, increased energy, and overall sense of well-being. They also commonly report a decrease in side effects such as heartburn, constipation, and headaches.
Can Chiropractic Help With The Birth Process?
Chiropractic care helps prepare the body for the birthing process. Structurally, when the pelvic, sacral, and lower spinal joints are fixated and not moving as intended can create difficulty for the baby in passing through the birth canal and decrease the amount of space the baby has to maneuver during the process. Full joint range of motion in those regions aids in creating the path of least resistance from a physical, and structural standpoint. When a mom has had a pregnancy under active chiropractic care, her nervous system is less stressed and able to better deal with the demands of the birth process. The combination of a structure that is physically moving the way it is intended (without fixation) and a communication system with less interference or stress will certainly prepare the mom and baby for the best experience during the birthing process. Life happens and no perfect birth process can be guaranteed, you can, however, set yourself and your baby up for success by getting in to see a pediatric, neurological chiropractor during your pregnancy.
Is Chiropractic Safe During Pregnancy?
Yes, chiropractic care is safe during pregnancy. Pediatric neurological chiropractors are specially trained to help women before conception through the pregnancy and delivery journey and work with infants, kiddos and teens. The chiropractic adjustments they deliver are gentle and are nervous system-specific. Your nervous system changes throughout your pregnancy, and pregnancy individually affects each woman’s body. Pediatric-neurological chiropractors evaluate your nervous system & body during pregnancy using safe, non-invasive and high-tech testing such as Heart Rate Variability (HRV). These tools allow them to prescribe custom-tailored care plans for you and deliver specific adjustments so you receive the greatest possible benefit from chiropractic care during your pregnancy.