I’m so excited to share today’s blog post with you all! Chiropractic care played a vital part in my health and wellness during all my pregnancies and beyond. Today’s post, highlighting the benefits of receiving chiropractic care while pregnant, is written by the dedicated and knowledgeable chiropractic doctors at Thrive Family Chiropractic located in Huntington Beach, California. To find out the benefits, keep on reading!

Chiropractic is essential during pregnancy if you want to have a comfortable and complication free pregnancy and birth. 

If you haven’t heard of chiropractic care for pregnancy, let’s dive into the why and the how.

When we look at the anatomy of pregnancy, it is truly astounding! Generally speaking, babies grow within the uterus for about 9 months of time. The uterus expands 500X its size during this growth period! This rapid expansion puts a tremendous stretch on the ligaments of the uterus, pelvic ligaments, and pelvic joints which include the Sacroiliac, pubic symphysis, and hip socket joints. During pregnancy, it is very common to have symptoms like: sciatica, back pain, pubic bone pain, round ligament pain, carpal tunnel, numbness in the legs, nausea, fatigue, heartburn, constipation, headaches, etc. However, pregnancy does not have to feel this way! 

In order to have as seamless and painless a pregnancy as possible, it is imperative that our moms get checked by a Webster Certified chiropractor. Webster certified chiropractors have extensive education and training on how to care for women during pregnancy and birth. There are very specific techniques used to evaluate and adjust the body of an expecting mother. 

Trained prenatal chiropractors will look for imbalances within the pelvis and spine that needs adjusting. When the joints of the pelvis are not aligned properly, they don’t function properly. Meaning that when you use these joints (in every step we take!) we are using muscles in an un-balanced way and tugging on ligaments and soft tissues unevenly. Not only can this create pain, it can create a smaller environment for baby to grow. 

When it comes to the uterus, having an imbalanced pelvis will pull on the ligaments of the uterus which then creates tension inside. The uterus acts as a hammock, suspended within the pelvis and attaching to the pelvic bones by strong ligaments. As the baby grows quickly, these ligaments can create strain on the space for baby. Left untreated, this can potentially lead to baby not having enough space to go head down. Imagine you are in a sleeping in a bed with someone sitting on the sheets beside you. Can you turn over freely? This is what it can feel like for a baby when the pelvis is misaligned and pulling on the uterus. When baby does not go head down, you have a mal-positioned baby, and you are now a candidate for a c-secton. Mom’s who are under chiropractic care during their pregnancy report: more comfortable pregnancies, shorter labor times, healthy birth outcomes, less complications and interventions, and more natural deliveries. 

We often get mothers in the office at 35+ weeks pregnant in a panic because their baby is transverse or breech and the dream of a natural birth is being destroyed. Although it’s common for breech baby’s to turn head down after chiropractic adjustments, the perfect time to start getting adjusted is right when you know you want to become pregnant. Set you and your baby up for success. If you are located in the Orange County area, come see Thrive Family Chiropractic if you are pregnant! Give you and your baby the best chance for growth and health with our family chiropractors! 

If you are not local to the Orange County area but are interested in finding a Webster Certified chiropractor in your area, please visit: https://icpa4kids.com

The ICPA is an incredible organization dedicated to the safety and the education of prenatal and pediatric chiropractic. If you have more questions, check out all the research studies done there!