It truly is amazing how uniquely God made a woman’s body. During my first pregnancy I was in constant awe at how my body was able to grow and nurture another human being. My first pregnancy was pretty textbook. I had the occasional bout of morning sickness and I gained the appropriate amount of weight, but I also had considerable hip and lower back pain. During pregnancy the body releases a hormone, Relaxin. Relaxin has the job of helping loosen the ligaments in the hip and pelvis area as to make room for the birth of a baby. I could literally feel this change in my body as I lie awake late into the night. The majority of the weight I gained was in my belly and this also caused me considerable lower back pain. I was encouraged by my regular OB to take Tylenol and even Tylenol PM at night. That idea did not appeal to me as I knew it may not be the best thing for my baby. I came across an article in a parenting magazine that discussed the benefits of chiropractic care for pregnant women. It looked like the best alternative to medicine.
I discovered along the way that chriopractic care does more than relieve the painful nuances of pregnancy. Here are some of the benefits:
- Chiropractic care reduces the nausea and sometimes vomiting.
- Can help prevent back labor.
- Offers a very specific method for helping turn breech babies.
- Can align the spine and pelvis to make room for the baby and therefore a shorter and less traumatic labor and delivery for mom and baby.
- Chiropractic care can also ease post-partum recovery as well. My first labor was 12 hours and I pushed for 40 minutes. My second labor was about 4 hours and I pushed one time! I sincerely believe that my visits to the chiropractor played a huge part in those relatively easy deliveries.
So how does the chiropractor do it? From a layman’s point of view it seems pretty simple. During pregnancy the changes in a woman’s body causes the pelvis to become misaligned. This reduces the amount of room the baby has during delivery. Its pretty common these days to hear of birth stories where forceps or vacuums had to be used because the baby was stuck.Even more commonplace are the number of caserean sections being performed. A chiropractor reduces stress on the spine by performing an adjustment. The patient lays on their stomach. For pregnant women the chiropractor will have a table where the center collapses or a specially designed maternity pillow that encases your stomach while laying down. The doctor then applies a light pressure to the spine to help restore normal alignment and motion. Its painless and there is usually immediate relief.
When searching for a chiropractor make sure that the person has been trained in caring for pregnant women and and has experience in this area. For more information on this topic you can go to http://www.amerchiro.org/content_css.cfm?CID=85
Shannon said
I was actually adjusted while I was in labor and I had my baby about an hour after the adjustment. I believe that the adjustment got my baby in the right position to come down the birth canal.