Pregnancy and Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic for a pregnant women? Absolutely! It is one of the best things that can be done for the mother-to-be and the baby-to-be. In fact if there's one group of people who need chiropractic care more than any other it's pregnant woman.

Pregnant woman are taking more responsibility for their bodies. They are reading more, asking more questions, eating better, exercising more and exploring healthier ways of taking care of themselves. For that reason chiropractic care should be considered an essential part of the pregnant woman's health care regimen.

In order to understand how chiropractic care is important for prenatal care we should first learn what chiropractic is: a method of keeping the body free from spinal nerve stress. Spinal nerve stress(vertebral subluxations) upsets the bodies function, interferes with health and causes disease.

The doctor of chiropractic examines the spinal column for misalignments causing spine and nerve stress( called vertebral subluxations). Vertebral subluxations damage the nerve system and affect the workings of the entire body. If subluxations are present the chiropractor will correct them with a spinal adjustment in order to release the spinal stress.

Without subluxations the body will function better and have a higher resistance to disease than a body with uncorrected subluxations. That is the essential message of chiropractic.

All this is extremely important for the pregnant woman who needs to have her body as healthy and strong as possible in order to handle the rigors of pregnancy and childbirth. Chiropractic care will help ensure that the reproductive and other systems so essential for a healthy pregnancy receive an uninterfered with nerve supply from the spinal column. The slightest interference to the nerve supply could adversely affect the mother and the developing fetus.

Another excellent reason for seeing a chiropractor during pregnancy is that it is a drugless health care system. Drugs, whether prescription or over the counter can harm the growing fetus. There is no such thing as a completely safe drug. The safest thing for a pregnant woman to do is avoid all drugs, if possible and seek natural non-drug alternatives for health care. Nelsonís textbook of Pediatrics stated: It is ... clearly prudent to minimize unnecessary medication during the first three months of pregnancy...it is virtually impossible to specify any drug that will not result in an increased frequency of congenital malformations, in certain doses. No drug should be prescribed during pregnancy without weighing the maternal need against the risk of fetal damage.

Some common substances which can damage both mother and fetus are aspirin, alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and cocaine.

Not only drugs, but many types of invasive diagnostic procedures should be avoided by pregnant women if possible. A Medical Newsletter for Consumers by Robert S. Mendelsohn M.D. states: pregnant women should stay away from X-rays, diagnostic ultrasound, doctor-prescribed medication, and any form of dangerous invasive procedures.

There are so many things pregnant women worry about: staying pregnant, carrying the baby to full term, morning sickness, the baby developing normally. Things they should not worry about are backaches, headaches, leg pain and if their labor will be safe and (hopefully) easy as possible. Can chiropractic care easy their minds? The experience of many chiropractic patients has shown it can.

In the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association a number of practitioners commented on the effectiveness of spinal care for pregnant women. The following are a small sampling of their responses ''For normal patients, correction of vertebral subluxations definitely helps normal function and rehabilitation. Manipulation can be of great value in normalizing the body functions of women with problems of pregnancy such as toxemia.

Manipulative therapy ... normalizes functions of the pituitary, adrenal, ovarian, and placental systems. This shortens labor by 50 to 60 percent and lessens medication requirement by at least 50 percent ... Postpartum depression is a rarity in patients receiving ... manipulative therapy.''

Chiropractic care is especially needed during pregnancy because of many physical and chemical changes the woman's body is going through. Not only is the center of gravity changing because of the added weight she is carrying, but her spinal structure becomes more flexible due to the hormone produced by the ovaries called relaxin. Relaxin relaxes the ligaments in the pelvis, preparing them for the stretching during childbirth and can create an unstable spine and aggravate spinal problems. Conversely, there is a possibility that the more the flexible state of the spine provides an opportunity for easier correction of chronic spinal problems. The doctor of chiropractic can check the spine to ensure that the pelvis and vertebrae are functioning as a unit and are properly balanced.

Commonly asked questions:

Is it difficult for a pregnant women to receive a chiropractic adjustment?

Not at all. Chiropractors are trained in adjusting spines of pregnant women and most chiropractic adjusting tables have special modifications for the pregnant figure.

Is adjusting a pregnant woman safe?

Very safe and sensible for mother and child.

How late in pregnancy is it possible to get an adjustment?

Patients have received adjustments even during labor. There are reported cases of a chiropractor called to perform a spinal adjustment when labor has stopped. Immediately after the adjustment labor resumed normally.

Can spinal care help postpartum depression?

For years chiropractic¹s beneficial effects on emotional stress and personality have been noted. Case studies show: Postpartum depression is a rarity in patients receiving manipulative therapy.

Do I have to have a problem in pregnancy to see a chiropractor?

Not at all. Chiropractic should be used as a preventative maintenance. It is much easier to take a healthy person and keep them healthy, than to take a sick person and bring them back to health. Periodic spinal checkups during pregnancy should be as common as periodic weight checkups.

Can my baby receive chiropractic care?

Infants a few hours old have been given spinal checkups and adjustments (if needed).

The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics states:

Retrospective case studies including chiropractic in the treatment of otitis media (ear infections), hyperactivity, seizure disorder, infantile colic, dyspnea (difficulty with breathing)... continue to suggest the diverse nature of ailments and the effectiveness of chiropractic adjustments. On a private note my wife received chiropractic care throughout her pregnancy with our daughter. Both have received spinal adjustments since. I am happy to announce the second addition to our family is due to arrive the first week of September.