Whether childbirth is natural, medicated or surgical, a woman deserves to be emotionally at peace with her birth all her life! This is what I want for all of my moms and for myself as well. The question though is “how do we achieve this?” We talked about that a little bit in the previous post about having a supportive community. Above and beyond community though, we need to be educated on the choices that we may have to make during labor and birth and what our desired outcomes are. I want to share some topics for you to look more into so that when things come up, you have done your own research on the topic and can make the decision for yourself. If I would give you the information, your choices would be based off my views and not on your own research. So here they are:
Water birth
Doula support
Eye ointment
Effects of Pitocin
Delayed Cord Clamping
Vacuum Extraction
Placenta Encapsulation
Newborn Stomach Size
Safe Co-Sleeping/Demographics of those affected by SIDS
Rate of Cesarean
Skin to Skin
Baby Mapping
Chiropractic Care- during pregnancy, postpartum and for baby
What I am going to do is inform you more on are the benefits of chiropractic care during pregnancy and for baby, as this is my area of expertise.
So why is chiropractic care important during pregnancy? A properly functioning spine and nervous system is an important part of life, especially while pregnant. The changes that the body undertakes during pregnancy can be very noticeable but there are also subtle change in the musculoskeletal system.
These changes can be detected and corrected by a chiropractor who knows what to look for. The position of your growing baby will cause your center of gravity to shift and your spine will naturally alter itself to accommodate this change. As a result, you may experience low back and pelvic pain. The increase in hormones during pregnancy can also cause muscles, ligaments, cartilage and even bones to become more pliable. Pelvic bones may even become displaced or fixated and since your hips will need to spread to accommodate the delivery of your baby, fixated pelvic bones may lead to complications during pregnancy. Another key is that during pregnancy your nerve impulses need to flow properly from your brain to all parts of your body. A slightly out-of-place vertebra (subluxation), can create nerve irritation, which can and will interfere with your body’s communication system. With specific chiropractic care, the function of your nervous system can be restored, improving your overall wellness and increasing your comfort during pregnancy and delivery.
In fact, research has proven that:
84% of pregnant women under chiropractic care received profound relief from low back pain
Women who receive regular chiropractic care had nearly a 25% reduction in the average labor time verse the “generally accepted average labor time.” With women who had given birth previously, the number rose to 33% reduction in time.
Postpartum pain was relieved in 90 on 120 moms that received regular chiropractic care.
More than just treating low back pain, many mothers have recognized that chiropractic care plays a vital role in a healthy pregnancy resulting in them having decreased morning sickness, facilitated shorter labor and delivery times, and increased an overall sense of well-being. Don’t you want to experience these benefits during your pregnancy?
So why would your child, especially your brand-new baby, need chiropractic care? The truth is that even a natural childbirth can cause some stress on their little, delicate spine and nervous system. It has been found that between 80-120 pounds of pull force pressure can applied to a baby’s spine during the delivery process. This along with the improper lifting of the child out of a car seat or during a diaper change may result in more stress on their spine and nervous system. When this stress is not corrected, it commonly appears as one of the following signs:
Reflux
Digestive difficulty/irregularity
Not being content
Poor sleep patterns
Nursing difficulties
Earaches
Delays in reaching their developmental milestones, especially with movement
When a chiropractic evaluation is completed on your child by a chiropractor who has additional training in pediatric care, the subluxations, or misalignments within the spine, are able to be identified and corrected. When subluxations are adjusted properly, this allows for the body to function more optimally and there is usually a reduction in the symptoms that were previously experienced. And this is what we want for our littles- for them to function as optimally as possible!
If you have questions or concerns of the safety of care either during pregnancy or for a brand-new baby, please let me know and I would be happy to get you more information and to explain how the care that these two populations receive is different from the general population.