Chiropractic Care During Pregnancy

From the moment you conceive, the birthing person’s body is influencing the growth of the baby. While prenatal vitamins and a healthy diet are extremely important during this time, the birthing person’s structural make-up from the position of their hips to their posture and the state of their nervous system are all playing an equally important role in development. 

This is where chiropractic care comes in; it aligns joints, influences the nervous system and can help with  posture to prevent pain.

Posture

Low back pain is pretty common during pregnancy and the reasons are your ever-changing posture and center of gravity, and of course the effects of hormones. As your baby grows, the pelvis begins to tilt forward which causes increased tightness in the low back muscles and the neck. This tightness, along with the center of gravity shift, increases all of the curves in the spine too. This change in posture puts extra stress on the spine leading to common aches and pains during pregnancy. 

Chiropractic care aims to relieve the stress in the spinal column and to release tension in the muscles. You can help yourself to maintain good posture by following the guidelines in the diagram as well.

Webster Technique

Webster Technique is a specific chiropractic adjustment that aligns the sacroiliac (SI) joints of the pelvis. This in turn balances the muscles and ligaments that support the pelvis and prevents pelvis torsion and intrauterine constraint. It’s important to prevent and treat these conditions as they arise so that the baby has optimal space to freely move around.

This technique also addresses the round ligaments which attach the uterus to the pubic bone. Often one of these ligaments will tighten in response to an unbalanced pelvis which furthers torsion, makes the uterus asymmetrical and causes a very uncomfortable pulling sensation in the groin.

Since this technique promotes balance in the uterus and pelvis, it is often known to flip a breech or transverse presenting baby, although this is not why it is performed.

Kinesiotape

Another way to relieve back, SI and pelvic pain is to support the belly with a belly band or support belt. If you find wearing one uncomfortable, ask your chiropractor if they do kinesiotaping. Kinesiotape gets applied directly to the skin and provides equal belly lifting and postural support as a belly band. Many birthing people find the tape more comfortable as it doesn’t shift around and will remain in place for 5-7 days even through sleeping and showering.  Kinesiotape can also cover any area of pain and simply works to lift the skin and fascia away from the muscles slightly.

Did you have chiropractic care during your pregnancy? Share with us in the comments or in our Facebook group. 

Authored by Sharita Thompson, M.Ed, HBCE