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Chiropractic & Pregnancy

Throughout history man has dominated medicine and with that the domination of women. Before Louis XIV of France decided he wanted to watch his mistress give birth, women did not give birth laying on their back. Eventually, word got out that “royalty” was giving birth laying down, so if it was good enough for them… Also, the attending physicians could now clearly see the perineum and intervene much easier, so they expected all women to adopt this position for birth. Birthing positions are beginning to shift thanks to Doulas and Midwives. Recently my wife gave birth at a local community hospital and present in the birth room were a birthing stool, Jacuzzi, shower, exercise ball and our midwife encouraged walking around and squatting for birth. The fact remains that a woman on her back decreases the birth canal by up to 30%.

Imagine changing your entire body in 9 months! Changes can be seen structurally in the spine, pelvis and limbs (upper & lower). Meanwhile, changes are occurring internally (besides the growing baby) from chemical to neurological, your body even can produce vitamin C on its own! These millions of processes are all controlled and coordinated by the nerve system. Now imagine what tension would do to these processes. Tension distorts the body’s (Innate Intelligence’s) ability to control and monitor processes. Without interference your Innate wisdom should be able to expand the pelvis with ease, change your biomechanics to support the extra weight – with ease, balance the onslaught of chemicals (new and old), build a healthy person inside you and prepare you for birth. Chiropractic adjustments throughout pregnancy are not only safe, they are essential.

Adjustments result in easier pregnancy, significantly decreased mean labor time, and assists new mothers back to prepartum health. In one study, women receiving Chiropractic care through their first pregnancy had 24% shorter labor times than the group not receiving Chiropractic, and multiparous subjects reported 39% shorter labor times. Thirty-nine percent-that's a massive difference. In addition, 84% of women report relief of back pain during pregnancy with Chiropractic care. Because the sacroiliac joints of the pelvis function better, there is significant less likelihood of back labor when receiving Chiropractic care through pregnancy.

Another important reason for care throughout pregnancy is to help establish balance in the mother's pelvis. Because of a lifetime of stress and trauma to her spine and pelvis, her pelvic opening may be compromised, resulting in a less than optimum passage for the baby. Williams Obstetrics Text tells us that, "Any contraction of the pelvic diameters that diminish the capacity of the pelvis can create dystocia (difficulty) during labor." They further state that the diameter of the woman's pelvis is decreased when the sacrum is displaced. Dr. Abraham Towbin, medical researcher on birth tells us that the bony pelvis may become "deformed" this way by trauma. Chiropractors define this displacement/ deformation as spinal misalignment or subluxation primarily caused by the stress of trauma (tension).

Additionally, these compensations to her spine and pelvis during pregnancy are likely to cause an imbalance to her pelvic muscles and ligaments. The woman's pelvis supports her growing uterus with specific ligaments. When the pelvic bones are balanced, the uterus is able to enlarge symmetrically with the growing baby. If the bones of the pelvis are out of alignment or subluxated, this will directly affect the way the uterus will be supported. Unequal ligament support of the uterus will torque the uterus reducing the maximum amount of room for the developing baby. The term used to describe this is intrauterine constraint.

In some cases, this constraint restricts the baby's positions during pregnancy adversely affecting his/her developing spine and cranium. Additionally, these limitations on the baby's movement during pregnancy may prevent him/her from getting into the best possible position for birth. Any birth position other than the ideal vertex, occiput anterior position of the baby indicates the inhibiting effects of constraint. Such positions lead to longer more painful labours with increased medical interventions in birth. Often c-sections are resorted to and both the mother and baby miss the many benefits of a natural vaginal birth.

Chiropractic adjustments address tension on the nerve system so your Innate wisdom can function properly. As my wife was nearing her 8 th month of pregnancy I told her, “pregnancy should be like a 9 month wedding for women, they glow, everyone smiles at them, tells them how beautiful they are and the excitement of what’s to come!” Unfortunately, not every woman experiences the joy of pregnancy and childbirth. Morning sickness does not have to occur for weeks or months nor does back pain or post delivery pain. The body has an amazing ability to heal, when there is no interference, especially when it is creating LIFE!