Prenatal Chiropractic Care
During healthy pregnancy, a woman may gain between 30 to 50 pounds. Does that sound like a lot?
Meanwhile, as early as the first trimester, she will begin dynamic hormonal changes to help her body prepare for delivery. One of these hormonal changes allows ligaments to relax for delivery. However, ligamentous structures throughout the entire body are affected for the duration of the pregnancy, which can make pre-existing imbalances of the pelvis and spine unstable. As a woman progresses through pregnancy, her biomechanics are altered because of changes in distribution of body weight. Some women will experience discomfort, or have old injury or stress patterns reassert themselves.
Aligning the joints of the pelvis and spine during pregnancy can facilitate an easier natural delivery, and ensure greater comfort for the mother throughout and following pregnancy. It also ensures the baby’s comfort by working with the round ligaments which suspend the uterus. This allows for maximum uterine expansion and ensures room for proper fetal development.
One of the biggest benefits of chiropractic care during pregnancy is the stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system of both mother and child. Parasympathetic function is the opposite of the body’s sympathetic (or “fight or flight”) response. In short, it is responsible for regulating and calming sleep rhythms, digestive function, heart and lung function, and for supporting the brain’s higher functions. It is the “rest and digest” side of your body’s neurology, and is the key to diminishing the body’s stress-response. Pregnant women with lowered stress levels share that with their child. Babies born without high amounts of intra-uterine stress have more ease in adapting to life outside the womb.
Webster Technique
Jenny Proenza, DC is ICPA-certified in the Webster Technique; a specific chiropractic analysis and adjustment protocol that reduces interference to the nerve system and balances maternal pelvic muscles and ligaments. This, in turn, reduces torsion in the uterus, a cause of intra-uterine constraint of the baby, and allows for optimal fetal positioning in preparation for birth.
Chiropractic care throughout the entire pregnancy is safe, gentle and effective.
Regular chiropractic care, by fundamentally addressing the nervous system, reduces stress for both mother and baby. Jenny Proenza, DC will help guide and inform you through the many decisions that need to be made before giving birth. Whether you choose to have a home birth with a midwife attending, or a hospital delivery, regular chiropractic care through your pregnancy can help facilitate an easier natural birth. An excellent source for more information about chiropractic care during pregnancy, for children, and for the entire family, is the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association. Please visit them at www.icpa4kids.org.
About adjustments at Spark Chiropractic:
The Activator Method is an extremely gentle chiropractic adjusting technique which is suitable for people of all ages, from young children to the geriatric patient. It is even safe for use on patients with bone weakening diseases such as osteoporosis. Using a small, handheld instrument, very specific spinal segments may be adjusted quickly, with no “twisting, popping or cracking.” The patient may be comfortably face-down through the entire adjustment. For pregnant women, a special pregnancy body pillow is used to distribute her weight on the broad bones of the pelvis and shoulders while her abdomen and breasts may drop comfortably and safely into cut-outs. For many pregnant women, allowing some “face down” time, with the spine in neutral alignment, is a rare opportunity.
