Chiropractic care is recommended when individuals are suffering from any type of pain, such as neck, shoulder, back, and joint pain. Chiropractic treatments help maintain the spinal column, adjust the vertebrae and help the nerves in the back. A primary reason for people seeking out chiropractic treatments is that they want pain relief without the use of prescription or over-the-counter medications or surgery, especially pregnant women who want pain relief without putting drugs in their bodies. Chiropractic care relieves these same issues even when you’re pregnant and is absolutely safe for your developing baby as well. Read on to learn more about how chiropractic care can be used safely during pregnancy.
Why Chiropractic Care Is Good During Pregnancy
Several physiological and endocrinological changes occur in your body to create the right environment for a healthy baby to develop. The back curves, the abdomen protrudes, posture adapts, and the pelvis changes to prepare for the baby. Such changes can throw the pelvis and spine out of alignment, which would reduce the amount of room that a developing baby has, causing intrauterine constraints. This makes it very difficult for your baby to get into the best position for delivery and ultimately affects a mother’s ability to have a natural birth.
Think about it – if you have already invested in taking the right prenatal vitamins, have been eating the right foods, and have avoided activities your doctor advised you to stay away from. Chiropractors can be a form of self-care that will allow you to continue abstaining from non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for all types of pain. The benefits of chiropractors when pregnant include:
- Reduced discomfort
- Reduced chance of a breech birth
- Fewer chances of complication during delivery
- Reduced need for painkillers during delivery
- Can help you with nausea
- Helps you avoid injury as your body changes
You can receive chiropractic care up until you deliver. Many chiropractors have helped women with breeched babies turn them around so that the head is in the proper position for a vaginal delivery. This empowers women who are hoping to avoid a c-section when delivering their baby.
Choose The Right Chiropractor
If you have not been seeing a chiropractor and are pregnant, then you should interview potential chiropractors about their training and experience working with pregnant women since it is a specialization within the field. You should search for the top chiropractor in this field as there can be a risk to the health of you and the child if something is done improperly. You want a chiropractor who will take care of and understand your limitations before starting treatment. If you have been seeing a chiropractor and their training does not enable them to assist you, then they can recommend a colleague who specializes in assisting women during pregnancy. Such a chiropractor would have to be trained in the types of exercises and stretches that are safe during pregnancy and would have to progressively adjust your treatments to be safe for your body and to avoid unnecessary pressure on your abdomen.
When working with the right chiropractor, you can be more comfortable as your pregnancy progresses. By relieving pain in your back, neck, shoulders, hips, and joints, you can enjoy greater mobility. You’ll also help your body adjust to motherhood after you deliver and have different responsibilities and demands from your newborn. Talk to your chiropractor today or, if you are not currently seeing a chiropractor, ask your OBGYN for a recommendation so that you can get started.
