Congratulations, you’re pregnant! You’ve made your first prenatal appointment with your doctor, but have you called your chiropractor? Seeking prenatal chiropractic care is extremely important to maintain your own health, and the health of your developing baby. Read on to discover the benefits of regular chiropractic care throughout your pregnancy.
What is Chiropractic care?
Chiropractic care is the health maintenance of joints in the body, primarily focusing on the spine. It is the art and care of your musculoskeletal (bones, muscles, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, joints, and other connective tissue) and nervous systems and their affects on your overall body. Chiropractors use a special table to perform manipulations, correcting misaligned joints in your body, reducing the nerve stress on the spinal column. If your spine is not aligned properly, it can cause a subluxation, or a “communication problem” between your nerves and your brain, preventing your body from functioning properly.
Why Do I need chiropractic care during pregnancy?
During pregnancy, your body goes through a lot of changes. Many of them you can see, and even more you can’t. The ligaments that support your joints loosen due to a hormone called relaxin, allowing your pelvic area to widen for the arrival of the baby. However, it also loosens other joints in your body, making it very easy for them to slip out of alignment. As mentioned above, it is important for your body not to have any subluxations and during pregnancy, it becomes even more vital.
A misaligned spine can cause more than just pain and discomfort; it can cause a number of other issues in a pregnant woman’s body:
- protruding abdomen and increased back curve
- poor posture
- misaligned pelvis
The most crucial being a misaligned pelvis. This can result in intrauterine constraint, or restricted room for your growing baby, making it difficult for him/her to get into ideal position for delivery.
How can Chiropractic Care help me?
Regular chiropractic care throughout pregnancy can offer many benefits. Since you won’t have any subluxations, your body will be able to accomplish everything it needs to while your baby develops, allowing you to have an all around healthier pregnancy. It has also been known to help decrease nausea, relieve back and neck pain as well as reduce the length of labor and delivery. Since your pelvic area will be kept properly aligned, your body will have less work to get ready during labor, and your baby will have a clear straight canal to come into the world. This will also reduce the risk of needing a Cesarean Section since one of the major reasons for a C-section is a stuck baby.
It is so important to keep your body functioning at its best during your pregnancy, and now you know how to make that happen with chiropractic care.
This post is meant for educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace medical advice from your physician, doctor or health care professional. Please read our terms of use for more information.
Photo credits: Pregnant woman in pain by Dreams To Do; girl on adjustment table adapted from Michal Dorausch (CC), Posture Illustration from an unknown source.
