We all know pregnancy is an amazing time when your body is constantly undergoing changes! Not only is your body preparing to carry a child, it is working hard to nourish and support a growing life. The demands on the mother during this time seem to be tremendous as physical, biochemical, and emotional stressors exponentially increase with each passing week. Have you ever wondered how chiropractic care can help?
There are several symptoms and discomforts frequent chiropractic care can help alleviate.
Spinal & Pelvic Misalignment
As a result of various physiological and hormonal changes that take place, misalignments of the spine and pelvis are quite common. Protrusion of the abdomen increases the low back curve, putting those joints under high amounts of stress. Increased ligamentous laxity makes it easy for the pelvis to misalign. Circumstances where pelvic misalignments are present will make the environment for the baby to turn, difficult. Furthermore, the nervous system is the communication network to the reproductive cycle along with all the other parts of the body. Keeping the spine aligned helps the entire body work more effectively for both mother and child.
Decrease In Labor Time
It was found that first time mothers on average went through a labor time of 14 hours. Women who received chiropractic care had an average time of only 8 hours. Mothers who had multiple children had an average labor time of 9 hours compared to a 4 to 5 hour labor time for those who had undergone chiropractic care.
Decreased Low Back Pain
Research involving 400 pregnant women analyzed the percentage of women suffering from back pain during pregnancy and whether chiropractic care helped to reduce back pain in labor. Of those women 43.5% experienced back pain during pregnancy and 44.7% experienced back pain during labor and delivery. Of the 170 pregnancies with reported back pain, 72% also reported back pain during labor. Of the women studied, 37 received chiropractic adjustments during their pregnancies. It was found that 84% of these women reported relief of back pain throughout pregnancy and during labor.
Treatment was also given during labor in one group, with another group receiving placebo treatment.
Of the first group 81% experienced pain relief and 80% felt they required less pain relief or medical intervention.
Chiropractic care is safe, gentle and effective. Such care should be considered to relieve and reduce the physical changes a mother experiences throughout her pregnancy. In addition, chiropractic care should not only be considered for a more comfortable pregnancy and labor, but to promote a healthier pregnancy for the mother and child.
