Chiropractic Care has done a lot for me.
I first started going when I was 30 weeks pregnant with my first babe, as soon as I learned the benefits of chiropractic care during pregnancy.
The benefits of keeping an ever-changing and growing body properly aligned cannot be overstated. Every time I go in, I am assessed for alignment and small adjustments are made all the way down my spine. I report any discomforts I’ve had since my last appointment and often a misalignment or subluxation is discovered there and adjusted accordingly.
Chiropractic adjustments are NOT just the big neck cracking motions people think of. It amazes me the skill level required to identify subtle changes in the spine and correct them, and the adjustments are often just as gentle, but use of pressure varies depending on the goal of each correction.
During pregnancy, these sessions helped to prevent and remediate my hip, sacral, back and neck discomforts. They were able to prevent my sciatic pain from returning through the remainder of my pregnancies each time.
Chiropractic care may shorten the duration of labor and prevent cesareans by keeping the pelvic bowl open. If there is a misalignment in the pelvis, baby can get stuck there, and that is what happens in some labors that result in c-sections. Also, being aligned means the baby can more naturally nestle into a head-down, posterior facing position (the ideal position for a vaginal birth) which also results in fewer c-sections and less back-labor (which is increased back pain during labor, mostly when the baby is anterior facing or “sunny side up”).
I had 2 doctors approach me in the hospital after my first baby, wondering how I didn’t need a c-section as a first-time mom with a 9 lb, 5 oz babe. I told them I had chiropractic care but this didn’t hold much weight to them. My labor was 10.5 hours, which is considered short for the first time.
During my second pregnancy, I started chiro appointments much earlier. My baby was smaller this time at 7 lbs, 10 oz, but my entire labor was 4 hours long with no complications. She was in the optimal position for birth, and my body did the work during labor. I had to do basically no active pushing, because I was unmedicated and the “fetal ejection reflex” kicked in to do it for me. I couldn’t have stopped it if I tried.
I went into labor on my own for all three of my deliveries, and my first was the longest labor (the third was 9 hours). I had epidurals for the first and third, and my third was actually the “easiest,” with just 4 pushes needed. I truly believe that the duration of my labors, the fact that I went into labor myself without the need for induction, and the lack of complications during any labor have to be credited at least in part to the fact that my body/spine/pelvis were properly aligned and ready for a baby to be safely born. We will never know the alternative outcomes of my labors, but 3-for-3 is enough for me to believe it- especially since I did not have proper alignment prior to first seeing a chiropractor.
All this to say, I am a big proponent of chiropractic care during pregnancy, and I’m extremely grateful for the privilege to be able to pay these copays (not all insurances cover it). If you want to know more, I listened to the “Healthy Births, Happy Babies” podcast to learn about it from chiropractors themselves!