Pregnancy & Pediatric Care

Pregnancy & Chiropractic

Pregnancy & childbirth, without a doubt, are the most incredible, miraculous experiences that a woman can undergo. As parents, we take every precaution to protect the growing baby within and to ensure the best possible environment for his or her development. Chiropractic care is an integral part of this special time.

Chiropractic adjustments, specific to the special needs of pregnancy, ensure pelvic & spinal alignment, allowing optimum room for baby to grow and move. Chiropractors undergo special training to meet the needs of pregnant moms and their babies.

"As a mother, I can testify to the amazing benefits of chiropractic care during pregnancy. The gentle techniques for pre-natal care helped to relieve aches and pains associated with my "growing bump" and allowed space for my baby's development. The births of my two girls were both natural, following my birth plan without the use of pain-relieving medications or interventions. I am grateful for this, and my fast post-partum recovery, which I attribute largely to my regular chiropractic care."

Benefits of Chiropractic Care during Pregnancy

Prepares the pelvis for an easier pregnancy and birth by creating a state of balance in pelvic bony structures, muscles and ligaments.
Removes tension on the ligaments that support the uterus thus reducing torsion & restrictions (intrauterine constraint) to the developing, growing baby.
Offers the baby optimal space to move into the best possible position for birth. With proper fetal positioning, there is a significant decrease in dystocia (defined as "abnormal progress in labor") and birth trauma.
Reduces interference to the mother's vital nervous system which controls and coordinates all of her systems & functions.
Allows for a safer, easier birth for the mother decreasing the potential for interventions.

Neuromuscular and Biochemical Changes During Pregnancy

Release of the hormone RELAXIN; Relaxin causes muscular and ligamentous relaxation. This in turn allows joints to shift in alignment, creating imbalances & symptoms such as sciatica (pain and/or numbness to the leg), low back pain, joint pain & increased muscle tension.
Increased Weight Gain & Weight Distribution
Increased demand and fatigue on spinal and pelvic muscles
Increased stress on spinal and pelvic ligaments
Postural alterations, increasing the lumbar and thoracic spinal curves and leading to further strain on the muscles, ligaments, joints and underlying nervous system
Increased joint stress and occurrence of vertebral and sacroiliac joint misalignments

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Chiropractic Care Safe During Pregnancy?
Chiropractic care during pregnancy is safe for both mother and fetus. Spinal adjustments are especially gentle during pregnancy due to the presence of the hormone relaxin, causing muscle and ligamentous relaxation. Special "adjustive" positions are also used to provide comfort and safety for both mom and fetus.

How Often Should I Receive Chiropractic Care During My Pregnancy?
The frequency of care varies for a number of different reasons. Typically, regular care during a non-complicated pregnancy will range from once per week to once per month.

Why Chiropractic Care is Important during Pregnancy: A Midwives Perspective

As the hormones of pregnancy bloom in a woman's body, many of her tissues relax and become capable of opening. This normal response to pregnancy is what makes her body capable of expanding to carry the pregnancy and to give birth. It is important for the blood vessels to carry a greater volume of blood to the developing baby, and for the ribs to flare and make room for her abdominal organs that get displaced by the growing uterus. Her joints become extremely mobile, which is important for the health of her pregnancy and for the birth process itself, but it also makes her more susceptible to misalignment of her skeleton.

As the woman's body prepares for labour, she is called to surrender to the power of birth and become a passageway for her baby. To be an effective passage, the pelvis and spine should be in proper alignment for the baby's head and shoulders to spiral through the necessary rotations of a smooth and direct birth. Because the pregnant body is so mobile and prone to skeletal shifts, and because proper alignment is critical for the creation of a smooth passage for the baby to be born, chiropractic care is a supportive means for facilitating healthy pregnancies and births.

Anne-Marie Cayer Malachite Midwives

Chiropractic and Pregnancy Scientific Studies

Did you know that research supports a link between chiropractic care and shorter, less painful labors, with fewer complications and interventions?

Please refer to the International Chiropractic Pediatric Website, listed below, for the most current, comprehensive research data available.

http://www.icpa4kids.org/research/chiropractic/pregnancy.htm

Kids and Chiropractic

Most parents don't blink an eye when it comes to routine visits to the dentist for check-ups. So why not the chiropractor?

Well, just like the dentist, a spinal check-up performed by a chiropractor could prove to be valuable in the life of your child. The process of childbirth, or the developmental stages (learning to sit, crawl, walk and climb) each involve the potential for falls, trauma & repeated insults to the spine and nervous system. Add to this the activities of childhood, including running, jumping, twisting & falling, and you have a short list of potential mechanisms for childhood spinal injury. Daily traumas of being a kid must be taken seriously as they can become the stepping stones for more serious future difficulties if not dealt with right away.

Did you know that the birth process can be more traumatic to the spine than a car accident?

Traditionally, chiropractors have been identified with back pain and adults. Truth is, we all have a spine, and that amazing structure houses the nervous system, which controls the function of the entire body! If problems interfere with this system, any messages traveling throughout the nervous system, via the brain to the spinal cord to the body and back again, are impaired. This interrupts the normal, healthy actions and functions of the human body. These interruptions can be detected by spinal misalignments or dysfunction, and can be assessed and corrected by a trained pediatric chiropractor.

Many pediatric visits to the chiropractor are due to colic, ear infections, allergies, asthma, attention problems, bed-wetting, back/neck pain and headaches. Although chiropractic does not treat specific symptoms, we find that a healthy immune system results in an effective defense mechanism. Such complications can arise when spinal dysfunction impairs communication of the messages traveling from your brain via the spinal cord to the body.

Pediatric chiropractors are specifically trained to examine and adjust children of all ages.

But his/her back doesn't hurt! Why should I take them to a chiropractor? In western medicine, we have been conditioned to think that without signs or symptoms, we are healthy. In fact, signs and symptoms are indicators that dysfunction is already present. Think of it this way: If you have a tire on your car that has slightly less air in it than all the others, you can still drive and hardly feel a difference in the ride. But a year later, when the tread is checked, all four tires may need to be replaced because the roadwear was uneven. You might even have to change your brake pads due to the misalignment. By checking the air pressure, you could have prevented the extra wear and tear, and damages to your pocket book! Often, spinal dysfunction exists without signs and symptoms, yet they can produce changes to the nervous system that affect a myriad of functions in the body. Prevention is always the best line of defense with regards to health, for the entire family!

Amazing Facts:

Did you know that the human spinal cord has 1,000,000,000 (one billion) neurons? More incredibly, the human brain has one hundred billion neurons with the capacity to perform some ten quadrillion operations per second. Imagine the scope and complexity of every telephone system throughout the entire planet: Your nervous system embodies that same scale of complexity and capacity in each individual brain cell.

If you were to write out your potential as expressed by the number of possible neural connections it could make, it would take you seventy-five years to write out all the zeros! That’s the level of power and capacity you have at your disposal every moment of every day! Can you imagine now why it’s so important to maintain spinal and cranial alignment to keep the communication from neuron to neuron as clear as possible?