Undergoing chiropractic care during your pregnancy is safe, gentle and effective for treating many of the physical complaints that a woman may experience during her pregnancy.
During pregnancy, the hormone relaxin is released by the body to relax your ligaments in order to allow for growth of the baby and opening of the mother’s pelvis. This may exaggerate the effects of an existing spinal or pelvic condition.
Listed below are some of the benefits of having chiropractic care during your pregnancy, researched and identified by the International Chiropractic Paediatric Association.
• Chiropractic care throughout pregnancy can relieve and even prevent the common discomforts experienced in pregnancy. • Doctors of chiropractic work specifically with your pelvis throughout pregnancy restoring a state of balance and creating an environment for an easier, quicker, safer delivery. • Chiropractic adjustments reduce interference to the nervous system, allowing your body to function at its maximum potential. • Chiropractic care is shown to reduce the need for pain medications and medical interventions.
Changing Biomechanics of the body during pregnancy
The biomechanical changes of the spine that a woman’s body goes through during pregnancy can cause certain stressors on the body which can lead to pain.
Symphasis Pubis Diastasis
Experiencing severe pain over your pubic bones that gradually increases and inhibits you from moving easily and even walking during your pregnancy could mean you have Symphasis Pubis Diastasis (SPD). SPD is an injury to the pubic symphasis sustained from a prior pregnancy during labor and delivery. This too can be easily managed with chiropractic care.
Post-pregnancy chiropractic care
Many women do experience various aches and pains along with general discomfort post-pregnancy. Due to the drastically changing biomechanics of the spine (explained above), sometimes a woman’s body has a hard time readjusting to these physical changes and therefore will feel achy, sore or in pain even after labour and delivery.
Chiropractic care can help a woman’s body adjust quicker to these physical changes and alleviate the symptoms. For example, when a woman starts breastfeeding her upper back and neck are stressed and most women do experience discomfort in these areas of their spine from holding their baby properly to nurse.