Chiropractic During Pregnancy: How Does it Affect You?

Chiropractic care is best known for treating back and neck pain. However, it can also be used to treat many other symptoms, such as chronic headaches, sports injuries, knee and ankle pain and last but certainly not least, pregnancy pains. I often get questions about whether or not chiropractic and massage therapy are safe for pregnant women.

The answer is a resounding YES! Not only is it safe, it’s beneficial to your rapidly changing body. Here I’ll address some of the questions people often have and how chiropractic can benefit pregnant women. 

​Please note: always inform your chiropractor that you are pregnant. It will significantly change the treatment regimen to ensure the safety of yourself and your child.

How is chiropractic care beneficial to me?
Your body changes immensely as it adapts to nurture the growing life inside of you. Your body will gain natural weight as it accommodates your child during the course of 9 months, causing shifts in the lower spine, leading to subluxations, also known as misalignments, that cause pinched nerves. These pinched nerves lead to some of the common, negative side effects of pregnancy including nausea, dizziness, back and neck pains and even morning sickness.

Spinal manipulation targets the subluxations and relieves the stress on the nerves, which in turn ease or eliminate them, making for a smoother, less painful pregnancy.

This is especially true during the last few months of pregnancy — your new belly will affect the way you walk and carry yourself. This leads to poor posture, which intensifies any back pain you may experience. Periodic chiropractic visits will alleviate back and neck pains that you’re currently experiencing, as well as prevent it in the future.

How will it affect my baby?
Spinal manipulation and massage therapy go a long way toward helping your child. It doesn’t necessarily affect them directly, but rather indirectly via you, the mother. Your health and wellbeing is crucial to your child’s healthy development.

Chiropractic care improves the mother’s immune system, which is connected with the developing fetus’ immune system, strengthening both at the same time. Additionally, maintaining spinal and pelvic integrity will ensure that the fetus has room to develop and avoid improper birth positioning (breech, posterior position, etc.). This will ensure a shorter labor when the time comes and it will minimize the risk of needing a C-section birth.

Is it worth continuing treatment post-birth?
Of course! After birth, your body doesn’t just wash its hands of the whole experience and say, “well, I’m done now!” It needs time to heal. Chiropractic care is highly useful as your body returns to its normal self after you’ve given birth. On top of that, it will relieve stress, aches and pains that your brand new bundle of joy may help induce.

​Chiropractic care is beneficial to everybody in every stage of life. If you want to improve your well-being, schedule an initial consultation today.