Perinatal Care
Prenatal and Pregnancy Chiropractor in Acton, MA
Your Perinatal Care Specialists
Around pregnancy, many women experience challenges due to hormone changes, rapid development, laxity of connective ligaments, and shifts in weight-bearing structures. Any distortions in the anatomical structures of the pelvis may make the birthing process more difficult. The doctors at Community Chiropractic of Acton offer gentle soft tissue techniques to help reduce myofascial restrictions and distortions within the pelvis, often providing greater comfort for mom, as well as creating an ideal in utero environment for the baby.
Chiropractic Care near Acton, MA for Every Stage of Pregnancy and Beyond
Prenatal Care
Gentle and safe chiropractic care for pregnant moms including Webster technique for breech babies.
Postpartum Care
Gentle chiropractic care can help ease many aspects of the healing process after childbirth.
Pre-pregnancy Chiropractic Care
Our prenatal chiropractors care for women in the pre-pregnancy phase of care. Pre-conception chiropractic care may help women prepare their bodies for pregnancy. Adjustments can regulate the nervous system, which may affect menstrual cycles and optimum uterine function. Chiropractic care aligns the spine and pelvis so that the body is better able to carry a baby to term and without many of the back complaints and joint discomfort that some women experience when pregnant and may make labor and delivery easier.
In our chiropractic office in Acton, we have seen many women who were struggling to conceive get pregnant after regular chiropractic care. Relieving pressure on the nervous system through chiropractic adjustments can help regulate a woman’s hormones and menstrual cycles so the reproductive system works more optimally. Here are some links to just a few of the studies on chiropractic and infertility.
Patients have reported that restoring better nerve function helped them with:
- fertility
- mood issues
- headaches
- overall tension
- sleep challenges
Pregnancy Chiropractic Care
We provide extraordinarily gentle and safe chiropractic care for pregnant moms. We have a special cushion that allows patients to be face down and we do a thorough evaluation of the spine and create more balance and ease to allow for the most comfort for moms and the best in utero experience for the baby. As we teach our patients, the pelvis position ends up creating the “walls” of your baby’s home and if the walls are not even, it can create challenges for developing babies and also for the birth process.
Chiropractic is a system of optimizing human performance and potential by restoring or enhancing the body’s function. Chiropractors work by enhancing the body’s innate ability to integrate structural, emotional, and physiological changes so that it can function the way it was designed to. They work with the nervous system, the communication between the brain and the body, primarily focusing on the cranium, spine, and pelvis, because this is where the nervous system is housed. When there are misalignments (subluxations) of these structures, imbalances, miscommunication, and stress occur in surrounding muscles, ligaments and organs. Due to the rapid change in a woman’s anatomy and physiology while pregnant, chiropractic care is vital to mother and baby’s health, enhancing that ability to adapt and function.
The benefits of chiropractic care extend beyond the mother. The infant experiences numerous benefits as well while in-utero such as
- Better development due to reduction of interference to the mother’s nervous system
- Greater room to grow without skeletal restrictions because of pelvic balance
- Optimum space to move in the best possible position for birth.
Women who receive chiropractic care during their pregnancy have been shown to have improvements in the following symptoms and discomforts
- Rib cage pain
- Low back pain
- Pelvic girdle pain and discomfort
- Wrist pain & carpal tunnel syndrome
- Sciatica
Additionally, chiropractic care during pregnancy can have the following potential benefits for the expecting mother:
- Reduced labor time
- Webster Technique & Pelvic Balancing – helpful for Breech Presentations
- Successful VBAC’s (vaginal birth after cesarean)
- Reduction in obstetric intervention
- Greater overall comfort throughout pregnancy
- Decrease in back labor as well as preterm delivery
- Resolution of breech presentation through the maintenance of pelvic balance
- Faster postpartum recovery
Chiropractic Care to Relieve Back Pain for Pregnant Moms
Researchers recruited 115 pregnant women who were (1) experiencing pain in their back or pelvic region, (2) had not engaged in chiropractic care during the previous three months, and (3) were not restricted from participation. Each woman then was given chiropractic care, with the frequency of visits and methods of manipulation solely determined based on the preference of the chiropractor for that particular expecting mother. Data was collected at one week, one month, three months, six months, and one year past the initial chiropractic visit to determine what improvement, if any, the women noticed in regard to their back pain. What they discovered is that the level of improvement in pain increased the more time went on.
For example, when asked one week into the treatment sessions whether or not the women noticed a reduction in their level of pain, 52 percent said yes. That amount increased to 70 percent one month into treatment, then to 85 percent being happy with the results after just three months of chiropractic care. At the six month mark, 90 percent said that they noticed reduced pain in their back region, and the benefits continued with 88 percent reporting positive effects one year after the initial chiropractic treatment session.
If you’re expecting and you have back pain, natural chiropractic care can help ease your symptoms.
Chiropractic Care for Breech Baby Presentation
The Webster’s Technique, developed by Dr. Larry Webster, founder of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, is a gentle and specific chiropractic analysis of the pelvis/sacrum with the goal of reducing the effects of bio-neurological dysfunction. In doing so, neuro-biomechanical function in the pelvis is facilitated, which allows for space for the baby to not only grow, but move into the optimum position for birth. The doctors at Community Chiropractic of Acton are certified in Webster Technique.
What happens when aberrant biomechanics exist in the pelvis and sacrum due to interference from the nervous system? Misalignment in the sacrum, the big triangular bone at the base of your spine, caused not only from a growing belly, but also from a lifetime of stress and trauma, decreases the diameter of the pelvis. Additionally, according to William’s Obstetrics, “any contraction of the pelvic diameters that diminishes the capacity of the pelvis can create dystocia (difficulty) during labor.” When a sacrum is displaced, it creates stress and tension in the ligaments surrounding the uterus and the ones connecting the uterus to the sacrum, which then creates a less than optimum environment for the developing fetus. It has been hypothesized that “a rotational subluxation of the sacrum may result in a tightening and torsion of the utero-sacral ligament contributing to aberrant tension in the uterus affecting labor progression, optimal fetal positioning, and natural, non-invasive birth outcome.” (Jeanne Ohm) Many chiropractic research studies have been done that show the progression of and reduction in labor time, optimum fetal position and increase in natural, non-invasive childbirth following chiropractic care.
Many women in their third trimester seek the care of a chiropractor certified in the Webster Technique if their baby is in a breech presentation. Often these women are also experiencing other symptoms including but not limited to sciatica, low back pain, and an overall discomfort. It is important to note that chiropractors that utilize The Webster Technique are not turning babies. That is the job of obstetricians. Instead, chiropractors are restoring biomechanical and neurological function, which allows a pregnant woman’s body to do what it is supposed to do in order for the baby to innately turn vertex (head down).
Your body is not going to produce a baby that is too big for you! A woman’s body is designed to give birth. Pregnancy and birth are a natural process. Chiropractic care supports this process, not only in the third trimester but throughout the entire pregnancy.
Chiropractic Care Can Help with Dystocia
Dystocia is defined as difficult or abnormal progress in labor. One of the primary causes of dystocia is biomechanical and physiological in nature. According to William’s Obstetrics, this includes interference to the nervous system, misalignment of the pelvis, and tension or torsion of the specific pelvic and uterine muscles and ligaments. Specific chiropractic adjustments address each of these causes and can be an integral part of a pregnant woman’s care in optimizing her pregnancy and birth experience.
Postpartum Chiropractic Care
Our new mothers are so grateful for the gentle care we provide post birth. Postpartum chiropractic care can help them during their recovery process by supporting a new mother during many of the changes her body will undergo. Chiropractic care can help a new mother heal quicker, feel more comfortable and mobile so she can best care for herself and her baby during this new phase.
Many of our new mothers have had help with:
- Hip Pain
- Chest Pain Due to Pectoralis Adhesions
- Lymph and Scar Tissue/Incision Sites from C-Sections
- Painful nursing, latching issues.
- Pubic Symphysis Pain
- Pelvic Girdle Pain & Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
- Shoulder, Forearm & Wrist Pain ("Adoring Mother Syndrome")
- Abdominal Muscle Separation (Diastasis Recti)
Resources
1. Borggren CL, Pregnancy and chiropractic: a narrative review of the literature. J Chiropr Med 2007; 6(2):70-74.
2. Cunningham FG, et al. Dystocia due to pelvic contraction. Williams Obstetrics. 19th ed. 1989.
3. Ohm J. The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association: Perinatal Care manual.
4. Ohm J, The Webster Technique in pregnancy for safer, easier births. The American Chiropractor Magazine 2005 Mar 15; 1-2
5. Ohm J. About the Webster Technique. 2011 [cited 2013 Feb 15]. http://icpa4kids.com/about/webster_technique.htm