Is it safe to see a Chiropractor if you are pregnant?
The short answer is:
Yes!
The long answer is:
Of course it is!
The chiropractors at Dulwich Hill Chiropractic & Therapeutic Centre have been treating pregnant women ever since we opened and we continue to do so with the pregnant women percentage of our client base increasing year by year.
The reason I bring up this topic in this blog is to address a question from one of clients who is pregnant and comes in for massage.
She had seen the chiropractor in the past but was hesitant to keep coming when she fell pregnant.
Here are just 3 benefits an expecting mother receives when she sees a chiropractor:
1. Pelvic alignment: Pressure from the growth of your baby can cause the muscles around the pelvis to pull in different directions causing it to misalign. This can lead to lower back pain, hip pain, shooting pain down your leg, and muscle cramping. Aligning the pelvis helps to reduce this.
Aligning the pelvis is also recommended to help women achieve a more comfortable natural birth as it creates a better passage for the baby to pass through.
2. Reducing Back Pain: As your baby grows the curve in your lumbar spine increases to prepare for birth. Back pain can occur as part of the radical change in your body. The chiropractor helps to reduce pressure in the area which relieves tension build up.
3. Symptomatic relief: As an expecting mother goes through the trimesters they produce a hormone called relaxin which helps/prepares the body for the birthing process. As this occurs you are prone to symptoms of sciatica & carpal tunnel for instance. Chiropractic helps relieve those symptoms through the treatment.
These may be benefits but is this safe for the mother and their baby?
Chiropractors are trained and fully equipped to deal with pregnant women. All techniques are modified to cater for their circumstance to ensure the highest degree of safety for the mother and baby.
Chiropractic is listed as a recommendation on many mother and baby websites and we frequently get referrals from doctors to treat their patients.
Like all modalities there are certain exercises and treatments a health professional avoids when caring for an expecting mother and chiropractic is no different.
Chiropractic is a Natural Health Care modality. This means treatments do not consist of anything unnatural going into the body or performed on the body. So it may be safer to receive care from a chiropractor as opposed to medication.
So what to do from here?
If you are pregnant, book in for a chiropractic consultation.
Why?
To receive the benefits that are on offer!
Looking forward to seeing you soon!
