Pregnancy puts a lot of stress on a woman’s body. Many women seek chiropractic care to help make their pregnancy more comfortable. As the body prepares for labor and delivery, it produces a hormone that loosens joints and ligaments. This can impact stability and lead to back pain. Regular Chiropractor in Frisco TX can ease this pain and reestablish balance. It can also help turn breech babies and facilitate a non-invasive, natural birth.

Improved Posture
Seeing a chiropractor regularly throughout your pregnancy will help you maintain healthy posture and ease the pressure on your back and spine joints as your belly grows. This is a great way to prevent pain and discomfort associated with posture change, sciatic nerve pressure, insomnia, acid reflux, and swelling in the hands and feet. In addition, chiropractic treatments stimulate endorphins in the body which have been shown to improve mood and reduce stress.
As you get closer to your delivery date your body produces the hormone relaxin, which can loosen the ligaments and joints in the pelvic area. This can cause your back to shift and throw your balance off, causing more pain and complications. A chiropractor is trained to work with pregnant women and can use the Webster technique, which helps to rebalance the spine and pelvis, alleviate back pain, and prepare for labor and delivery.
Regular chiropractic care during pregnancy also enables the baby to remain in an optimal head first position for delivery. When a baby is not delivered in this head first position, it can lead to complications including a difficult vaginal delivery and cord prolapse. In addition, a baby in breech position limits your ability to have a non-invasive natural birth and may require a C-section. Pregnancy chiropractic can help to turn breech babies and facilitate a healthy and natural childbirth.
A longer labor and delivery is more likely to result in complications and pain. Getting regular chiropractic adjustments throughout your pregnancy will ensure that your spine, hips, and pelvis are properly aligned to help minimize the pain and length of your labor. Additionally, proper spinal alignment impacts the nervous system, a major factor in contractions and cervical dilation during labor and delivery. Your chiropractor will assess your condition and medical history and provide a treatment plan that may include other modalities that are considered safe for pregnancy. You will have a chance to review the plan and ask any questions that you have.
Minimized Morning Sickness
Pregnancy is a great time, but it can also be physically demanding. A growing belly can throw off a woman’s posture, and hormonal shifts can cause pain in the back, hips and joints. A chiropractor specializing in pregnancy care can help a woman manage the physical stresses of pregnancy while also preparing her body for labor and delivery.
Morning sickness is a common condition that can disrupt the normal functioning of a woman’s digestive system. This is because the hormones that trigger nausea obstruct nerve pathways to the gastrointestinal tract. Regular chiropractic treatments can reduce the severity of this condition by relieving tension in the spinal area and boosting nervous system function. As a result, many women find that their nausea symptoms are significantly reduced as a result of receiving chiropractic care.
During the second trimester, as the fetus grows, it causes the uterus to expand and put pressure on the spine. This can lead to the lumbar curvature to increase to compensate, which may cause low back pain and other aches. A chiropractor specializing in pregnancy can provide chiropractic adjustments that relieve this pressure and keep the lumbar curve in alignment, allowing for optimal functioning of the nervous and musculoskeletal systems.
As the pregnancy progresses, the fetus can become stuck in a breech position. This is a problem because it can create complications during the birthing process and may lead to a Cesarean section. Regular chiropractic treatment can improve pelvic balance and help a breech baby flip into the head down position for birthing.
The Webster technique is an approach to pelvic alignment that a trained chiropractor can use to help a breech baby turn. This technique involves opening up the space in the pelvis to allow the fetus room to move into the proper head-down position for delivery. Studies show that a woman who receives regular chiropractic care in her third trimester has a 24 percent lower risk of having to deliver via C-section. This is due to the fact that a properly aligned pelvis can better handle the stress of labour and delivery.
Better Birthing Position
Most pregnant women hope for a short labor and delivery process, without pain or complications. Chiropractic can help make this happen by keeping the spine and pelvis in balance, so that nerves are working properly to initiate contractions and open the cervix. This also helps baby move into an optimal position for delivery.
When the spine and hips are aligned correctly, there is ample space for baby to get into a head first birthing position. This reduces the risk of a breech delivery, which can lead to an emergency C-section and complications that interfere with a non-invasive, natural birth.
Unfortunately, many physicians and midwives are only trained to deliver in the traditional back-lying supine position. They may not recognize that upright positions like squatting, hands-and-knees, and standing offer better chances for a natural birth, and they may be reluctant to encourage these positions because they can be more difficult for the mother to assume.
Fortunately, chiropractors are trained in the delivery of babies in all positions. They can work with your doctor and other healthcare providers to ensure that you can safely assume these positions during labor and delivery. For instance, they can help you stand up or squat during labor, so that gravity’s forces are working for you instead of against you (which is what happens when you lay on your back).
Another important pregnancy chiropractic tool is called the Webster Technique, which was developed specifically for expectant mothers. It is designed to prevent a condition called intrauterine constraint, which restricts the movement of the baby and prevents it from getting into an optimal head-first delivery position. It is a specific treatment that involves gentle massage of the sacrum, or large bone at the base of the spine, and may include some adjustments to release tension along the round ligament in the center of the pelvis. One study in the July/August 2002 edition of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found that 82% of breech babies turned vertex using this method.
Even if you haven’t seen a chiropractor for the majority of your pregnancy, it’s never too late to request an assessment. In fact, if your baby is still in the breech position as your due date approaches, it’s especially important to seek a Webster-certified chiropractor for treatment. Ask your healthcare provider, birthing professionals, or friends and family for a recommendation.
Reduced Pain
Pregnancy Chiropractic is a safe and effective treatment to ease the discomfort of pregnancy. It’s also a non-drug alternative to narcotics for pain management. In fact, one study published in The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found that pregnant women receiving chiropractic care experienced significantly less back pain than those who did not receive chiropractic treatment.
Regular adjustments ensure proper alignment through the spine and pelvis, optimizing the position of mom and baby for delivery. This reduces labor pains, the need for narcotics and helps to shorten labor. In addition, chiropractic can help alleviate symptoms of uterine pressure on the sciatic nerve, which is common in the latter stages of pregnancy.
Many women experience back and hip pain in late pregnancy as the center of gravity shifts to accommodate the growing baby. Chiropractic can help ease this pain by reducing pressure on the spine and pelvis, alleviating pressure on key joints such as the hips and lower back.
Additionally, chiropractic can help to alleviate nausea and vomiting associated with morning sickness in some women, and may reduce the frequency of Braxton Hicks contractions (false labor pains). In some cases, a chiropractor trained in the Webster Technique, a specific method for assessing and treating sacral and pelvic misalignment, has been shown to be effective in turning breech babies during delivery.
Regardless of the reasons for seeking chiropractic, it’s always best to visit a certified practitioner that is familiar with the unique needs of pregnant patients. Ideally, your chiropractor should be certified in prenatal chiropractic and have a strong working relationship with your OB-GYN. As a general rule, chiropractors recommend that you start treatment early on in your pregnancy and continue it regularly throughout your pregnancy. Generally, it’s not uncommon for a mother-to-be to see her chiropractor once per month during the first trimester and then every two or three weeks until the last trimester when visits will increase in frequency as the delivery date nears. Some expectant mothers-to-be will even schedule weekly chiropractic sessions until the birth. This allows the body to be prepared for a smooth, efficient birth with minimal interventions.