Pregnancy can be a very uncomfortable experience for many women. You might experience hormonal fluctuations, food cravings, difficulty sleeping, body aches and morning sickness just to name a few things.
As a pregnant woman your body goes through major changes while you are pregnant. Your belly expands as baby grows and develops inside the womb. While your belly is expanding, your internal organs shift and move and frequently your spinal and pelvic alignment will be thrown off causing misalignment, this can be uncomfortable or even painful.
When you are pregnant you body’s levels of relaxin go through the roof. Relaxin helps to loosen ligaments to help make room for a growing baby and an expanding uterus. However, relaxin can also cause problems, making pelvic bones very unstable and potentially causing a misalignment of the pelvis. Your pelvis is made up of six bones, three on each side: the ilium on the front, back, and side, the pubis in the lower front, and the ischium on the bottom. Your sacrum is also in this area along with an elaborate network of ligaments, tendons, muscles, and nerves which are all attached and intertwined within this area. A misalignment can be very painful and can lead to complications in labour and birth, one of these complications is baby being in a breech position late in the pregnancy.
Visiting a chiropractor can be very beneficial as a pregnant woman. When your pelvis and sacrum are properly aligned it helps the muscles in that area stay relaxed which allows the nerves within the pelvic area to transmit important messages without interference.
The Webster Technique is a chiropractic technique that balances the pelvis and reduces stress to the ligaments (in particular the round ligaments) that help to support the uterus. Dr. Webster developed this technique when watching his own daughter suffer through a long, painful labor with a baby in the breech position.
The round ligaments hold your uterus in suspension within your abdomen. As baby and belly grow, the round ligaments can become thin and tight causing sharp pains and limiting the amount of room that baby has to shift around in your womb. Limiting movement frequently causes baby to stay in breech position after 37 weeks. The Webster Technique focuses on loosening the round ligaments, allowing for baby to move within the womb so that baby may get into an optimal birthing position.
I am currently 34 weeks pregnant and decided to start seeing Dr. Kelly Norman, a chiropractor that uses the Webster Technique. My baby is currently head down, but I would like to prepare my body for birth as much as possible. During my initial consultation my Dr. Norman had me do some range of motion tests and she tested my reflexes. Dr. Norman then determined that I had some slight misalignments that could be easily fixed with some minor adjustments. I laid down on the treatment table and quickly and painlessly received my adjustment. I will be going back once a week until I am 36 weeks and then tapering off my visits in the few weeks before my due date.
Little Lotus Founder & President Amanda DeGrace came to Dr. Norman’s clinic when expecting her second baby. Amanda discovered that her little baby girl was breech at 25 weeks and knew that there was still lots of time for her to turn into a more optimal birthing position. Amanda wanted to ensure she created a welcoming environment within her body for baby to be able to turn should it be safe for her to do so. After spending a few weeks utilizing Spinning Babies and yoga postures helpful for turning Amanda decided to add in chiropractor care with Dr. Norman. Dr. Norman is extremely well versed in the Webster Technique, and immediately found that Amanda’s pelvis was misaligned. After only 3 treatments and with Amanda continuing with her yoga and spinning babies movements she came home to rest and saw (and felt!!!) her baby girl turn. After successfully creating an aligned and open space for her daughter Amanda then continued to practice specific yoga postures to encourage her baby to stay in a head down position and her pelvis properly aligned.
If you are pregnant, seeing a chiropractor that uses the Webster Technique can be very beneficial to help prepare your body for labour and birth.
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