Not Just an Adjustment :: What a Prenatal Chiropractor Brings to the Table

Thank you to Dr. Rachel Viner for sponsoring this post and providing chiropractic care for Wichita mamas!

Many pregnant women turn to chiropractic care for their aches and pains during pregnancy. However, should you go to just any chiropractor during pregnancy? Dr. Rachel Viner, D.C., a certified prenatal and pediatric chiropractor, discusses the added level of benefit her training provides for new moms and their little ones.

Aching back, aching knees, round ligament pain, sacral pressure, and sore hips that keep you up half the night. These are all-too-common complaints of pregnant women, and you might be willing to try almost anything to get relief! Chiropractic care has been proven to reduce the severity of these pregnancy discomforts, so you make an appointment with your old provider from your sports days or walk in to an office with lots of signs out on the street. Perhaps you ask a friend where they go to get adjusted and make an appointment?

However, is this the best plan for your pregnancy? Here are five reasons why you should consider visiting a chiropractor who specializes in pregnancy and babies.

Specialized training for your specific stage of life.

The pregnant body is amazing: in just nine short months, it goes through an unbelievable amount of change! Your balance, your center of gravity, your weight, your blood volume, your shape, and so many other parts of you are undergoing a transformational phase. There’s a lot in this stage of life that is different from your norm. You go to an OB-GYN for medical care during pregnancy, and your chiropractor should also have the specific education and training for pregnancy-related needs. Your prenatal chiropractor will be able to listen to your symptoms and determine how to best support you with your pregnancy-related troubles.

You will be much more comfortable during treatment.

A prenatal chiropractor will have both skills and equipment to help position you for the treatment in a way that is safe and comfortable for you and your baby. Even if you are 40 weeks pregnant, you can still lie face down safely on a prenatal chiropractor’s drop-down table with pillow positioners. The prenatal chiropractor knows many safe and effective techniques for a variety of adjustments without putting undue pressure on your tummy.

You may be able to have a shorter, easier labor.

Regular chiropractic care during pregnancy with a skilled practitioner can keep your body – especially your pelvis – in alignment when it comes time to deliver your baby. When your baby is not restricted from moving freely in the womb, they are able to more easily position themselves for birth – potentially reducing or eliminating some of the hard work you have to go through! Prenatal chiropractic adjustments may also help keep your baby from getting “stuck” in a posterior position which causes painful contractions in your back rather than in your abdomen. Oftentimes, it is a positioning issue with the baby which causes a longer or more painful labor which requires more medical interventions.

You may be able to avoid a Cesarean section for breech delivery.

Toward the end of pregnancy, your baby should flip over into a head-down position to prepare for labor. However, in about 4% of pregnancies, the baby remains in a head-up, or “breech” position! Many babies stubbornly sticking to the breech position are delivered by Cesarean section. But did you know that a prenatal chiropractor certified in the Webster Technique may be able to help you avoid a surgical delivery for a breech baby? The Webster Technique is a special chiropractic adjustment for pregnant women which establishes pelvic balance so that the baby’s movement is less restricted. In 2002, the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics reported an 82% success rate of breech babies turning head-up after a Webster Technique treatment by a prenatal chiropractor.

You can bring your baby in, too!

Your prenatal chiropractor can not only see you, but also your baby and your entire family. Your baby has spent their whole life so far folded into a little ball inside of you – can you imagine the crick you’d have in your neck after nine months? Problems such as breastfeeding troubles, fussiness, colic, ear infections, sleeplessness, constipation, and many other “baby issues” may be alleviated by a gentle adjustment from your prenatal chiropractor.

Chiropractic care during pregnancy is safe, gentle, and very effective. When considering a chiropractor to serve you through pregnancy, choose one who is a member of the ICPA, certified in the Webster Technique, and holds special interest and education in meeting the unique needs of a very special population: pregnant women and babies.

This blog post was written to serve as guidance on maintaining a healthy pregnancy and should not be taken as concrete medical advice, nor do the views above reflect the views of Heartland Women’s Group or HCA. As with any medical questions or concerns, please make an appointment with your physician to discuss your own personal situation and treatment options.

Dr. Rachel Viner is a prenatal and pediatric chiropractor serving the Wichita and Andover, Kansas area. When she personally experienced a difficult pregnancy and newborn period that was significantly improved with chiropractic care, she knew that she was meant to dedicate her life to helping other moms and babies through her work as a chiropractor. After three years in business, she finally opened her own practice: Family First Chiropractic. Dr. Rachel’s office is located inside Sami Halaseh, in Andover, Kansas.

 

Wichita Mom
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