I’ve had a lot of patients ask me about chiropractic care during pregnancy. The three biggest concerns on people’s minds are:
● hormones, what the hell happens to my hormones during pregnancy and how does this affect my body
● The change of load and caring above, and how this creates pain in the hips and pelvis.
● How to keep my body natural and healthy without taking any drugs or medications during pregnancy. What can I do for pain relief?

I’ve put together over the years seven things that really blow people’s minds when they hear it for the first time about chiropractic care when it comes to looking after pregnant mothers. And it all starts from the beginning. It’s such a magical and exciting time starting a family, whether it’s your first pregnancy, or you’ve done it a few times already, it’s really important to us that we keep you safe and healthy throughout this time. So here are seven tips.

The first fact is people under chiropractic care have 50% Less back pain during pregnancy, which is phenomenal. Especially considering that there are no drugs or medications that put this down. Chiropractic is a safe and natural healthcare strategy to keep your body healthy and stop those aches and pains during pregnancy.

The second myth is that during labour, it skyrockets to up to 75% Less incidence of back pain when someone experiences chiropractic care throughout their pregnancy. The fact that you can just come in, and receive adjustments so that we can help your body thrive, reduces the amount of pain that you might experience during labour. And that’s really important to us. We’ll link the research articles below. Because it’s really important to us that we keep you healthy, and safe in a natural way.

So the third thing that happens all the time, and we get asked about it heaps is that when the changes go on in your body, it doesn’t just occur in the womb and belly area. These altered patterns happen all the way through the body. A lot of people come in and ask about tightness at the base of the skull and stiff shoulders. Could this be related to my pregnancy, and it sure can, as the weight of your midsection starts to increase, this creates a curve in the spine. What happens to counteract that balance is that our shoulders shift backwards and the head shifts forward. This creates irritation at the base of the skull, we can safely manage this by some gentle chiropractic techniques, and also specific stretches and exercises that you can do at home to alleviate and reduce the symptoms so that we keep you upright and we keep your body functioning at its best.

When pregnancy happens, different hormones are activated inside your body. The process of forming a human is happening, and it’s important that these stay in balance so that your baby develops properly.

The third trimester is when we get a lot of questions about the aches and pains mums are feeling. They are, after all, quite pronounced at this stage. What can be done?

Relaxin is the hormone to blame. It gets the body ready for the birthing process. It warms up the body’s ligaments and muscles, so the birthing process is safe and natural, essentially getting your body ready.

Chiropractic care can also help prepare your body naturally for childbirth. By taking advantage of such care during pregnancy, we can help your body ready up for the process by helping it release the right chemicals that will make the process as easy as possible. We do this by focusing on the nervous system which controls…….. yes that’s right! All the functions in the body and sends messages to and from the brain.

With our care, relaxin will be at its optimal levels for your baby’s birth: it’s just one of many chiro and pregnancy benefits!

The number five tip is interesting and it is something that I hear pregnant patients complain about cramps or restless legs. Now, what I want to tell you is it is not normal to experience cramps or restless legs. There are a few key reasons why this might occur. The first is that the muscle is not getting the energy and nutrients that it needs. This can create tension in muscles because it requires energy to relax, and if there’s no energy left, if the chemical balances out of whack, that creates cramps.

Restless legs gets in the way of sleep, and your body will not heal and promote growth very well. So what do we have to do? Well, cramps can be affected by body chemistry and what is really important is high-quality pure magnesium. This will help reduce those cramps settle the restless legs and ensure that all your body’s processes are going well now that your chemistry is again balanced.

The sixth tip will really surprise you and this one is great. The research shows that women under chiropractic care during pregnancy actually have decreased labour time, I know read that again! So the time that they are actually in labour drops. I think that every single mother that I talked to said if they had the choice of shorter labour or a longer one, I know which one they choose. It is super exciting that just receiving gentle and safe chiropractic care, this can give you a safer, easier and shorter labour so that we can make sure that you and your family stay healthy. And make sure that your newborn thrives, especially in those early vital times.

The last and seventh point is about the pelvic floor. Now during pregnancy, this is a hot topic and it becomes even more prevalent after the pregnancy. This is when the pelvic floor really needs to be restabilised and repaired.. That’s where chiropractic actually plays a huge role because it has actually been shown to increase pelvic floor activation. This is really important to get you back to doing what you love, and spending time with your newborn baby and your family because it’s such a magical time. And we want you to be safe and healthy throughout your pregnancy and postpartum, So by receiving some gentle adjustments, and aligning your pelvis to decrease any irritation on your nervous system and balance your muscles, it’s really vital to stir up that pelvic floor, activate it so that we can support your healing postpartum.