Chiropractic and Pregnancy

Pregnancy, along with a healthy glow and thick hair, often comes with musculoskeletal pain. Approximately 50% of all pregnant women experience back pain during their pregnancy, however only 21% seek help. (Boorgen, 2007). Traditionally this is often thought to be a part of pregnancy, but can chiropractic care help alleviate these symptoms? And, more importantly can it be beneficial to mother and baby?

Personally, I have birthed two children under chiropractic care, and in my own personal experience I had little to no back or pelvic pain during both pregnancies and had, in general terms, easy labours and recovery. But, can I attribute this to my chiropractic care? What does the literature say?….

What causes back and pelvic pain during pregnancy?

Back pain during pregnancy is caused by the structural adaptation of the body during gestation to accommodate the foetus (Diakov, 1991). In a perfect situation the body has full access to all the range of motion within all the joints of the body, so a woman’s body can create space for the foetus too grow in a safe and “spacious” environment and she can remain mobile and healthy all the way through to birth of the baby. However, in our modern age of excessive sitting and sedentary lifestyles, very often the range of motion of the body, in particular the lower back and pelvis, are suboptimal and restricted in their motion due to being out of place. This leads to poor adaptability of the mothers body to the change the centre of gravity to facilitate a growing foetus, which then causes suboptimal distribution of loads through the pelvic and lumbar structures, and can also affect the neck and shoulders. This can lead to a range of ailments from very uncomfortable to excruciating pain.

How can Chiropractic help?

The studies and literature surrounding pregnancy and chiropractic is growing and more research is being undertaken on the affects upon both mother and child.

For the baby…

In a nutshell chiropractic treatment, by properly aligning the expectant mother’s body, may allow for more efficient carrying of the baby. When the body is stuck forward, the entire abdomen becomes compressed, which can compress the baby causing intrauterine restraint (when the baby does not have the space to move freely). Proper alignment may reduce intrauterine restraint and allow the baby to grow in a spacious environment. This can be important in preventing breech presentations (Pistolese, 2002).

A proper alignment can also provide the mothers organs with more room to function properly allowing an increase in blood flow and oxygen throughout the body; specifically to the growing baby. Compression of the digestive organs can prevent the proper digestion of food potentially leaving toxins in the mother’s body, which may adversely affect the baby.

For the mother…

Pain in pregnancy can range from mild ache to dehabilitating pain, it can be felt in the back, pelvis, shoulders, neck and even in the form of headaches. Many studies link chiropractic care to relief from aches and pains during pregnancy.  A proper alignment achieved under chiropractic care can allow the body to be adaptable to a growing baby, but more importantly to be stable. A proper alignment can allow the bones and joints to have equal weight distribution reducing aches, pains and tension felt throughout the body.

Most importantly a proper alignment of the pelvis can allow for an unrestricted birthing process allowing it to expand, and may reduce the need for medical interventions (King, 2003).

Through having an aligned and stable body an expectant mother can keep up their normal routines of sport and exercise. Exercise during pregnancy has been linked to shorter and easier labours (decreased by an average of 2 hours), fewer medical interventions (24% less cesarean deliveries and 14% reduction of forceps) and a faster post partum recovery (Anderson, 2004).

What about postpartum recovery for mother and baby?

The birthing process, although natural, can be traumatic to an infant spine. Interventions such as forceps, ventouse and cesarean delivery can cause further trauma (Howe, 1993). Trauma to an infant spine may affect physical development of not having proper movement within affected bones and joints.

Undertaking chiropractic care as part of pregnancy may provide an easier recovery post partum, including aiding the physiological changes as the body begins to return to pre-pregnancy and be beneficial in restoring proper spinal biomechanics (Chalker, 1993).

From personal experience, having chiropractic care past partum, resulted in a smooth recovery, with resuming normal sport and exercise activities eagerly after 6 weeks. I found that breastfeeding was the main cause of my pain post-partum, with sitting in a hunched over position for, what felt like, hours on end. I got regular adjustments to help ease the back and shoulder pain and spoke to my Practitioner to learn how to best position my baby and myself to cause the less stress and strain to my body.

If you are pregnant, planning a pregnancy or are struggling postpartum chat to one of our practitioners.

References

Further Reading