Pregnancy, Post-Partum, and Fertility
Fertility, Preconception, and Pregnancy Care
Have you ever considered preparing your body for a child before pregnancy? Chiropractic adjustments prior to conception prepares your body to be strong, efficient and balanced for a healthy pregnancy.
At Root & Bloom Chiropractic, we are committed to helping women who are willing to make a change but have found no real solution. Using advanced technology, we measure where stress is affecting the Nervous System, allowing us to be highly specific in the chiropractic care.
The Nervous System is your body’s stress response system. Therefore, if your body perceives that its continuously stressed, the Nervous System will prioritize survival functions – such as pushing blood to your muscles, increasing your heartrate and blood pressure and releasing stress hormones such as cortisol. Physiologically, the human body cannot be in a survival or “fight or flight” mode simultaneously with a growth and development mode. This leads to a lessening of the systems in the body that are not necessary when a perceived “threat” occurs. This leads to a disruption of proper hormone regulation, ovulation and even reproductive function.
By reducing this stress with chiropractic care and our preconception essentials, the surge of stress hormones is reduced and allows the body to restore its normal balance leading to an internal environment optimal for reproductive function. During our preconception nutrition consultation, we discuss ways in which you and your partner can optimize your health to ensure that your pregnancy has the best chance of success.
Planning for Childbirth
Proper alignment of the spine and pelvis is essential for pregnancy, especially for women wanting a VBAC.
Using the Webster Technique - a specific chiropractic analysis and adjustment specifically for pregnant women - proper alignment of spine and pelvis is restored which allows for optimal outcomes when preparing for a VBAC. The goal of the adjustment with the Webster Technique that helps to ensure the pelvis and surrounding structures are properly supporting the growth and development of the baby. Many studies have found that women with a balanced pelvis are more likely to have their babies move into the correct birthing position prior to labor, which makes it easier for the baby to pass through the birth canal.
New Mother, New Baby
The birth process is powerful and incredible, but it is also an intense experience for moms that causes stress and discomfort that can last well after the baby arrives. Additionally, the birth process requires quite a bit of rotation and pressure to the baby’s head and neck, making it equally important for both mom and baby to seek out chiropractic during the postpartum period.
A woman’s body goes through tremendous changes during pregnancy, from widening hips and additional weight to a postural shift of the center of gravity and hormonal changes. This is in addition to the extra energy needed to grow a baby! Because of all these components, it takes time and help for mom’s body to reach its full potential again after having the baby. Many women complain of their hip, back, pelvic, or wrist pain actually increasing instead of subsiding postpartum. This is often due to continued presence of the hormone relaxin causing joints to be more pliable, in addition to the more postural changes that occur postpartum. There is likely to be more stress and strain in the upper back and neck when you spend a majority of your time holding your baby, breastfeeding and/or feeding your baby. Chiropractic care will help you stay as comfortable as possible during this time.
Trauma and loss
Regardless of how your baby was born, he or she may develop stress on his/her Nervous System. Getting your infant checked by a pediatric chiropractor is a great and gentle way to ensure your newborn will grow, develop, and thrive from the start.
Every contraction during the birth process puts a lot of pressure on the baby’s head and neck. This stress may cause symptoms, even in newborns. Colic, reflux, ear infections, plagiocephaly, torticollis, low muscle tone and breastfeeding challenges are all signs that your newborn has stress on their Nervous System. Through gentle and specific chiropractic care, the stress is eliminated which leads to a decrease in these symptoms.
Chiropractic Benefits Prior to Pregnancy
- Ensures proper nerve supply to the reproductive organs
- May help optimize uterine function
- Prepares body for healthy implantation
- Promotes regular menstrual cycles
Chiropractic Benefits During Pregnancy
- Decreased labor times
- Fewer interventions
- Greater comfort for mom and baby
- Pelvic alignment and balance
- Improved energy levels
- Promotion of optimal fetal position
- Relief of pain
Chiropractic Benefits After Pregnancy
- More comfort while breastfeeding
- Greater production of breast milk
- Less incidence of postpartum depression
A New Chapter Begins
A new chapter begins when your precious baby arrives, both in your life and in your health. Your body will be faced with many new challenges: postpartum recovery, breastfeeding, holding your baby, carrying heavy equipment, etc. Postpartum chiropractic care can help. You can continue to benefit from chiropractic care even after your baby arrives.