Your body may undergo numerous physiological and hormonal changes during pregnancy. This is because the body makes room for the fetus to grow. As a result, you might experience immense pain and discomfort, making it difficult to sleep or move. These issues can be exacerbated if you have weak abdominal muscles or gain excess weight, placing strain and pressure on your spine.
Medication to counter these issues could cause miscarriages or deformities in the child, depending on the medication’s strength. Thus, it would be best to consider other non-medical alternatives like chiropractic care for your pain, headaches, and discomfort. Chiropractic care is preferred, mainly focusing on diagnosing, treating, and preventing musculoskeletal disorders during pregnancy.
However, since chiropractic care varies from person to person, speaking to your OB-GYN first is important. They can suggest other methods to counter complications like pre-eclampsia or bleeding. However, like any medical intervention, there are benefits and risks associated with chiropractic care during pregnancy. Read on for details:
Benefits Of Chiropractic Care During Pregnancy
As mentioned, many changes occur during pregnancy, which may lead to intense pain and discomfort during the nine months. Thus, it’d help to undertake regular pregnancy chiro visits until you feel better or until you deliver your baby. Some benefits of chiropractic care include the following:
Relieving Pain
Pelvic and spine misalignment during pregnancy can lead to problems like back pain, hip pain, and difficulty walking. All this is because when the baby grows, the center of gravity shifts, causing stress on the spine and surrounding muscles.
Chiropractic adjustments can help relieve this stress and realign the pelvis, reducing pain and improving mobility. After it’s resolved, you can also get a good night’s sleep your body requires to recover fully.
Decrease Nausea
Nausea is another familiar pregnancy symptom that can make eating difficult. Vomiting can deprive your body of the nutrition and hydration it needs to enhance fetal growth. Fortunately, chiropractic care can help alleviate these symptoms by improving nervous system function and hormonal balance.
Placing The Baby In The Right Position
Chiropractic care during pregnancy can help improve fetal positioning, potentially reducing the need for interventions during delivery. By realigning the spine and pelvis, chiropractic care can create more uterine space and facilitate the baby’s movement into the optimal head-down position for birth. This may help reduce the risk of complications during childbirth and avoid the need for cesarean delivery.
Decreasing Labor Hours
Prolonged labor can lead to complications for both you and your baby. Chiropractic care during pregnancy may help reduce the duration of labor and make the childbirth process smoother. It can enhance alignment within your hips and spine and aid postpartum recovery. Chiropractic care can also alleviate common discomforts such as headaches, back pain, and hip pain.
Risks Of Chiropractic Care During Pregnancy
You may still undergo some complications despite the numerous advantages of chiropractic care. Here are some potential risks of chiropractic care during pregnancy:
Early Labor
Chiropractic adjustments may stimulate the uterus and cause contractions, potentially leading to early labor. Thus, it’s best to avoid chiropractic care if you’re at a higher risk of experiencing pre-term labor due to your medical or family history. If you want to see chiropractic care during pregnancy, you must seek advice from your OB-GYN.
Fetal Discomfort
Chiropractic adjustments may cause fetal distress in some cases. It’s a rare complication, but it’s possible if the modification causes a sudden decrease in blood flow to the placenta. In extreme cases, it can lead to a miscarriage. Thus, it would be best to work with a qualified chiropractor who understands these risks and how to avoid them.
Pelvic Instability
If pelvic instability occurs due to hormonal changes during pregnancy, chiropractic adjustments may not be recommended as they could worsen the condition and lead to, or aggravate, pelvic pain. While rare, this is still a possible risk from receiving chiropractic care during pregnancy. Thus, you must take the necessary precautions and consult your OB-GYN before receiving any alternative treatment.
Conclusion
Regardless of the health benefits you can derive from chiropractic care, discussing the potential risks and benefits with your OB-GYN before undergoing treatment is essential. Your doctor will either give you the clearance to seek chiropractic care, or they may advise you against it. Most importantly, you and your baby remain safe and healthy throughout your pregnancy.