Absolutely, Yes!  All our Chiropractors at Connect Chiropractic see many women in their preconception phase (in the lead up to them conceiving) and through all trimesters of pregnancy.  It is quite common for women to experience intense aches and pains during the first trimester and really do find adjustments with one of our experienced Melbourne chiropractors can really help.

As a women’s body changes through the stages of pregnancy and growth and development of her baby so does her posture, spine, hips and pelvis which can lead to her experiencing pain or discomfort or many other symptoms. Some common reasons women may see us at Connect Chiropractic during pregnancy include problems such as lower back pain, sciatica, hip, pelvis or pubic pain, neck and shoulder tension, upper back pain or headaches.  We often also see women for round ligament (which is like the sling underneath your growing belly that helps support the uterus and your baby) pain.  Many women also see us as also for preventative reasons. Having chiropractic care enables us to check and adjust her spine during pregnancy as a way of ensuring sure there’s beautiful movement through the lower spine. pelvis and sacrum at the base of the spine this ensures the bones of the spine and pelvis and joints are moving as well as possible for Mum to be and baby are as comfortable as possible during you pregnancy and also through labour and birth.

The frequency that a pregnant woman should see a Chiropractor depends on quite a few different factors. One factor may depend on how a woman is feeling and how her body is moving, whereas another factors can be what she presents with on her initial examination, how far along she may be in her pregnancy, if she is quite early or later in pregnancy, if she has been seeing a Chiropractor prior to falling pregnant, or if she has just started seeing a Chiropractor.  It also very much depends on what her goals are for her care which is discussed at her initial consultation.

In a word “Yes” it is safe to have your back ‘cracked’ or adjusted while you are pregnant. Chiropractic adjustments are safe and gentle and the vast majority of women say they feel better, are able to move better and have less stress and tension on their body immediately after their adjustment.  Some adjusting techniques are modified for safety and comfort that includes using belly pillows to allow you to lie on your stomach comfortably and lower force adjusting methods.  

There is nothing in literature report to state that Chiropractic adjustments can cause a miscarriage. It has not been reported as something that has occurred which has then led to Chiropractors being advised as a risk factor for miscarriage. Chiropractic treatment can be as gentle as like getting a massage, there is very low risk to the pregnant woman and her baby.  

Whilst it hasn’t been documented that chiropractic care can induce labour per se, there are however techniques we can utilize that stimulates certain channels and pathways in the body which can assist getting the body ready for labour.  There have been many cases anecdotally where a woman has come to get an adjustment very late on in their pregnancy and they have gone into labour later that day or the next day. Whilst it may not necessarily be correlated, Chiropractic care does make things move and feel a lot better potentially helping bub then decide it’s time to come! 

Yes!  It might not be something you are wanting to share with others especially if you are very early in your pregnancy however it is important that we know as that may help us understand how you present in our examination before treatment, whether we would refer you for x-rays or not and also influence the techniques we would modify during treatment.