Growing Healthy Babies
During pregnancy most women do everything they can to be healthier than ever. While pregnant, all doctors will tell you to maintain a healthy, balanced diet; take prenatal vitamins; exercise; avoid alcohol and excessive caffeine; and never smoke or do drugs. But how many times have you thought about the performance of your nervous system during pregnancy? If any group of people need an optimally performing nervous system it is pregnant women. Chiropractic care should be an essential part of your healthy lifestyle when pregnant!
Why Chiropractic?
Dr. Clugston will examine your spine for misalignments (subluxations) causing spine and nerve stress. These subluxations damage the nervous system and affect the workings of the entire body. More than any other time during your life it is extremely important that your body is as strong and healthy as possible during pregnancy. Chiropractic care ensures that the reproductive and other systems receive an un-interfered with nerve supply from the spinal column.
Back Pain During Pregnancy
Women typically gain between 25-35 pounds during pregnancy, this added weight puts extra pressure on your spine and can often cause low back pain. In one study of pregnant women and chiropractic 94 percent of participants showed dramatic improvement in pain in just 5 days after chiropractic care. Keeping the lower back and pelvis aligned is the key to preventing and correcting low back pain during pregnancy. Adjustments are safe for mom and baby and often time provide immediate results.
During pregnancy most women do everything they can to be healthier than ever. While pregnant, all doctors will tell you to maintain a healthy, balanced diet; take prenatal vitamins; exercise; avoid alcohol and excessive caffeine; and never smoke or do drugs. But how many times have you thought about the performance of your nervous system during pregnancy? If any group of people need an optimally performing nervous system it is pregnant women. Chiropractic care should be an essential part of your healthy lifestyle when pregnant!
Why Chiropractic?
Dr. Clugston will examine your spine for misalignments (subluxations) causing spine and nerve stress. These subluxations damage the nervous system and affect the workings of the entire body. More than any other time during your life it is extremely important that your body is as strong and healthy as possible during pregnancy. Chiropractic care ensures that the reproductive and other systems receive an un-interfered with nerve supply from the spinal column.
Back Pain During Pregnancy
Women typically gain between 25-35 pounds during pregnancy, this added weight puts extra pressure on your spine and can often cause low back pain. In one study of pregnant women and chiropractic 94 percent of participants showed dramatic improvement in pain in just 5 days after chiropractic care. Keeping the lower back and pelvis aligned is the key to preventing and correcting low back pain during pregnancy. Adjustments are safe for mom and baby and often time provide immediate results.
Sciatica
Sciatica or Sciatic Nerve pain occurs when the Sciatic Nerve (the longest nerve in your body) is irritated or compressed by a bulging disc in your lumbar spine. The most common symptom is shooting pain in your lower back/upper buttocks area and down your leg. This can make sitting, standing or laying for long periods of time extremely painful as well as limit your ability to move and get around. Since you have two Sciatic Nerves, this can occur on either side of your body or even both at once. Anyone is susceptible to Sciatica, but unfortunately this condition occurs commonly in pregnant women. Many people believe Sciatica is due to the baby pushing on the nerve, but usually this is not the case. Sciatica is usually the result of a bulging disc putting pressure on the nerve root. Most likely a previous injury, years of too much sitting or standing, or bad posture, combined with the extra weight and change in center of gravity during pregnancy is what caused the Sciatica.
The traditional method of relieving Sciatic Nerve pain is often the use of prescription drugs. Not only is this not a safe treatment during pregnancy, but it does not correct the source of pain, only masks it, so you do not correct the problem at its source. A combination of chiropractic adjustments, stretching routines and/or spinal decompression is a perfect, non-invasive solution to your pain that will have you back on your feet, and sitting/laying comfortably again in no time!
Is Your Baby Breech?
By 28-30 weeks your baby should move into the head down position in the mother's womb. If your baby is butt down after 30 weeks they are considered "breech" and your obgyn. may start discussing ways to move the baby or even suggest scheduling your cesarian section. Chiropractic Adjustments are a safe, non-invasive solution to this problem. A Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics survey of chiropractors in 2002 showed there was an 82 percent success rate of babies turning from the breech position when the Webster technique was used between 32 and 35 weeks. Read more here about the benefits of chiropractic during pregnancy, the Webster technique for breech births, and our book recommendation, "Birth without Fear".
Regardless of the type of birth you envision for yourself: natural, traditional, or a cesarean section, chiropractic can help improve your labor and overall pregnancy experience so you can enjoy the journey to motherhood even more!