Pre and Post Partum Chiropractic

I have a brick and mortar chiropractic practice and see patients in the office every week. One of the niches that we do in the clinic pertains to prenatal and postnatal care. Some people who aren’t familiar with it might not put together why that would be a good thing to do so I wanted to talk about that in this blog. I want to help people understand how this practice can help the pregnant and new mom demographic.

What We Do For Prenatal Care At The Office

The Webster Technique  - The main technique that chiropractors use for prenatal care is the Webster technique. It is a phenomenal technique for pelvic balancing and you can learn it through the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA), which offers continuing education programs. I’ve taken many of their programs and their course works are phenomenal resources for chiropractors.

Webster technique is a non-invasive simple technique that you can use not just at the end of your pregnancy, but throughout to keep the pelvis balanced. Many people think of it as the baby-flipping technique when you have a breech baby, but it’s also good throughout your pregnancy because it will give your baby more room to move and develop. When you are pregnant, you have ligaments suspending your uterus within your abdomen and some of them are attached to your pelvis. The Webster technique will help the pelvis move easily and symmetrically so that the uterus does not get shifted or torqued to one side of the other because we want to have that optimal positioning all the way up to the end of your pregnancy. This will help your baby have more room and move the way that it wants to, which is to be head down. Many OB-GYNs and midwives recommend this technique for their patients.

Re-habilitation, Pre-rehabilitation and Pelvic Floor Work – The other thing that I address for new moms is the rehabilitation, pre-rehabilitation and pelvic floor niche that I started to get into when I was pregnant with my first baby. This started my journey into Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization, visceral courses, and pelvic floor course work. I like to have patients start these while they are pregnant because it makes your recovery so much easier instead of waiting until you have the baby to have some of these tools in your tool belt.

I love to give core work to pregnant moms because it stabilizes their torsos. The core work is a great precursor to help you deliver and recover more easily. Even if you have a C-section, the core work will still help with the recovery.  You want to have better recovery time so that you can put your attention on the baby rather than navigating your way through all the crazy changes that happen once you have the baby.

When I give exercises to pregnant moms, I tell them that they should think of birth as the most intense physical event that they will ever train for. No matter how you look at it or how you give birth, it is going to be intense and difficult. It will test your limits and thinking of it like you are training for a marathon will help you long-term. Further, you will have an idea of what you are stepping into after giving birth.

Avoiding Diastasis Recti, Pelvic Floor Issues, and the like – During pregnancy, we also work with the issue of diastasis recti. Many people have diastasis recti, which is the separation of the central line of your abdomen when you are pregnant caused by the rapid expansion of your abdomen. I like to work on acquiring nice lateral expansion of the rib cage and breath work during the pregnancy so that you have as much space as possible for the pressure to go rather than out the front of the abdomen. It is also great training for when you already have the baby because you can also have diastasis recti occur after giving birth as your core is very vulnerable. If you do not have these tools, you are susceptible to diastasis recti and pelvic floor dysfunction after you have a baby.

I also ask my patients to do pelvic floor relaxation techniques that involve getting the hips above the uterus.  This takes some of that pressure off of the pelvic floor. Women that have c-sections can have pelvic floor issues as well. A misconception with pelvic floor issues is that you can only have it when you have pushed a baby through the vaginal opening. You can have pelvic floor dysfunction from the weight of the baby, placenta, and amniotic fluid forcing the pelvic floor to work overtime for 9 + months.  It can lead to spasming and tightness of the pelvic floor.  The other issue with c sections that leads to pelvic floor issues is the disconnect between the brain and core that surgery creates. People are unable to maintain proper abdominal pressure and that can overtax the pelvic floor. 

I try to help patients learn techniques on how to relax the pelvic floor and get the weight off of the pelvic floor. Basically, it’s helping them help their pelvic floor get a breather multiple times a day because this is what is important in helping with pelvic floor issues after delivery.

Other things we deal with for prenatal care – The other things we work with when it comes to prenatal care are lower back pain, headaches, and the like.

What We Do For Postnatal Care At The Office

 C-Section Scar – I start people very slowly with c section scar mobility. It starts with breathing while the scar is healing.  I want to let you know that with the C-section scar, it does not have to be intense to make a change. Once the scar is healed, we start moving the skin around it. When you touch around your scar, whether it’s a C-section or any abdominal scar, you want the skin to be supple and move easily just like skin anywhere else in your body.

You need to think of the C-section scar as layers. What we do in the clinic is we make sure that we work on the different layers to get the core function back. We do this because if your brain is not viewing that area as well as others, then you will feel disconnected from your core and not be able to build the proper intra abdominal pressure. This then leads to pelvic floor issues like leakage and pain with sex.

Pelvic Floor Issues For Those Who Had Natural Child Birth – Tearing can also create pelvic floor issues.  Tearing is a scar, too and we address it the same as how we address C-section scars. 

Tension In The Neck And Tailbone – A ton of new moms are stressed and anxious after giving birth.  That can cause tension in the neck and down in the pelvis, which can later cause other muscular skeletal issues. 

You have to be mindful when it comes to stress, anxiety, and postpartum issues because it can range from very minor to very severe. You do not want to downplay any stress, anxiety, and postpartum issues by thinking that so many people have it worse. It does not matter because it is your own story. You don’t want to minimize it or hesitate to reach out.

Headaches – I struggled with headaches and have since high school. During  postpartum,  I was not sure if it was a mixture of being anxious or being prone to stress headaches.  When I nursed my baby in a rounded shoulder and forward head posture, it created the perfect storm for horrific headaches. Getting treated and doing different exercises were key in making me be present for my kids. 

Conclusion

There are so many more things to address in postpartum moms. In my opinion, both postpartum and prenatal care are equally important, but the postpartum phase gets sorely overlooked.  I love working with everyone in both demographics.

Whether it’s about the things I mentioned above or residual pain from epidurals, hormone shifts, lack of sleep, or just trying to keep this new life in order, I will work with you. Everyone’s journey is so different and that’s the biggest takeaway for me. I just want to provide a good toolbox of resources because you never know how each pregnancy will evolve.

The lack of follow up with postpartum care is why I created a pelvic floor, C-section, and diastasis recti course, which are monthly resources for people. These will be released by October and it’s a step-by-step process regarding the topics I discussed above. It’s just 30 minutes a day and it can help you assess if you are ready to go to the next level of taking care of yourself and your body.  You can check out more about it here (link to the programs).

If you have any questions, you can drop it in the comment section or you send me a message through Facebook or Instagram. I’d be happy to do another podcast about your questions. Also, if you want me to talk about something specific, let me know!

You can also check my TikTok account as I use the platform to educate viewers about movement, chiropractic education, yoga, pregnancy, and more! 

Thank you for listening and see you next week!