Our ultimate concern is the health and safety of the mother and baby, from time of inception to postpartum.
For Mom and Baby
As your baby develops, your uterus enlarges to accommodate the rapid growth. So long as the pelvis is in a balanced state, the ligaments connected to the uterus maintain an equalized, supportive suspension for the uterus. If your pelvis is out of balance in any way, these ligaments become torque and twisted, causing a condition known as intra-uterine constraint. This constraint limits the space of the developing baby. Any compromised position for the baby throughout pregnancy will affect his or her optimal development.
Structural shifts present before pregnancy can become exaggerated as hormones influence ligament laxity and joint instability. With the increase in laxity of your body's ligaments more “stress” will inevitably fall on your body’s structural support system- making optimal structural integrity and alignment even more important at this time.
A structural shift present in the mother’s spine and pelvis can adversely affect the baby’s position, the mother’s comfort, the progression and duration of labor, and the proper development of the child within the womb. During the pregnancy this can lead to a variety of secondary conditions such as back pain, sciatica, carpal tunnel syndrome, pubic bone pain, and breech presentation of the fetus.
We encourage women to take actions to ensure this prenatally. Ultimately, the health of the mother can influence the entire pregnancy and the health of the baby. Adding structural chiropractic to your pregnancy wellness regimen is a smart choice.
Beyond the Womb
The structural nature of the spine makes it the most common place in the body that can obstruct the nerve flow, disrupting the amazing power that made and heals the body.
Many times the first structural shifts occur as a result of a traumatic (1) or difficult birth which can introduce great stress to the infant’s skull, spinal column and pelvis. (2) A medical study done in the 1980's by Gottfried Gutmann, MD revealed that due to the physical forces incurred during delivery, 80% of ALL children born exhibited mis-alignments of their upper cervical spine. Since the nervous system controls and coordinates everything in the body, including development and healing, not to mention the majority (65%) of neurological development occurs during the first 6 months of life, shouldn't we make sure that child's nervous system is working properly?
We have all heard the phrase “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.” This is a great example from nature that illustrates what can and most likely will happen to a child’s structural balance and posture if a structural distortion is not addressed and corrected as they grow. Many developmental milestones such as learning to hold up the head, sitting upright, crawling, and walking are all activities that are affected by spinal alignment (3) and are important times to have a child checked by a structural chiropractor. Additionally, falls, sports injuries, playground bumps, heavy school bags and sitting all day in the classroom are all physical stresses to the growing child’s spine and nervous system.
Most of the time, the pain from the initial injury “goes away” however the damage incurred continues to affect the future function of the child’s structure and nerve system. (4) Correcting a structural shift in adolescence can help ensure it does not develop into chronic and compensatory conditions in adulthood.
Structural chiropractic care is a powerful way for parents to help their kids develop optimally and heal naturally. It serves as a foundation for the optimal development and protection of the child’s structure and nerve system. Structural Chiropractic adjusting procedures are modified to fit a child’s size, weight, and unique spinal condition. They are both gentle and specific to the child’s developing spinal structures.
Precision Chiropractic has also started a group for parents and parents-to-be who are interested in a salutogenic approach to promoting health in themselves and their children. For more information, check out the details of SPROUT.
(1) High Cervical Spinal Cord Injury in Neonates Delivered With Forceps: report of 15 cases. Obstet Gynecol. 1995 Oct;86(4 Pt1): 589-94 Meticoglou SM, Periman M, Manning FA
(2) Incidence of Somatic Dysfunction in Healthy Newborns. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2015 Nov;115(11): 654-65. doi: 10.7556/jaoa.2015.136 Waddington EL, Snider KT, Lockwood MD, Pazdernik VK.
(3/4) Kinematic Imbalances Due to Suboccipital Strain in Newborns and Young Children. Biedermann H.J. Manual Medicine 1993; 31: 97-107