Seeing a Chiropractor While Pregnant

I saw one while pregnant with both my girls. What he is doing sounds right, but say something if he makes you uncomfortable.

I did it as all that baby weight was hanging off my lower back. I usually do yoga but as I got bigger I couldn't bend and twist anymore. It helped keep me looser. No problem with my healthy 7lb 9oz baby boy (who is now 3-1/2!). NO XRAYS THOUGH!!! Enjoy!

K.

My husband is a chiropractor and adjusts pregnant women, side-posturing and sometimes using other techniques. Chiro is totally safe for pregnant women, although it's not always comfortable to have an adjustment with a big belly! Usually the back adjusts pretty easily during pregnancy.
I would talk to your chiropractor about your concerns, and ask if there are some other techniques he could use, like the activator technique which doesn't involve the side-posturing.
If it's any consolation, I was adjusted throughout all three of my pregnancies and it was all fine. Babies all healthy. Chiro relieved lots of back pain I had during pregnancy.
Hope I helped a little. Best of luck with your new baby!
- E.

M.

I wanted to post a response as your concerns are perfectly natural given how uncomfortable things are at the end of pregnancy. As a chiropractor myself, I know firsthand that when choosing to utilize this service during pregnancy you are making a choice that can benefit you in a number of ways. Chiropractic care during pregnancy helps significantly with avoidance of a condition called in-uteroconstraint. This condition can occur when joints misalign in the low back that are joined by tendons to the uterus resulting in twisting of the uterus. This can affect the baby's ability to stretch and move into proper position and has been tied to situations like breech presentation among others. Chiropractors are able to use a number of modifications with pregnant moms such as tables which avoid pressure on the abdomen, less twisting or pressure when applying the adjustment as well as using adjusting instruments which click repeatedly over the joint, to name a few. In addition to helping avoid in-uteroconstraint, chiropractic care during pregnancy has been shown to reduce overall labor times significantly and reduce the incidence of back labor as well. Provided your chiropractor is comfortable with this patient population, which it sounds like he is, you are in good hands and have chosen a service which will not only help with discomfort in your joints common during pregnancy but will help with the baby's positioning and labor as well.

I hope that helps

Dr. C. Campbell

Hi M., I don't know if what your chiro is doing is harmful or not, nor do I know how competent he or any other practitioner is from reading someone's experience with them. I do want to tell you that at the age of 30 I was severely injured by a chiropractor. I will not go into the details here (you can message if you like) but the pain and loss from the injury truly altered my life (i had 2 very little children at the time) and I still suffer many years later.. I don't think you should be uncomfortable during treatments at any time, and certainly not while PREGNANT. I encourage you to listen to your doubts, and at least wait a while, re-consider, get some more input from others.

Hi M.,

It sounds like you are getting regular adjustments and I don't think that is normal. Just like if you get a massage, there are certain rubs that a trained therapist will not use because potentially, it can bring on labor. I think it is the same with the chiro - my best friend saw a chiro when pregnant - but I am nearly certain that she got modified adjustments until the baby was born (its too early right now otherwise I'd call her to know for certain). Bottom line, go with your gut - if it just doesn't feel right, don't go. My friend went to the chiro on the corner of E Roseville Parkway and Sierra College and really liked the treatment. You could try there.
Best wishes

I saw a chiropractor all through my last pregnancy - my son is 15 months. My chiro told me the same thing & I believed him...I believe he did the same thing to adjust my lower back. I needed it - I have 3 bulged discs in my lower back & I believe it helped relieve pain from carrying my son. I don't believe it is affecting the baby as much as we think with all that pushing against. If you aren't comfortable though, don't keep doing going or talk to both your OB & your chiro about your concern. If you trust your chiro though overall, I wouldn't worry so much.

My heart really goes out to the women who responded who had a terrible experience with a chiropractor :( It's always frustrating to put your trust into a medical professional (which chiropractors are, depsite what some may think) and have the trust broken in a mere 5 minutes!!!!

That being said, I saw a holistic chiropractor during my first pregnancy, and she was WONDERFUL! The setting of her clinic was very homey, and she was open & honest and we actually became (and still are) very good friends. I've always had problems with my fingers going numb due to a nerve issue in my elbows (since high school), and chiropractic care is the ONLY thing that I've tried that worked to combat it.

I was nervous about moving away from Lynn because I couldn't find a holistic chiropractor in the Bay Area, but I decided to see a chiro in a more medical clinical setting, and I don't regret my decision at all. I LOVE MY CHIROPRACTOR!!!! Dr. Isero is in Millbrae; let me know if you want the info :) Again with my 2nd pregnancy, I'm having extra issues with my fingers, but through chiro care even every 2 weeks, it's kept it at bay. Yes, the position is a little awkward the further into pregnancy we get, but it's really the only position they can put us in, as we can't lay directly on our bellies.

HOWEVER, if you're uncomfortable with this doc, feel free to see a couple others to see if it's just THIS doc or if it's all chiros that are making you feel this way. You have to listen to yourself, and if you truly are uncomfortable, stop going. See how you feel in a couple weeks. If you feel fine, then I'm sure you'll be ok. If not, try going back and see how it goes. You'll have to take a break for 6 weeks postpartum, but I went back at 4 weeks and was fine!

I have a TEAR in the tissues in my knee and rather than do exploratory surgery to find out what it was, they sent me to one of these. At the appt, He couldn't reproduce the pain I was telling him I had, so he dicided he was going to fold my legs up against my chest and then lean every ounce of his weight on my folded knee.Then he practically jumped up and down on it. I never went back. The next day I had excruciating pain and was it ever exascerbated!... for the next year my pain was worse than when i went in to have it looked at.

My 12 yr old daughter has Arthritis, and they want to send her to one of these also. (so are these the cure all doctors of the day?). NO way. I will never let them wrench on her. People I know who have gone to these guys end up having to continue to go back to them for the rest of their lives to get necks and backs "adjusted" or they live in pain. They still get week long headaches or backaches anyway. I beleive the "pain" people most people are in is probably from inflammation. In the long run I think these chiro's do more harm than good. I know there will be many who disagree with me but that is my personal opinion.

When the body is pregnant you will see that God does all the adjusting for you. He programmed the body to send out hormones that cause the hip bones to widen, and the ligaments to get more resilient. The sway of you back changes to counter the affects of the weight in the front of your tummy. All your bones and organs are perfectly placed for a baby to reside among them. God made your body perfectly and designed it specifically to give birth. Modern medicine tries to convince people that God makes mistakes and that they NEED medical doctors to intervene or rework what God designed. These doctors elevate themselves up to be like 'gods', saying without them your body could not function and they must fix your flawed body. HOGWASH.

I went to my Chiropractor regularly during my entire pregnancy. Towards the end of my pregnancy, I was going 4 times a week. From my experience, getting adjusted was the best thing I did especially towards the end. I also did not know I was having twins, so the whole time I was getting adjusted, I had two little ones in me. The side posture you are talking about is the way I would get adjusted all the time (my tummy got really REALLY big towards the end.) This side posture helped to get the girls in the right position for birth. I ended up giving birth naturally and without any drugs. Immediately after birth, both girls also were immediately nursing on me as well so they had no latching issues. I know several women who go to a chiropractor during their pregnancy and one of them is having her second child and went right back to her chiropractor because of the results she got from the first pregnancy. Chiropractic is the most natural and important things you can do for yourself and your little one both before AND after birth.

How long have you gone to this chiropractor? You really need to feel comfy with the person that is adjusting your body. Some of them are quite talented. Others.. well... I think they are a wee bit overly confident and unfortunately NOT talented. But they passed a test. I also don't believe in needing treatment on a life long plan. Unless you have something seriously wrong. My personal situation with all the chiros, and PT's I've been to is that they are fixing a problem... and it should STAY fixed!

I went to my physical therapist during my entire twin pregnancy. He had also worked on my back, neck and hips for about 2 years prior. My twins were born by c-section at 34.5 weeks., and I think my last treatment was a few days before. (early delivery had nothing to do with treatments, I never even went into labor). And he saved my body from collapsing under the weight.

That said, he didn't do any twisting with my torso at all. I don't know if that's bad or not. If your OBGYN is ok with it. Then It's probably safe. IF HOWEVER, you are becoming uncomfy with it, Regardless of the supposed safety, I think you set yourself up for problems. The reason I say that, is you might actually physically fight his adjustment.

Do you feel you need the adjustment? Could you get by with pregnancy massage?

Greetings M.: As the mother of 5 & a woman that sees a Chriopractor. I just want to say that I don't care if the guy is a Nobel Peace Prize Winner-- if you are uncomfortable than you need to stop!!
I can't think of a single reason for you to put yourself in any uncomfortable situation when you are already uncomfortable just being pregnant. If you want to do something then have a scalp, neck, or foot massage you will be surprized at what that will do for you. You are the mother, the co-creator of this wonderous child you carry and your instincts are there to protect you and your child. So just let him know that you may be back after the little one is born. Speaking of which-- make sure that your baby is checked at birth to know if it is safe for a adjustment. I have seen both sides of that issue and if it doesn't work life is not good. Take Care and Trust Yourself; Nana G

Do you know if your chiro is certified in pregnancy adjustments? There is a special certification for it and I felt more comfortable going to one that was. It is ICPA, you can search and find one that is certified. I really like my chiropractor, Dr. Jason Packer in Rocklin if you're in this area. Adjustments are a little awkward still, but the babes are pretty cushioned in there & I really think they helped ease my 2 babies on out. It helps open the pelvis for birth. Happy baby to you!! K.

I saw my chiropractor up til 2 days before delivery with each of my three children and it was absolutely fine. There is NO way that it can harm the baby and it definetly helps with the delivery...having your pelvic bones in alignment so baby can slide out. If you're uncomfortable though, I would ask your chiro to do a different technique...maybe use the activator or try the drop table. There is more than one way to get adjusted and your chiro will know that. Otherwise, you should be just fine! I hope this helps!

J

Dear M.,
I honestly don't think I could have survived my pregnancies without the chiropractor. I have a pretty small frame and the weight of my babies threw me out of whack so badly. With my first baby, my hips had rotated out so much that I couldn't even walk and I was in horrible agony. I was terrified to go to the chiro, but I'm so glad I did. However, he got mad at me a few times because I would get a case of the giggles and just couldn't stop laughing at how funny the whole idea seemed. He'd bend me up like a pretzel and then shove all his weight onto me...that was funny enough in and of itself, but he also had a flap of hair that flopped over every time he did it. For some reason, it just cracked me up. I guess he thought I was laughing at him.
Anyway, seeing the chiro won't hurt anything as far as your baby is concerned unless your physician has said you have some type of complication that would make it dangerous.
I had terrible back labor with my daughter and I know that things would have been much worse if I hadn't kept in alignment beforehand.

Best of wishes to you!
Be sure to let us know when your baby arrives!

I went while pregnant and was fine, but if you are feeling uncomfortable about it then you should probably stop going. Your baby's life and your sanity are more important than some pain from taking a break from chiro.

I have been adjusted to the very end with both of my pregnancies. I don't know what kind of discomfort you are feeling so you have to be the judge. I know that for myself I am always uncomfortable towards the end of my pregnancies.... meaning everything is a little more uncomfortable than usual. I think you have to be the one to decide if it feels "bad" or "wrong."

HI I have 7 kids and been to the chiro all through all of them. Was adjusted just like you described. No problems. It is their job to be trained to do it properly. He quit low back adjustments about 36-37 weeks. You can do muschle techniques to help your hips. Lay flat on your back with your knees bent. Hubby puts 1 fist between your knees and you squeeze, then 2 fists and squeeze and then his hand to his elbow & squeeze. lift hips off bed and rest down again before getting up. You may feel pain or pinching in your groin, or hear a pop, this is your pubic bone resetting itself. No worries.
Best wishes on your delivery.

Stac

Dear M.,

I don't know a lot about chiropractic issues, but I know a fantastic female (and mom) chiropractor who comes to your house. You may not necessarily want to change, but she does treat a lot of pregnant women and she is famous for her gentle approach.

Her name is Virgilia Tali, and I'm sure she wouldn't mind a call from you, just to give you some professional reassurance. ###-###-####.

Good Luck ! D.

Hi M.

I was adjusted until up until 2 weeks before I delivered and I absolutely believe that it helped me have a fairly easy and short labor. But I felt TOTALLY comfortable with her. If you are not feeling right I would trust that.

If you are interested in seeing someone new, Dr. Kristine Hicks with More Mojo in San Francisco specializing in working with pregnant women.