PHW Newsletter
Chiropractic Care and Pregnancy
Pregnancy is one of life's greatest miracles. For many, it's one of the most personal and transformative seasons they'll ever walk through. And whether you've lived it yourself or supported someone close to you through it, you know it deserves to be approached with care, intention, and celebration.
Unfortunately, cultural narratives often frame pregnancy as hard, miserable, and exhausting, making it seem dreaded rather than celebrated. While there can be real hardships along the way, chiropractic care is a tool to help decrease and often eliminate some of the pain that can come up. Through gentle adjustments, a woman's body can better adapt to changes and accommodate her growing baby throughout pregnancy.
The Webster Technique
Chiropractic care during pregnancy looks different from traditional chiropractic care. The Webster Technique is a pregnancy-specific technique used by trained chiropractors to find specific restriction patterns in a mother's body and use gentle manipulations and soft tissue releases to correct them.
During a pregnancy chiropractic visit, we evaluate the mother's pelvis to see how it is moving biomechanically. If we find imbalance or restriction, we use gentle manipulative techniques or perform instrument-assisted adjustments to help clear restrictions and restore balance and movement. After the mother's pelvis is in alignment, we evaluate the gluteal muscles, hip flexors, ligaments that stabilize the pelvis, ligaments that suspend the uterus in the pelvis, and the pubic symphysis.
Common Complaints We Often See During Pregnancy
- Pubic symphysis dysfunction
- Spinal pain
- Headaches & neck pain
- Round ligament pain
- Rib pain
- Constipation
- Sciatica
- Lower extremity pain
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
What the Research Says
Research published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics reported an 82% success rate using the Webster Technique in relieving intra-uterine constraint, allowing babies to get into optimal fetal positioning more frequently and reducing stress on both mother and baby.
When a baby is head down and well positioned, the mother is more comfortable, moves more freely, and is more likely to experience a smoother labor and delivery with fewer interventions.
The Nervous System Connection
The Webster Technique is also beneficial for nervous system regulation and communication. This brain-and-body connection is powerful — a well-regulated nervous system helps a mother feel more relaxed and comfortable in her body. When stress, anxiety, or pain are present, the body responds by releasing stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. Over time, elevated levels of these hormones can contribute to sleeplessness, indigestion, constipation, increased pain sensitivity, and general discomfort.
When a mother's body is relaxed and at ease, her baby can be as well.
Change the Narrative
It's time to change the narrative around pregnancy. This miracle process of creating and growing life does not have to come with the negatives that our culture often paints it with. If you are experiencing any of the things mentioned above during pregnancy or even after, please consider finding a pregnancy-trained chiropractor.
Going through pregnancy well-adjusted will help you enjoy the season of life you are in and thrive through it, not just survive it.
Nourishing Recipes for Pregnancy & Motherhood →
Chiropractic Services at PHW
Our chiropractors take a functional, preventative approach toward movement and structural health. An Initial Wellness Chiropractic visit is included in your membership and is aimed to assess overall structural function and provide you with tools and knowledge for improvement.
Chiropractic care can be beneficial for many things beyond aches and pains — including congestion, pregnancy care, digestion issues, and nervous system regulation. It's a huge benefit at PHW to be able to connect structural health with metabolic health.
Call Movement today to schedule your Initial Wellness Chiropractic Visit!
Supplement Highlight: Prenatal MD
Our Prenatal MD provides comprehensive nutritional support for preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum with the highest quality, most bioavailable forms of essential nutrients. This carefully formulated prenatal includes:
- Methylated B vitamins for optimal absorption
- Chelated minerals like Ferrochel iron that's gentle on your stomach
- 625mg of choline — a critical nutrient for baby's brain development often missing or underdosed in standard prenatals
Every ingredient is third-party tested for purity and potency, because we believe your prenatal should be as carefully curated as the rest of your wellness plan.
FMS: Functional Movement Screen
This annual assessment evaluates basic movement patterns that you need to form more complex movement. We use this test to identify areas of weakness so you can have specific areas of improvement to work on in your movement routine. It's also helpful as a baseline measurement to watch for patterns of improvement or decline over time.
Call the office to schedule your assessment today!
