Chiropractic can offer tremendous benefits to children by making sure their nerve system is free from interference and functioning at its optimum, giving them the best opportunity to be healthy. But did you know that chiropractic can benefit children before they are born?
As chiropractors, we don’t adjust little ones while they are still in the womb. However, we do take care of mothers-to-be to ensure their nerve system is functioning at it’s best so that their child will have the best environment for growth and development before they enter into the world.
It’s common knowledge that women who are expecting have special considerations concerning their health to promote a healthy pregnancy and a healthy child. Good nutrition is vital, which includes the addition of a prenatal supplement to ensure adequate levels of vitamins and minerals. Moderate exercise such as walking is recommended, and additional rest is required.
And these are just a few of the things women can do benefit themselves and their baby as they both go through tremendous changes throughout pregnancy. These tremendous changes include many structural and hormonal changes that affect the spine, nerves, joints, ligaments, connective tissues, center of gravity, and stability.
As chiropractors, we make sure that the spinal column, pelvis, and related structures are balanced, moving easily and free from spinal misalignment, called subluxations, which interfere with nerve function. Free from spinal subluxations, the mother-to-be experiences pregnancy at a greater level of comfort, health and vitality and can better handle the stress of childbirth.
Although we’ve helped pregnant women through chiropractic care in our practice, Dr. Brian and Dr. Paul have had the opportunity to witness the miracle of pregnancy with their wives, and the births of their children.
Life is a miracle. How they can start from two little cells, and weeks later be able to hear their heart beat. To feel them kick and move about long before they ever got to meet them. To watch them come into the world and take their first breath. And to watch them begin to look around and take in the world around them. Life is a miracle.
Chiropractic simply accepts that there is a God-given intelligence within us that knows how to develop and organize our cells, organs, and tissues according to his design. Our brain communicates this intelligence through our nerve system, thus coordinating all the functions of our body.
Accordingly, the first organ formed in development is the brain, followed by the spinal cord and the branching nerve roots. Then, all of the other organs can develop under the direction of the brain. Just as a healthy home and family environment is necessary for the development of our children after they are born, the environment of the developing baby, which is the expecting mom, must also be healthy.
As discussed earlier, good nutrition, exercise, and rest all contribute to this healthy environment, but what coordinates the entire pregnancy is the nerve system. A healthy nerve system is crucial for proper development of the unborn child and also for the well-being of the mother.
In addition to helping the expecting mother function at her optimum and providing a healthy environment for fetal development, chiropractic care during pregnancy also allows for optimal positioning of the baby within the womb. Through the Webster Technique, a specific chiropractic adjustment is applied to reduce intrauterine constraint which would otherwise interfere with normal movement of the baby. Previously known as the breech turning technique, this adjustment allows the baby to turn to the proper positioning for birth.
There are so many things pregnant women worry about: carrying the baby to full term, morning sickness, the baby developing normally, backaches, leg pain, and if their labor will be safe and hopefully not too difficult. Chiropractic care is a safe, gentle, drug-free approach to help expecting moms have a healthy pregnancy and birth, and to provide the most beneficial environment to their developing baby.
