Effects of Chiropractic Care During Pregnancy on Labor

Can Chiropractic Make a Difference?

One of the biggest benefits to regular chiropractic care during pregnancy is that a properly balanced and open pelvis allows more room for the fetus to turn into a proper position to ease labor. In fact, many chiropractors have additional, specialized training in a technique to encourage a breech baby to turn called Webster's technique. According to the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics there is an 82% success rate in turning breech babies using the Webster's technique (July/August 2002). Another study showed that regular chiropractic care also reduces the chances of posterior labor, sometimes called back labor (Diakow, 1991).

Encouraging Labor
Tamie Dixon, doctor of Chiropractic and West Virginia State Coordinator wrote, "Pelvic bone adjustments have been found to stimulate part-due labors and non-progressive labors that are stalled due to pelvic outlet disproportion." I know this one from personal experience. With my daughter's birth, my second baby, I experienced off-and-on-again labor for a two days. I called my chiropractor at home the next morning and asked if he could come by on his way to the office and he came to my house. I received an adjustment at 7:30 and he left, and from then on my contractions really picked up. Brianna Joy was born at 12:15 after just a few hours! My labor never stalled or slowed down again.

Dr. Sears wrote in Parenting magazine "It is our personal theory that chiropractic care in pregnancy can help to avoid or relieve back pain and also prepare your back and pelvic structures for the stresses of labor and birth." And I have to agree with him.

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