For the Mother
We can certainly see the need for regular
chiropractic care throughout pregnancy—the
varied postural distortions with weight gain
and an increase in the hormone relaxin bring
many mothers-to-be into our offices seeking
help for these normal and often uncomfortable
adaptations. It is within our scope of practice
to assist the mother post partum in regaining
spinal stability with the chiropractic adjustment
and recommendations for postural positions
she will encounter with her new baby.
Carrying the new baby
The first consideration is carrying the baby.
Because all the parents are using car seats
these days, they have resorted to using these
seats as carriers as well. Almos all parents
will leave the child in the car seat to carry
the baby into the office, store, house, etc.
When parents come into your office carrying
their child in on eof these carriers, point
out the i8mbalances these are causing them
by side carrying this heavy load. This constant
repetitive distortion of the parent's spine
can adversely affect the spine. Usually, the
parents carry the infant to one side, causing
increased stress to their spinal structures.
As a doctor of chiropractic, you will find
neck strains, upper thoracic tension and sacral
distortions associated with incorrect or repetitive
baby carrying.
To help avoid these common discomforts, I
suggest to the mother that the car seat is
for the car and that they use alternate types
of carriers to transport their babies outside
of the car. One option is the age-old method
of simply carrying the baby in one's arms. Although
most practical and easiest to implement, many
mothers will tell you that they have
a tendency to carry their babies on one side
or the other because it is simply more comfortable
that way. To avoid this one-sided propensity,
I offer the options of "body carriers" or "baby
wearing". These include a wide variety of carriers:
wraps, slings, pouches, front holders,
side holders, back carriers. Whereas most offer
numerous benefits to the mother—baby
weight balancing, free hands, and slow and
consistent adaptation to the baby's weight
gain—there still remains the consideration
that each individual carrier places the baby
in one particular position on the mother and,
therefore, has the potential of cumulative
repetitive stress on the mother's spine and
nervous system. With this important insight
in minde, I offer parents the knowledge of
various baby carriers available and that they
purchase serveral variations of carriers to
accomodate their child's needs to be held as
often as possible.
Breastfeeding postures
Another source of spinal stress in the new
mother is compromised breastfeeding postures.
In addition to lying down with the baby,
the most common posture for breastfeeding is
in the mother's arms with a tendency to slump
forward. This distorted posture for the mother
may cause upper thoracic sprain/strain, cervical
and lumbar stiffness and resulting curve compensations
for all areas. The best solution to avoid these
repetitive postural distortions is to advise
the mother to purchase a breastfeeding support
pillow and use it as often as possible.
Dr. Jeanne Ohm instructs
internationally on the topic "Chiropractic
Care for Pregnant Women and Children." Read
about her here
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