International Chiropractic Pediatric Association
Natural Pregnancy, Natural Baby
- Natural Remedies for Pregnancy, Birth and Post-Partum Discomforts
by Dr. Stacey Rosenberg, DC
Sunshine Coast Chiropractor, Dr. Stacey Rosenberg, has released her first book "Natural Pregnancy, Natural Baby – Natural Remedies for Pregnancy, Birth and Post-Partum Discomforts." Click here to read an excerpt
"Natural Pregnancy, Natural Baby" is 150+ pages of prevention, tips, techniques, remedies, and resources to help ease the common complaints of pregnancy, birth and the post-partum period. It includes nutrition, pre-natal bonding, comfort measures, herbs, homeopathy, ergonomics, chiropractic, acupressure, yoga, breast-feeding advice, Hypnobirthing® and much more!
Dr. Stacey and her staff have been providing chiropractic care in Gibsons, BC since March 2001. While pregnant with her second child in 2006, she expanded her practice into an integrated health clinic called the Gibsons Health and Wellness Centre®. That same year, she also got inspired to write a book on natural pregnancy by the wealth of information provided by the local midwives and Bellies and Babies network as well as additional professional training that Dr. Rosenberg undertook. Many hours of ‘labour' later, it is finally ready for sale!
You can find more information, free articles and updates on the second edition of "Natural Pregnancy, Natural Baby" (due out in late 2010) on Dr. Rosenberg's Natural Pregnancy, Natural Baby website.
You can also read Dr. Rosenberg's feature article on Chiropractors, Pregnancy & Children, from the October-November 2008 Parent Profile on CoastParents.ca:
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Excerpt from: "Natural Pregnancy, Natural Baby - Natural Remedies for Pregnancy, Birth and Post-Partum Discomforts"
by Dr. Stacey Rosenberg DC
DISCLAIMER: The information and opinions contained in this book have been compiled by many hours of research and years of hands-on experience. This information is believed to be accurate using the best research and clinical experience available. This information is not meant to diagnose or treat and should be considered for educational purposes only. Anyone who utilizes the information and opinions contained herein agrees and understands that they are assuming all responsibility and risk for doing so.
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CORRECTION (in bold):p.104
As your pregnancy advances, some chiropractic techniques will need to be modified for your comfort. Your Chiropractor is aware of this and will make the necessary changes. In particular, special pregnancy pillows and/or tables with drop-away or tilt–up pelvic pieces are used to accommodate your growing belly and breasts. As little force as possible should be used to adjust a pregnant woman due to the Relaxin loosening all the ligaments in the body. In fact, very little force is necessary to accomplish the adjustment for the very same reason! In my opinion, side-lying twisting-type of manual adjustments and long lever lumbar or pelvic manipulation techniques should be avoided in the second and third trimester. Your chiropractor should be trained in pregnancy-specific, short-lever, minimal rotation techniques that address uterine constraint or mal-presentations. S/he will check for misalignment of the pelvic bones (including the pubis), misalignment of the sacrum and vertebrae, and spasm of the ligaments that support the uterus and help hold the pelvis together.
From Dr. Rosenberg's feature as the October-November 2008 Parent Profile on CoastParents.ca:
Can you receive Chiropractic treatment throughout your pregnancy?
Short answer - yes! Chiropractic techniques need to be modified for comfort and to accommodate the growing belly. Additionally, certain techniques should be avoided so you should see a chiropractor trained in the techniques that address uterine constraint or mal-presentations, who will check for misalignment of the pelvic bones, pubic bones, misalignment of the sacrum and vertebrae, and spasm of the ligaments that support the uterus and help hold the pelvis together.*
How can visiting a Chiropractor be beneficial to a pregnant woman?
Chiropractic care during pregnancy helps with the typical pregnancy backache, it ensures the pelvis is working and moving properly prior to and during labour. Chiropractic care throughout pregnancy can relieve and even prevent the common discomforts experienced in pregnancy. Specific adjustments eliminate these stresses in your spine, restore balance to your pelvis and result in greater comfort and lifestyle improvements. Chiropractic care throughout pregnancy restores balance to your pelvic muscles and ligaments and therefore leads to safer and easier deliveries for you and your baby. Additionally, the chiropractic adjustment removes interference to the nervous system allowing your uterus to function at its maximum potential. Published studies have indicated that chiropractic care does in fact reduce labour time. According to recent studies, chiropractic care may result in easier pregnancy including increased comfort during the third trimester and delivery, and reduced need for analgesics (pain medication). In one study, women receiving chiropractic care through their first pregnancy had twenty-four per cent shorter labour times [than average] and subjects giving birth for the second or third time reported thirty-nine per cent shorter labour times. In another study, the need for analgesics was reduced by fifty per cent in the patients who received adjustments. In addition, eighty-four per cent of women report relief of back pain during pregnancy with chiropractic care! And because the sacroiliac joints of the pelvis function better, there is significantly less likelihood of back labour (contractions and sharp pain felt in the lower back during labour) when receiving chiropractic care through pregnancy. Chiropractic care has also been shown to increase breast milk production and breastfeeding comfort.
What common aliments do you see most when working with pregnant women?
The preventative check-ups, typical pregnancy backache, lower ribcage discomfort, pubic bone discomfort, upper back ache from increased breast size, breech presentation, and delayed maturity (past due date).
At what age can children start seeing a Chiropractor?
My children were both checked within one hour of delivery. And even with their natural, non-invasive, midwife-delivered births, both had small misalignments in the upper neck area. Studies show that infants showed signs of nervous system injury and birth trauma in up to 40% of natural, non-traumatic births. A German physician (M.D.) found upper cervical (neck) misalignments and dysfunction in over 90% of neonates (newborns).
"The birth process and eager hands pulling and twisting can put a great deal of pressure on the spinal nerves and muscles of the infant's neck (up to eighty pounds in some studies). In a difficult delivery, damage to the delicate tissues of the spine may occur, especially when vacuum extraction or forceps are used. While forceps injuries may be less common today, vacuum extraction can do just as much damage—120 pounds of pressure goes through the baby's head and neck to literally suck the baby out of the mother (decapitation can occur at 140 pounds of pressure, to give you an idea of the high forces involved).
Changing diapers may also place undue stress on the baby's mid-back (thoracic spine). Raising the infant's legs with one hand to place the diaper underneath can cause repetitive stress to these spinal joints. Spinal problems can also occur as a result of the frequent falls suffered by young infants in the first months of life. A fall from a bed, a sudden stop in an automobile, or any significant unsupported movement of the head and neck in an infant can induce excessive movement in the spine causing subluxations. At the other end of the spine, the act of learning to walk, and the number of simple falls encountered in this way, can induce trauma to the lower spinal segments and to the large sacroiliac joints of the pelvis."*
NB: Adjustments for children and babies are safe and take into account the delicate nature of the pediatric spine. The amount of pressure used to check and adjust a child's spine is very small, approximately the same as you would use to check a tomato for ripeness.
How could seeing a Chiropractor be beneficial to a child?
Unless a child has an obvious problem, it can be difficult for parents to recognize when a child has spinal subluxations (misalignments causing nerve interference). There are some signs, however, which parents may look for which can be an indicator of an infant with a spinal problem including: the child's head consistently being tilted to one side; restricted head or neck motion to one side; disturbed sleeping patterns where the child sleeps for only an hour or two at a time; feeding difficulties in the young infant, for example, the infant may have difficulty nursing at the breast on one particular side; and the presence of any of the symptoms of ill-health mentioned previously. Nerve interference from subluxations is implicated in many common childhood health problems such as: sucking dysfunction, colic, irritability, reflux, unexplained crying, recurrent ear infections, frequent colds, headaches, asthma, lack of appetite, poor digestion, constipation , stomach aches, so called ‘growing pains ', back aches, bed-wetting , poor general health, and fatigue.*
*(From Natural Pregnancy, Natural Baby - Natural Remedies for Pregnancy, Birth and Post-Partum Discomforts)