Pregnant Patients under Chiropractic Care

During pregnancy, many physiological and biomechanical changes occur that may affect the mothers’ physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. Chiropractic care is common for women during pregnancy (1), especially for pregnancy related musculoskeletal pain that arises (2). Are you and your loved one planning for, or are currently pregnant? This is an important article that could make the world of difference to you.
 
“Back pain is one of the most prevalent conditions reported among pregnant women” (3)
 
Excessive stress during the antenatal period may lead to long term effects on the foetus and alter the development of the foetal nervous system (4). With society as it currently is, with overreliance on drugs such as opioids, to try to help to control pain and high rates of postpartum depression and anxiety, it is important to explore alternative solutions to improving the maternal quality of life. (5,6,7)
 
In a recent research literature, questionnaires were utilised to measure the quality of life and specific visit satisfaction of pregnant patients under chiropractic care, and it was found that pregnant patients were highly satisfied with their chiropractic visit and their quality of life scores improved beyond statistical significance with chiropractic care. (7)
 
If you want to find out if chiropractic may assist with musculoskeletal issues during pregnancy for you or your loved ones, have a chat with one of our chiropractors to see how they can assist.
 
“Reducing the stresses that affect mums are important for the overall health of the baby”
 
 References 
1.Metcalfe, A., Grabowska, K., Weller, C. and Tough, S.C., 2013. Impact of prenatal care provider on the use of ancillary health services during pregnancy. BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 13(1), pp.1-11.
2. Pallivalapila AR, Stewart D, Shetty A, et al. Use of complementary and alternative medicines during the third trimester. Obstet Gynecol 2015;125:204–211.
3. Steel, A., Adams, J., Sibbritt, D., Broom, A., Gallois, C. and Frawley, J., 2012. Utilisation of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners within maternity care provision: results from a nationally representative cohort study of 1,835 pregnant women. BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 12(1), pp.1-8.
4. Pickler, R.H., McGrath, J.M., Reyna, M.B.A., McCain, N., Lewis, M.M., Cone, M.S., Wetzel, P. and Best, A., 2010. A model of neurodevelopmental risk and protection for preterm infants. The Journal of perinatal & neonatal nursing, 24(4), p.356.
5. Vowles KE, McEntee ML, Julnes PS, et al. Rates of opioid misuse, abuse, and addiction in chronic pain: A systematic review and data synthesis. Pain 2015;156:569–576.
6.Alderdice F, McNeill J, Lynn F. A systematic review of systematic reviews of interventions to improve maternal mental health and well-being. Midwifery 2013;29:389–399.
7. Alcantara, J., Nazarenko, A.L., Ohm, J. and Alcantara, J., 2018. The use of the patient reported outcomes measurement information system and the RAND VSQ9 to measure the quality of life and visit-specific satisfaction of pregnant patients under chiropractic care utilizing the webster technique. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 24(1), pp.90-98.