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Trimester 1
Trimester 2
Trimester 3
Pregnancy
Chiropractic care benefits = relaxed, balanced, calm environment to grow and develop baby.
Other things moms report chiropractic helping with:
- Nausea / morning sickness
- Heartburn
- Constipation
- Energy levels
- Poor Sleep (Side note – did you know that the “half life” of caffeine more than doubles for you when you’re pregnant? This means the same amount of caffeine can take up to 4 times longer to clear out of your system. So if you’re noticing changes in sleep…and drinking the same amount of coffee…the first place to start is to cut back on your caffeine or eliminate it entirely! Link here for the study.)
- Pain – Sciatic / Pelvic / Pubic Bone
- Low Back Pain
Click here for our Pregnancy Blog and more info
Click here for Alyssa’s story of how chiropractic helped her pregnancy
- Frequency for chiropractic adjustments during trimester 1, for healthy uncomplicated pregnancies, is ideally being checked weekly or every two weeks.
- Frequency for chiropractic adjustments during trimester 2, for healthy uncomplicated pregnancies, is ideally being checked weekly or every two weeks. “Boosting” or more frequent checks occur when symptoms arise, which can happen during baby growth spurts.
- Frequency for chiropractic adjustments during trimester 3, around 32 weeks, for healthy uncomplicated pregnancies, is ideally being checked weekly. Starting around 35 weeks through labor, being checked two to three times per week is ideal. This is when lots of growth and changes are occurring rapidly. The goal is to keep the body relaxed, balanced, and ready for a successful delivery when labor begins.
Trimester 1: Securing your team!
Things to think about…
Provider
It’s common for moms/parents to choose a provider who is willing to work with mom and baby during labor/delivery and to provide multiple options for mom’s preferences.
e.g. multiple laboring positions, water birth option, allowing time for mom and baby to find their natural rhythm for a successful vaginal delivery.
Moms/parents look into choosing a midwife or OB team, (who provide care and qualify a mom the whole way through pregnancy to be able to have a safe, mess free, and effective birth). While OBs focus on births in the hospital, midwives can help you have a successful delivery at a birth center, at a hospital, or at home.
Check out more stories on all types of birth providers and location types at https://pathwaystofamilywellness.org/labels/pregnancy-and-birth.html
Doula
Provides great birth support to mom and parents from later weeks in pregnancy, to prepping for when baby arrives, through all stages of labor/delivery, to postpartum stages including breast feeding. They offers support / coaching advice on how partner can help support mom. They also act as an advocate for the birth plan parents choose.
Some doulas focus exclusively on postpartum. They can help at home and give advice after baby arrives.
“There never really is a ‘normal’ day as a birth and postpartum doula. One day, I may be at a birth, squeezing hips, massaging tight muscles, creating a peaceful environment, relieving a birth partner, and advocating for the family’s birth preferences. Another day I’m sitting with a client breastfeeding her newborn, discussing feeding and sleep, encouraging her to enjoy a healthy snack and some tea, to rest, and to trust her developing parent instincts. Still another, I may be teaching a parent to swaddle, reading new research, stretching with a pregnant client, or answering a panicky text with reassurance. The constants are really relationships and connection, being the steady handhold for families as they navigate new experiences.”
https://blog.pathwaystofamilywellness.org/pathways/doulas-always-adapting/
“Choosing Your Birth Doula” Interview with local Twin Cities doula Sarah Auna
Resources for Trimester 1:
- Book – Well Adjusted Babies – The Complete Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, Babies & Beyond
- MN Doula: The Childbirth Collective
- Information on Vaccinations
- Pathways to Family Wellness Website
- Information on Homeoprophylaxis (As an alternative to vaccinations)
Local:
- Blooma
- One Strong Mama
- Midwife for home births – Geneabirth
- Doula – Sarah Auna
- Massage and Doula – Spiral Dance Bodywork
Trimester 2:
Chiropractic frequency for trimester 2, for healthy uncomplicated pregnancies, is ideally being checked weekly or every two weeks. Boosting checks when symptoms arise, which can happen during baby growth spurts.
Continue nurturing body and baby with good nutrition.
Walking to keep muscles engaged and ready for labor/delivery.
Also for getting muscles engaged and ready – Squat Practice
Practice rolling to your side when sitting up vs crunching up to a seated position. Helps keep pelvis, abdomen and ribs in better alignment, which gives baby proper space to grow.
Utilizing pillows to support belly during sleeping, if necessary. (e.g. Long body pillows)
Another pillow some moms like is a pregnancy pillow. It supports the belly while laying face down / “on their stomach” https://bestbirthpillow.com/
Finding a birth class to attend. We recommend a 3rd party birth class for more unbiased and fuller spectrum of information provided, like a class taught at Blooma, vs the “offered” birthing class at the birth location (e.g. what’s offered at the birth center or hospital). Or if you want, attend both classes!
Sometimes we hear from veteran moms, the birth class at the birth location offers information geared heavily towards the location, and does not always cover the full spectrum of information / options available to mom and baby.
Find a lactation or nursing class to attend.
Resources:
- Spinning babies
- Book – Well Adjusted Babies – The Complete Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, Babies & Beyond
- Information on Vaccinations
- Pathways to Family Wellness Website
- Blooma
- Enlightened Mama – Lactation Consulting and Nursing Class
- La Leche League (Breastfeeding / Nursing)
- Birth Class – Pain Free Birth
- Birth Class – Mama Natural
Trimester 3:
Chiropractic frequency for trimester 3, around 32 weeks, for healthy uncomplicated pregnancies, is ideally being checked weekly. Around 35 weeks through labor/delivery, being checked two to three times per week is ideal. This is when lots of growth and changes are occurring rapidly in mama and baby.
Goal of chiropractic care is efficient labor, efficient contractions, shorter labor durations, body open and moving, allowing things to happen and flow as they should.
Continue nurturing body with good nutrition.
Preparing meals for trimester 4 / postpartum.
Walking to keep muscles engaged and ready for labor/delivery.
Rolling to your side when sitting up vs crunching up to a seated position. Helps keep pelvis, abdomen and ribs in better alignment which gives baby proper space to grow.
Utilizing pillows to support belly during sleeping, if necessary. e.g. Long body pillows, or wedge shaped pillows under the belly to support the weight, and/or pillows between the legs
Another pillow some mom’s like is, a pregnancy pillow, to support the belly, while laying face down / “on their stomach”
More info here:
https://bestbirthpillow.com/
Attending a birth class. We recommend a 3rd party birth class for more unbiased full spectrum of information, like Blooma, vs the birthing location class offered like at a birth center or hospital.
Learning where to push from/which muscles to actually use to push with in your body during labor/delivery.
Resources:
- Spinning babies
- Book – Well Adjusted Babies – The Complete Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, Babies & Beyond
- Information on Vaccinations
- Pathways to Family Wellness Website
- Blooma
- Enlightened Mama
- La Leche League (Breastfeeding / Nursing)
- Blogs on WFC website
- Birth Class – Pain Free Birth
- Birth Class – Mama Natural
See our resources for Pre-pregnancy and Postpartum as well.