Pregnancy & Newborn Care

Our expertise is caring for women through this important time of transition. We offer pregnancy massage, prenatal chiropractic care, help with breech babies, postpartum care and baby care.

Pregnancy Massage

We all know that massage feels good, but what what you might not know is that studies show that massage therapy performed during pregnancy can reduce anxiety, decrease symptoms of depression, relieve muscle aches and joint pains, improve labor outcomes and even newborn health.

The American Pregnancy Association recommends massage to address the many common discomforts associated with the skeletal and circulatory changes brought on by hormone shifts during pregnancy. Some common treatable symptoms include:

• back pain
• fatigue
• swelling of the hands and feet

In order to make massage more comfortable and accessible during pregnancy, at Acorn Wellness Center we use a specialty table that can adjust into an upright position, as well as a specialty pregnancy cushion with cut-outs for the breasts and belly to allow for laying face down.

Prenatal Chiropractic Care

During pregnancy there are several physiologic and endocrine changes that occur in preparation for the developing baby. One such change is the production of the pregnancy hormone relaxin which makes ligaments soft, allowing the pelvis to be more flexible during birth. The effect of relaxin, along with other postural adaptations such as increased weight and a protruding belly, make pregnancy an especially vulnerable time. Pregnant women are more likely than the general population to have back pain, pubic symphysitis, sciatica, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and hip and leg pain.

Chiropractic care is very safe because the treatment only involves the use of the chiropractor’s hands. An experienced and well-trained chiropractor is able to massage the tension out of the muscles that are tight, and then comfortably manipulate any joints that are restricted. This restores function and leaves the body feeling pain-free.

Establishing pelvic balance and alignment is another reason to obtain chiropractic care during pregnancy. When the pelvis is out-of-balance it will make labor more difficult, more painful and last longer. This can also lead to a twisting of the uterus, known as intrauterine constraint, which can make it difficult for a baby to get into the best possible position for delivery. Making the pelvis more mobile and symmetrical will make labor faster and easier, and will help ensure that the baby is in the optimum position for birth.

Preventing Breech Presentation

The Webster Technique, a pregnancy-specific form of chiropractic care, can prevent breech position by increasing room for the baby and the uterus. Using the Webster Technique, the pelvis is aligned and the ligaments relaxed so that mother and baby have the most possible room. This encourages a breech baby to shift to the optimum birth position and enhances the comfort of an already properly positioned baby.

The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics reported in the July/August 2002 issue an 82% success rate of babies turning vertex when doctors of chiropractic used the Webster Technique. Further, the results from the study suggest that it may be beneficial to perform the Webster Technique as soon as the 8th month of pregnancy when a woman has a breech presentation.

Postpartum Chiropractic Care

After delivery, the hormone relaxin keeps making ligaments soft for 6 months. This increases your vulnerability to lower back and pelvic joint misalignment and pain. In addition, baby holding and breastfeeding put tremendous stress on the neck, upper back, shoulders and arms. Many new moms suffer from headaches, neck and shoulder aches as well as wrist and forearm problems such as caused by Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and deQuervain’s stenosing tenosynovitis (tendinitis of the thumb).

The good news about the postpartum time period is that since relaxin is still softening ligaments, correcting musculoskeletal problems is easily accomplished because of your body’s increased pliability. This can even be an excellent time to treat long-standing issues that have built-up scar tissue.

Baby Care

Even the gentlest births are considered traumatic by the baby. We specialize in caring for newborns to release birth trauma, or to treat common complaints such as colic, digestive issues, sleeping problems or difficulty with nursing. We use CranioSacral Therapy (CST) which is a subtle, profound, and painless bodywork technique that releases restrictions of the connective tissue throughout the body.