Happy New Year! Wishing all of you a happy and healthy 2018!
Please enjoy the following article about Chiropractic and Pregnancy. Please feel free to discuss your thoughts during your next appointment.
-Dr. Waters and Staff
Chiropractic Produces Healthy Outcomes During Pregnancy and Labor
Drug companies spend more money on marketing their drugs than they do on researching and developing them. Increased competition between pharmaceutical companies floods astronomical amounts of advertising money into a fierce marketing battle. The conclusion of each of those battle volleys accompanies a voice or text detailing a long description of dangerous side effects which have occurred in others taking the medication. American consumers buy and use medications while serving as test subjects for the drugs companies. Billions of dollars in profit provide the ultimate answer as to why the proverbial cart continually gets placed before the horse when it comes to selling products without fully vetting their efficacy. Research and development funds pale in comparison to money spent on attracting citizens drawn to the misleading idea in which pharmaceutical drugs actually improve health and function. People deserve a safer and longer-term approach to health than the medicinal model being pushed by profiteering pharmaceutical companies. The Chiropractic profession continues to advocate for proactive health care that addresses the needs of a populace growing increasingly tired of an unhealthy dependence on medications that simply mask underlying issues and never fully restore the body to a state of drug-free health.
One major area of healthcare that demands a safer, more effective approach comes in the form of life’s most fragile stage: pregnancy, labor, and delivery. An advanced country like the United States would seem to model the safest and least invasive methods for healthy childbirth in the world. Current statistics reveal the contrary when it comes to some of the most developed and advanced countries in the world. The United States ranks at the very bottom when it comes to pregnancy outcomes for mothers and babies when compared to other developed and industrialized nations. Chiropractic offers a solution engineered by the innate power found in the body and not found in any pills or medicines.
The science and research behind Chiropractic offer safe and effective outcomes to mothers and babies that enable a healthier start to a new life. Spinal adjustments improve mobility and alignment in the spine, enhancing a woman’s whole-body health and function through a more balanced and coordinated nervous system. Results from a 2012 study demonstrated the effectiveness of spinal care for pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Some results included:
§ Women who received spinal adjustive care showed a decrease in labor duration compared to women who did not receive Chiropractic care.
§ Women who received spinal adjustive care averaged 11 fewer hours of labor in one study and 5.5 fewer hours of labor in another study when delivering their first child.
§ Women who received spinal adjustive care averaged five fewer hours of labor in their second and subsequent pregnancies.
This research shows women who received spinal adjustive care during pregnancy experienced a decreased likelihood of having a preterm baby, decreased use of forceps during delivery, decreased probability of meconium-stained amniotic fluid, decreased fluid overload, decreased low back pain, decreased carpal tunnel syndrome, and decreased duration of labor. The study also indicated that viscero-somatic feedback occurred following adjustments to the lumbar spine, indicating the possible onset of uterine contractions and indicating spinal adjustments could help jumpstart the labor process and reduce the necessity of Pitocin and drugs.
Pharmaceutical companies marginalize the health of millions of people through the advertisement and distribution of countless drugs designed to lure people into spending billions of dollars a year. These same companies would surely love to market a drug that achieves similar results to those available through natural Chiropractic adjustments that provide health benefits free from negative side effects. The amount of money spent on the marketing platform for Chiropractic pales in comparison to the big business of pharmaceutical drugs. The success and satisfaction rates of Chiropractic patients serve as the most authentic and meaningful marketing plan for the most powerful and proven form of natural health care available to babies and mothers. Families deserve better health than pills and drugs. Chiropractic works.
The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association June 2012 “Osteopathic manipulative treatment in pregnant women.” JM Lavelle
