When a woman learns her baby has assumed a breech position, she is often left with few options except to wait and see if the baby will turn. This is the point in which some women choose to be proactive and search for ways to help baby find its way into the natural birthing position. This is usually when someone will turn to chiropractic for help.
The Webster Technique is a specific chiropractic diagnostic and adjustment technique that helps to correct pelvic misalignment and balance pelvic muscles and ligaments. This removes torsion from the uterus and the resultant strain to the baby which had been preventing the baby from moving into the best possible position for birth. There has been a high reported success rate of the baby turning to the normal vertex position in pregnant women presenting breech who have had Webster technique done. This is not an obstetric “breech turning” technique. When the baby is not in the normal vertex position, it indicates that mom’s pelvic joints may not be moving freely. The uterus is attached to the pelvis via ligaments that pull on the pelvis as the baby grows.
Ideally, an expectant mother should have regular chiropractic checkups throughout her pregnancy to ensure her pelvic joints are moving and that there is not tension in the surrounding musculature. These preventative visits not only prevent uterine constraint, but they also help prevent low back pain, sciatica, and hip soreness in mom. The extra baby weight in the front of the woman changes the mechanics of her whole body, and now her joints and muscles have to adapt and imbalances develop. The chiropractic adjustment helps to restore balance in the muscles and joints, preventing the common aches and pains of pregnancy.
The Webster Technique is only a small part of chiropractic that can be performed only by chiropractors certified in the technique. In general though, chiropractors may adjust other areas within the body to help resolve other issues that develop with pregnancy such as morning sickness and headaches. The chiropractic adjustment works with the body’s central command center which is the nervous system. The adjustment helps to fine tune the communication between the brain and the rest of the body so that proper function can be restored. During a time when many other treatment options are not available, chiropractic offers a safe means to a healthy, pain free pregnancy.