I recently worked on a patient who had been seeing me regularly for low back pain. Part of her issue was that her pelvis was extremely fixated. As result, this put more stress on her lumbar spine. Restoring proper motion to her pelvis was an integral part of helping to correct her low back. When she learned that she was pregnant, I was doubly happy that I had gotten the chance to work on her so that her pelvis would not complicate the birth.
Proper motion of the pelvis can make a significant difference in the child birthing process. The body, in its innate wisdom, releases a hormone that loosens the ligaments in the mother’s body in preparation for the birth. As the baby comes down the birth canal, the bones of the pelvis shift in order to make more room for the baby’s descent.
And yet things are not perfect. As a chiropractor, my job is to ensure that no joint fixations exist that might complicate the birth. At the very least, keeping the pelvis moving properly may allow for a smoother delivery with less time in labor.
She recently came in for a “tune-up” visit and happily announced that the birth had gone surprisingly easily and her labor time had been very significantly shorter compared to the previous birth.