Prenatal Massage

While prenatal massage does share many of the goals of regular massage, such as relaxing tense muscles, easing sore spots and improving circulation and mobility, studies continue to show that being massaged during pregnancy can also reduce stress and anxiety and decrease symptoms of depression. It can also have a positive effect on labour and your baby’s health. Recent studies also reveal that hormone levels improve significantly when massage is used as part of prenatal care, especially those hormones associated with relaxation and stress.

Other benefits of Prenatal Massage are:

·         Reduce any swelling in your hands, feet and ankles

·         Lessen sacroiliac joint pain, the most common lower back/hip pain that usually flares up in the second trimester

·         Ease muscular discomfort in areas such as your lower back, legs and feet

·         Relax tense muscles in your shoulders and neck

·         Relieve cramping in your legs

·         Increase flexibility

·         Ease headaches

·         Relax and de-stress

·         Decrease insomnia

·         Increase oxygen in the blood

Guy Lacoursiere, RMT practices at Family First Chiropractic and Wellness, located at 142 Erickson Drive. Call 403-347-3261 to book an appointment or visit us online.

How to have an easy Birth with experienced Prenatal Chiropractic Care

Many women are seeking ways into reduce discomforts and pain in pregnancy, and many utilize chiropractic care for this. Babies will go into a head down position 28-32 weeks changing the discomforts of mother and possible pain patterns she has been experiencing. Many women experience more pelvic pressure at this time from the baby’s head on the perineum.

When baby is in a non-optimal position it can cause a different pain complaints for mom. For example a backwards/posterior baby OP will cause more sacral and low back pain, shortness of breath and pubic pain such as SPD (symphysis pubic dysfunction) and groin pain or numbness. A sideways or OT presentation will cause more hip, groin, sciatic, bursitis and one sided pubic bone pain for mother. 

Many women are diagnosed in their last trimester with sciatica, SPD and PGP (pelvic girdle pain) at this time. The examination and diagnosis  give chiropractors clues to how the baby is positioned and mothers pelvic subluxation and mal-alignment patterns. As chiropractors we can then can adjust the spine, sacrum, pelvis , low back, pubic bone, and hips to assist baby in getting into OPF Optimal Fetal Position.

Certifications and experience in the Webster technique will enable the experienced chiropractor to give specific adjustments to mother affecting her pelvis and opening up room for baby to get into a better birth position. The adjustments to the sacrum and spine will also increase proper nervous system function to the uterine and perineum muscles.

A ROA, or LOA position is the OFP for birth so having ‘baby head down’ is only part of the birth process, the spine needs to be anterior (forward) and chin tucked in for an easy birth form mother and baby. When baby is not in this position prior to labour then mother and baby will have a longer, slower, and more painful or difficutl birth. When mothers are aware of the position of baby she can then do specific exercises and home care to assist movement of the baby prior to the onset of labour. Your prenatal chiropractor can assist in guiding these exercises and strengthening .

To book an appointment or to get more information please call Dr. Joelle Johnson who has been a member of the ICPA since 1999 and certified and very experienced  in the Webster technique and the Gardner-Bagnell since 2000 and 2008 . 403-347-3261 www.family1stchiro.ca located at 142 Erickson Drive in Red Deer. 

Baby's Heart Beat

 
This blog brought to you by Family First Chiropractic and Wellness, 142 Erickson drive, Red Deer 403-347-3261.
www.family1stchiro.ca
 

 

The circulatory (or blood) system, along with the heart, is the first part of that tiny body to be functional (around 5 weeks gestation) and as your baby's heart starts to form, you may even be able to see it beating on an early ultrasound. Typically this cannot be heard with even a Doppler until the 9-10th week of pregnancy at the earliest, sometimes not until the 12-14th weeks of pregnancy. A baby's heart beat, often called fetal heart tones (FHT), is very rapid, much faster than an adult's. In fact it starts out near 180 beats per minute (BPM) and around 12 weeks gestation settles into the normal range of 120-160 BPM for the remainder of the pregnancy