Research Shows Chiropractic Can Help with Difficult Births

Recent research reporting on a woman experiencing a difficult birth reveals that chiropractic may play an important role in helping pregnant women having difficulty during the birthing process.

Atlanta, GA, March 06, 2009 --(PR.com)-- The research, reported in the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic includes a review of the literature on labor difficulty known as dystocia and the role of complimentary and alternative health care providers during the birth process.

“Research is revealing that chiropractic care is extremely beneficial before, during and after the birth process, helping the mother enjoy a healthier pregnancy, a more normal delivery and giving the child a better start in life” stated Dr. Jeanne Ohm, Executive Director of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) and one of the co-authors of the study. “Study after study is showing that a chiropractor is an indispensable part of the birthing team” added Dr. Ohm.

Research has shown that a number of things can interfere with the normal delivery of a child. Despite widespread education and efforts to curb dangerous birthing interventions such as caesarean sections, their use remains high and concerns amongst health care advocates is growing. The concern centers around the use of high risk interventions for “convenience” of the doctor or mother without taking into consideration the long term effects of a traumatic birth on the child.

“It makes a lot of sense when you think about it” stated Dr. Justin Ohm, co-author on the paper. “We see this shocking increase in the number of interventional procedures during birth when there are alternatives such as the use of chiropractors and midwives working collaboratively with obstetricians to allow the mother and child to have a normal birth. We need to take advantage of the advances in childbirth delivery that have come about.”

As pointed out in the paper, chiropractic can play a beneficial role during the birth process in cases where the mother is experiencing some type of distortion or twisting of her pelvis and related musculature that is interfering with the delivery process.

“The goal is for the mother to be checked prior to the time of delivery so that these problems can be corrected beforehand and a difficult labor avoided” remarked Dr. Joel Alcantara, Director of Research for the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association and lead author of the study. Alcantara added “While this is only a single case study, it shows what can happen when chiropractors, midwives and obstetricians work together for the benefit of the mother and child - everyone benefits.”

Spinal and pelvic distortions, termed subluxations by chiropractors, result in structural and neurological interference to the spine and nerve system. It is this interference that may interfere with the birth process and chiropractors correct or reduce this interference.

The mother reported on in the study experienced difficulty during her home birth and after 34 hours the decision was made to have her chiropractor examine and treat her. Within a half hour of a chiropractic adjustment to reduce subluxation of the pelvis the birth progressed rapidly and she gave birth to a healthy child. The authors of the study call for more research on the role of chiropractic care in pregnancy and delivery.

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