The present study observes the effectiveness of chiropractic care on a patient with pregnancy related complaints. Additionally, her baby was presenting breech.
Many pregnant women seek chiropractic care for pregnancy-related musculoskeletal complaints like low back pain. The Webster Technique is used most often with pregnant patients because the technique addresses misalignments in the sacral/pelvic region in order to balance the mother’s pelvic structures. This balance may provide a more optimal environment for the baby with positive outcomes for a natural birth.
The current study used a case report of a 30-year-old nurse-midwife who was 34 weeks pregnant with her baby in a transverse (side-to-side) position.
Her previous child was delivered in an occipito-posterior position (the back of the baby’s head is against the mother’s sacrum). She experienced with major back labor. The patient came in for chiropractic care because she was experiencing a mild, sharp left hip pain and right leg pain.
During her initial exam, the doctor utilized the Webster technique analysis and determined a misalignment in the sacrum and pelvis. He also found misalignments in her neck.
The doctor of chiropractic adjusted the patient’s neck with the Diversified Technique (high velocity, low amplitude thrusts), lower back with the Thompson Technique, and sacrum and pelvis with the modified diversified. Post check using the Webster analysis showed immediate changes to the sacrum and pelvis.
Her care plan was to get her spine checked twice per week for two weeks using the care described previously. At the fifth visit, she said her baby had turned vertex (head down), then to transverse (side-to-side) and back to vertex. Similar movement happened between the fifth and sixth visit.
Then, on the seventh visit the patient’s initial complaints changed. She now reported low back pain and pelvic pain. The doctor of chiropractic examined the patient and found weakness in the left hip muscle and back of the head muscle spasms. Based on these new findings, the doctor modified his adjustments accordingly. She reported improvements at the next visit.
At her 10th visit, she was having contractions two to three minutes apart that slowed down every 10 minutes when she rested. Also, at her next visit she reported upper and lower back pain due to her assisting in 12 deliveries as a nurse midwife. Her left hip muscle was still showing weakness. The doctor of chiropractic analyzed her and utilized diversified adjusting techniques as needed.
On her 11th visit, after six weeks of care, she reported feeling exhausted and nauseous with chills. The patient reported that any movement would cause contractions especially when she began to move or tried getting up from a seated position.
Utilizing the Webster analysis for sacral misalignment, the doctor adjusted according to his findings. Overall, she successfully delivered her baby vaginally 39 hours later without any back pain or complications.
MLA Citation: Edwards, John, & Alcantara, Joel. “The Chiropractic Care of a Pregnant Patient Experiencing Multiple Fetal Positional Changes.” Journal of Pediatric, Maternal, & Family Health. 2015.2 (2015): 77-81.
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