- Staying Hydrated
Hydration during pregnancy is very important as it effects the level of amniotic fluid in the womb. The more amniotic fluid there is, the more room baby has to flip. The most obvious way to increase hydration is to make sure you’re drinking plenty of water. However, if you drink too much, the water is all filtered through your kidneys and you end up urinating most of it out. The way to bypass this system is by getting hydration through your skin. Baths are a great way to do this. Make sure the water isn’t too hot (no more than 990F), and you’re not using any kind of salts in the water. Bubbles and soaps are ok. After a 20-minute soak, your overall hydration will increase.
- Mom’s Body Position
- Sitting position- When sitting, try to make sure that your knees are BELOW your hips. They make special chairs for this (called an ergonomic kneeling chair), but sitting on an inflated stability ball or a bar stool is also effective. Putting your body into this position ensures that your pelvis is not tilted in a way that will obstruct the birth canal.
- Going from lying to standing- When going from lying to standing (like getting out of bed), before you were pregnant it was probably easier to simply lift yourself up using your abdominal muscles. Now that there is an extra passenger in your abdominal wall, using these muscles as little as possible will give them more space and freedom to move. Rolling onto your side, pushing yourself up using your arm muscles, and swinging your legs off of the bed/couch is the most effective way to accomplish this.
- Spinning babies- “Spinning Babies is an approach to optimize the physical relationship between the bodies of the mother and baby for the easing of childbirth. Spinning Babies is a new paradigm that takes clues from baby’s position and station for natural, physiological solutions.” The spinning babies website is a great resource for additional things you can be doing at home to help with baby’s positioning.
https://spinningbabies.com/learn-more/baby-positions/breech/flip-a-breech/
- Moxibustion
Moxibustion (Moxa) is a form of ancient Chinese medicine that has been found in the literature as early as 475 B.C. for a number of different ailments. Moxa is the process of using a rolled herb called Artemisia Argyi (or Mugwort) that is then ignited and brought close to different acupuncture points in the feet. For breech babies specifically, point UB 67 is used because of it’s correlation with uterine movement. This point is located on the outer, lower edge of both little toenails. For more information, please visit http://www.pregnancy.com.au/birth-choices/breech-birth/moxibustion-for-breech-presentation.shtml
- RELAX
There are 2 basic modes that our bodies can function in. One of them is called the sympathetic system, which you may have heard of as the “fight or flight” response. It is meant to be very short lived. The other system is called the parasympathetic system. This is in charge of things like resting, repairing, healing, digesting, and GROWING AND HAVING A BABY. The sympathetic system and parasympathetic system work in opposition and cannot both operate at the same time. Feeling a constant stress and panic about baby turning to head down is moving you from this “relaxation” mode into the “fight or flight” mode. At this point, your body isn’t worried about making sure your baby is head down. Allowing your body to relax will make it easier for baby to flip. First and foremost, STOP GOOGLING. It will usually just stress you out more =) Otherwise, what are things that you normally do to relax? Going for a walk, prenatal yoga, taking a bath, reading a book, binge watching tv or movies, having sex, sleep…anything that is going to make you comfortable!
- The Webster Technique
The Webster Technique is a chiropractic adjusting technique specific to pregnant women that is very gentle, safe, and effective for women throughout all stages of pregnancy. Our bodies are controlled by messages sent from our brains to every cell, tissue, and organ in the body through nerves that exit the spine. The lower back contains nerves that go to your reproductive organs, including the uterus. If these messages are misfiring due to misalignment of the vertebrae that cover the nerves, the result can be the uterus not being in optimal position. Baby’s heads weigh more than the rest of their bodies. Gravity alone should be enough to get them into the “head down” position. More often than not, a breech baby is due to interference in the mother’s nervous system due to misalignment of the vertebrae in the low back as well as a misalignment of the pelvis. This misalignment can cause a twist in the uterus decreasing the available space for the baby. The Webster Technique is NOT designed to turn breech babies. However, if the reason for the breech baby is neurological and structural in nature, 70% of women that receive The Webster Technique when their baby is breech will have their baby flip. The chiropractor is simply removing the interference in the nervous system to allow your body to get back to normal. Receiving The Webster Technique during pregnancy, regardless of how far along you are or the position of the baby, is the single most important component to ensure your body is prepared for birth.
Call today to have Dr. Maj help. Her Headache-no-More program is the most in-depth check-up to see if she can help. Go to https://communitychiropractic.net/headache-no-more-voucher/ for discounts!
To make an appointment, call 773.528.8485 or go to CommunityChiropractic.net
1442 W. Belmont Ave., 1E Chicago, IL 60657
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