During pregnancy the body goes through many changes as the baby grows and develops. As your womb and stomach grow, the curve in your lower back increases and your pelvis changes its shape, changing your posture. An excessive curve in the lower back diminishes the spines capacity to absorb load, compressing the discs in your spine (1, 2, 3). These changes can cause back pain and discomfort. 

Researchers estimate that 45-76% of pregnant people experience lower back pain at some point in pregnancy (4, 5, 6, 7, 8) and 33% of those people report the pain as severe in nature (9). If your back and pelvis was not properly aligned before pregnancy, this will increase the risk of back pain during pregnancy (10). The recurrence rate for lower back pain in pregnancy is 85-90% (11-13), with almost 1 in 5 people who had pregnancy related back pain avoiding future pregnancies due to fear of returning symptoms (14).

In addition, the hormone relaxin is released during pregnancy (13), this increases the risk of lumbopelvic hypermobility and potential weakening of your core stability (15). This leads to potential pain and disability increasing throughout pregnancy (16).

Chiropractic care during pregnancy not only helps to provide a more comfortable pregnancy; it also maintains and improves the balance of your spine and pelvis and reduces muscle tension (17, 18). Almost 75% of pregnant people under chiropractic care report significant pain reduction and clinically significant improvement in disability (19, 20). Additionally, 4 in 5 pregnant people receiving manual therapy report a reduction in other pregnancy related symptoms; such as heartburn, vomiting, nausea, dizziness, excess salivation, insomnia, neck pain and headaches (21, 22). This allows you to have a more comfortable pregnancy and support your babys needs during pregnancy and the birthing process. 

The Webster technique is a specific chiropractic technique used during pregnancy. It reduces inference to the nervous system and balances the pelvis, muscles and ligaments (23). It is successful in relieving intra-uterine constraint. Intrauterine constraint is a reduction of the amount of room available in the womb, this can potentially affect the way your baby grows and may reduce your baby’s ability to get into an optimal birthing position (24). 

Studies have shown that chiropractic care significantly reduces labour time. First time pregnancies had an average of a 24% shorter labour time and repeat pregnancies had an average of a 39% reduction in labour time. (25, 26) Studies also show that under chiropractic care there is a 50% decrease in the need for painkillers during delivery. Chiropractic care can also improve post partum lower back pain (27).