Expectant mothers are often prone to health concerns due to the tremendous changes their bodies are undergoing. As their bodies prepare to bring a new life into the world, pregnant women experience profound transitions in hormone levels, neurotransmitter balance, and biomechanics. Added to these challenges is the stress that often accompanies the preparation for a new baby’s arrival.
It is no wonder that many women have issues with pain and discomfort during pregnancy. Additionally, it is not uncommon for new mothers to encounter dystocia, the medical term for a difficult birth. Fortunately, chiropractic medicine offers several methods of easing pregnancy and labor. Among these is the Webster Technique.
History of the Webster Technique
Dr. Larry Webster was a pediatric chiropractor who pioneered many chiropractic treatments for children. As a natural extension of his interest in pediatric chiropractic, Dr. Webster developed a diversified approach to helping women with their pregnancies and deliveries. He went on to found the International Pediatric Chiropractic Association (ICPA) as well as serve as the clinical director of Life Chiropractic College.
What is the Webster Technique?
Chiropractors use the Webster Technique to relieve an expectant mother’s discomfort during pregnancy and hopefully make her labor and delivery progress more smoothly. Due to the weight of the developing baby as well as hormonal changes, many women develop sacral and pelvic subluxations. These subluxations are small misalignments in the bones that make up the pelvic girdle as well as the bones of the lower spine.
Such misalignments can be painful and also interfere with the conduction of nerve signals through these areas. Of course, the lower spine and pelvis are integral to labor and delivery, so it is important that nerve signals travel freely in these regions. The Webster Technique uses a series of specialized adjustments to correct subluxations, allowing for proper muscle movement and improvement in pain levels.
Limitations
To date, no clinical studies have been performed that show the Webster Technique is beneficial for correcting improper fetal position. In other words, we cannot say that the technique will help with breech presentations or other fetal presentation problems as this has not yet been definitively proven.