Hi, I’m Dr. Steven Battaglino with Battaglino Family Chiropractic. Why does pregnancy hurt so much? Pregnancy is commonly associated with lower back pain, mid-back pain. Part of it is due to the weight gain. As much as the weight gain plays a role, so does the shift in the weight. In other words, the center of gravity is shifting and that has a big impact on the spine and the structure of the body.

This is the back of the spine, this is the front, the tummy is here so the tummy grows as the child grows inside the womb, and it pulls the spine like this. What happens is that, the lower spine has a lot more stress on it. Also, the upper spine kind of stretches like this and has more stress on it, as well. So, that’s a big factor coupled with the weight gain. The third factor to consider is the effect of a hormone called relaxin. Relaxin relaxes ligaments, hence the name. What it’s designed to do is, relax the ligaments right here between the pubic bones to allow them to separate so that the child can pass through the birth canal.

The problem with that is that, relaxin has an effect systemically, so it will loosen ligaments in the elbow, the neck, the low back, all over the place. So things are getting out of place more easily. That, coupled with the weight gain and weight shift, really leads to, a lot of times, an uncomfortable experience in pregnancy. It doesn’t necessarily have to be that way though. With chiropractic, we can gently, specifically, safely realign structure of the mom-to-be. In doing so, we actually realign the structure of where the baby is living inside here. This is the pelvic bowl, this is where the child is gestating or growing before birth, and it’s right on the other side of what we call the sacrum. This is the foundation or base of the spine and the two pelvic bones.

When these get out of alignment, it changes and distorts the pelvic bowl inside. So what can happen is that if that shifts around, the child can kinda turn in the womb, and this is a big cause for children turning in utero. So, we have specialized tables that allow the mom-to-be to lay on her stomach with kind of open piece there for her tummy so there’s nothing pressing on it. We also have pillow systems like this that allow for the mom-to-be to lay on her stomach. So, it should be really comfortable and specific. It’s totally safe and should allow for a more comfortable experience of pregnancy, but also birth and postpartum.

I’m Dr. Steven Battaglino with Battaglino Family Chiropractic, and this has been your Health Minute.