TheBumpOC.com

We saw this article on yahoo shine and thought it had some valuable information for babymomma’s.    It was first published on Monday February 7, 2011 by Shine Staff writer Piper Weiss.  We hope you find the information valuable.

Pregnant Rachel Zoe steps out in foot-skyscrapers. (Fame/Barcroft Media/via the Daily Mail)

Have you ever worn a pair of knee-high, 5-inch platform boots? It’s like operating two mechanical bulls with your feet. Reality star and celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe is a pro at it. She also happens to be pregnant. Is it a health risk to be rocking mega heels in your third trimester?

It is if you ask foot doctors. In June, the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists issued a warning for all pregnant women to avoid the extra lift. Shoes with too much height put both mom and baby in danger. ”High heels alter your posture, shorten your calf muscles and place increased pressure on your back and knees,” podiatrist Lorraine Jones told the BBC. “In pregnancy this places extra pressure on your joints when they are already under strain—which can result in a host of foot, leg and back problems.”

High heels also leave pregnant women for vulnerable to spills. Because your center of gravity changes with a baby bump, balancing on heels is a challenge after 25 weeks, even for stiletto veterans. Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, and Lilly Allen all lost their footing while wearing high heels at appearances during their pregnancy.

That’s not to say pregnant women should turn strictly to flats. The SCP recommends supportive pumps with a 1.2-inch heel on average. The tilt distributes the weight of your body in a more therapeutic way so the soles of your feet aren’t bearing all the burden. Still got those Easy Spirits from the ’80s? Now’s a good time to break them out. They may not be head-turners but at least they’re vintage.

Need a little help in moving around while pregnant?  We’ve got a class for you!  Dr. Malley is sharing some healthy baby-momma secrets to make your pregnancy a safe and comfortable one!  Call our office today to get registered for this complimentary pregnancy ergonomics class.

Topics to be discussed

1. Bedroom ergonomics

-from sunrise to sunset and all that happens in between. We’ve got tips to keep you comfortable all through the night.

2. Work station ergonomics

-making changes at the office that make working while prego a little more comfortable

3. Automobile ergonomics

-entering & exiting the car safely

4.  Shopping

-from bagging it, carrying it, and loading it.

Interested in attending our class?  Contact our office for further details on the next class.

How can chiropractic help with infertility?    In many couples who have been labled “infertile,” the egg isn’t able to make it through the fallopian tube to meet the sperm at the other end.  The muscles of the fallopian tube may not be receiving proper input from the nervous system to do their job.  This blockage of information from the nervous system could be caused by a vertebral subluxation, generally in the lower part of the spine.  Doesn’t it make sense that in this case,  chiropractic could help?  If the fallopian tube just isn’t getting the information from the brain because of the vertebral subluxation, then a spinal adjustment would clear the blockage and allow the information to travel from the brain to the spinal cord to the nerve that innervates the fallopian tube.  Remember that the egg doesn’t swim, it is carried along by muscle contractions of the fallopian tube, so if the fallopian tube does not receive the stimulus to contract,it won’t.

Please call our office and schedule an appointment to discuss how chiropractic care can help you.  We understand that this is not the case in every patient but we did want to point out the importance of spinal alignment in conception.  As always, this blog is for information purposes only and is not intended to replace medical treatment.

We found a few studies that support chiropractic care in the treatment of infertility.   The Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research published a study in May, 2003 regarding the treatment of infertility. It revealed an impressive correlation between initiating chiropractic spinal care and resolving fertility problems.  This study involved 15 women who had previously been unable to get pregnant.  All participants were examined by doctors of chiropractic, and were found to have mechanical problems in their spines (vertebral subluxations).  In this particular study, all of the participants became pregnant with 2-20 months of initiating chiropractic spinal treatment.

Eleven other successful fertility case studies were published in another scientific periodical, the Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics. Once again, the women in this study suffered from spinal problems, which were interfering with nerve impulses going to their reproductive organs.  The authors also commented on the tremendous costs and risks of various fertility treatments, such as in-vitro fertilization, compared to holistic or total-body health treatments.

Please call our office today for a chiropractic consultation.

The American Medical Association stated that stress is a factor in more than 75% of illness today.  The World Health Organization stated that stress is America’s  #1 health  problem.  The Center for Disease Control stated that the number one prescribed class of drugs  in the United States today is antidepressants.  Guess what triggers depression?  The body’s hormonal response to stress. 

What is stress?  Stress can be defined as your internal response to events both internal and external that are happening in your life.  Your spouse loses their job, the death of a loved one, an unreasonable work deadline.  You get the picture.  All of these are stressors that elicit a stress response in the body.   So how do these stressors affect your pregnancy?

According to a July, 2010 article published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, stress does impact your pregnancy.  According to the study, there was an increase risk of preterm birth among women with higher levels of life stress in the first and second trimester.  Each unit increase of perceived life events stress during the first trimester was associated with a  99.09g (approximately .2 lbs  ) decrease in infant birth weight.

Since total elimination of stress is impossible, what does a baby momma do to balance out stress that can have a negative impact on her pregnancy?

Dr. Malley’s stress tool box

1.  Prayer.  God never gives us more than we can handle.  Begin your day with it, end your day with it, and any other time of day you feel like you need to pray.

2.  Take care of yourself.  Chiropractic care is important for maintaining spinal alignment that helps your body respond to the stressors  you face every day.  Massage therapy is also a great way to reduce the build up of physical, mental stressors that bombard you throughout the day.

2.  Build a support system externally.  Choose people to be in your life that will be a support network for you while you are pregnant.  We all need to have people in our lives for support and companionship.  Do not try and go through your pregnancy without this.

3.  Nutrition, nutrtition, nutrition.  I can’t say it enough, how you are what you eat.  A nutrient dense food program provides your body with the vitamins and minerals it needs to have a healthy stress response.

4.  Rest.  Give yourself time to rest and recover from each stressful event or day.  Make sure to limit your schedule when possible to avoid stress overload.  Establish a pre-bedtime routine that includes relaxation that will help you unwind from the day.

5.  Counseling.  Seek additional support if you are feeling overwhelmed.  Our office can refer you to a counselor in your area.  Professional help is beneficial for not only providing you with support, but helping you with coping strategies or developing skills that will enable you to handle stressors in a healthier way.

Remember, we are here to help you have a healthy pregnancy naturally.  This article is not a replacement for medical care, it is written for informational purpose only.

References

“Prenatal life events stress: implications for preterm birth and infant birthweight,” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Volume 203, Issue 1, Pages 34.e1-34.e8 (July 2010) Peng Zhu, MD,  et. al.

Pregnancy,  for most women is one of the happiest times of their life, but for others it can be a time of confusion, fear, sadness, and even depression.  According to the American Pregnancy Association, approximately 10-20% of women will struggle with some symptoms of depression during pregnancy, with approximately 25-50% of those who experience symptoms will suffer from a major depression.  So what is depression?  Depression is a disorder that affects 1 in 4 women at some point during their lifetime, so it should be no surprise that this illness would also touch women who are pregnant. But all too often, depression is not diagnosed properly during pregnancy because people think it is just another type of hormonal imbalance. This assumption can be dangerous for the mother and the unborn baby.

Symptoms of depression include the following:

• Persistent sadness
• Difficulty concentrating
• Sleeping too little or too much
• Loss of interest in activities that you usually enjoy
• Frequent, recurring thoughts of death, suicide, or hopelessness
• Anxious thoughts
• Feelings of guilt or worthlessness
• Change in eating habits (diminished appetite or eating too much, especially of carbohydrate rich foods)

Causes of depression can be any of the following:

• Relationship problems
• Family or personal history of depression
• Previous pregnancy loss due to miscarriage or abortion
• Stressful life events
• Complications in pregnancy
• History of abuse or trauma
• Infertility treatments

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms for more than two weeks, it’s time to get some help, professionally.  Talk with your health care provider about counseling/ psychological support.  You are worth it and so is your baby!!

This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to replace medical treatment.

Okay it may not be like the cartoon picture, but needless to say the moment has arrived! If you are experiencing contractions at regular intervals , you may have lost your mucus plug and your water may or may not have broken.  Welcome to labor!!  This is what you have spent the past nine months preparing for; the birth of your child!!  There is more to labor preparation than getting a pedicure and packing your bag.  Labor preparation is the entire nine months of pregnancy.  Regular chiropractic adjustments through your pregnancy helps to  prepare you for entering labor.  How do spinal adjustments help?  By maintaining proper spinal alignment for the past nine months you have given your body the opportunity to be in optimal position for a natural delivery.   Several ligaments that attach the uterus to the pelvis affect spinal health as well as fetal positioning.  Adjustments to the lower back through out your pregnancy has helped to maintain that pelvic space the uterus needs as it grows and expands with the developing fetus.  Sacral alignment can affect the baby’s ability to turn.  Chiropractic adjustments to the sacrum keep the optimum alignment which in turn helps to maintain the space in the pelvis that the baby needs for delivery.   Chiropractic care supports the natural positioning of the pelvis for delivery.  Make sure that you see an ICPA Chiropractor that is trained in the Webster technique.  This is a doctor of chiropractic that has taken additional training to ensure the proper pelvic alignment for prenatal women.  Dr. Malley has been trained by the ICPA in the Webster technique as well as the Bagnell technique.   Dr. Malley will work with you, your obstetric provider, and your birth plan.    Please give our office a call we would love to help you have a healthy pregnancy, labor, and delivery, naturally!

Pregnancy is a very important time in your life.  This is the time that you need your body to be in it’s best health because you are  supporting the development of  another life.  Your spine plays a very important role in the process of pregnancy.  Not only does your spine support you and house your central nervous system but it also provides information to your vital organs and muscles for function, this includes the uterus.

Pregnancy is not the time to increase your anti-inflammatory intake due to back or neck pain.  Yesterday’s article covered a few of the studies done to prove that.  Chiropractic care is safe and effective for correcting spinal subluxations (misalignments) that can cause pain and discomfort during pregnancy.

You have nine months to create a new life.  Make chiropractic care a part of your health plan for a healthy pregnancy naturally!

There has been a lot of controversy in the past five years about the use of over the counter anti-inflammatory use during pregnancy.  Je-Kun Li did a study through Kaiser Permanente  in 2003 and found that over-the-counter anti-inflammatory use (except Acetaminaphen) around the time of conception, increased the risk of miscarriage by 80%.  Based on that study,  over-the-counter anti-inflammatories, except acetaminophen, were considered not safe to take while pregnant. 

In 2004, another group of researchers from Denmark conducted a separate research study and also documented the use of NSAID’s increased the risk of miscarriage.  The Danish research group had previously conducted a study in 2001 that drew the same conclusion between the usage of NSAID’s and miscarriage.   The only opposition to the research was a group of epidemologists that wrote a letter questioning other lifestyle factors that might have factored in on the miscarriage but were not counted in Li’s study in 2003.

In February 2009,  a research study was published in the British Medical Journal noting that Tylenol taken in the third trimester was linked to preterm birth.

Chiropractic care is safe and effective for back pain complaints during pregnancy.  Why would you risk taking any over the counter medication that has been possibly linked to 80% increase in miscarriage in the first trimester, and preterm birth in the third trimester?  A healthy pregnancy naturally is the safest way to go!  Chiropractic care is safe and natural way of relieving the discomforts associated with pregnancy.  Don’t be pregnant without chiropractic care!

Resources

“Use of Acetaminaphen during pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes,” TheInternational Journal of Epidemology: March 30, 2009.

“NSAIDs during pregnancy and risk of miscarriage: true risks or only suspicions?”  authors Bendetta, Schiavetti, Clavena,Campi,and Bonati. The British Medical Journal: January 10, 2004.

“Danish group reanalyses miscarriage in NSAID users,” authors Skriver, Pedersen, and Sorensen. The British Medical Journal: January 10, 2004.

“Exposure to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs during pregnancy, and risk of miscarriage: population based  cohort study,”  authors De-Kun Li, Liyan Liu,  and Roxana Odouli.The British Medical Journal: August 16,2003.