Once you have completed Steps 1 & 3 of this pregnancy plan you should have the peace of mind that all of the players are in position. By this time your baby has grown from a tiny seedling to a fully formed human being. There is no doubt in your mind that he is in there. Late at night you may lie awake wishing he would take a break and let you get some sleep. At other times, it is fun to just lie there and enjoy the soft rolling of his body. You may wonder if he has taken up boxing and is practicing for the pee wee Olympics, or maybe he decided to be a gymnast and is gearing up for the big event. Whatever it is he is doing in there, it is comforting to know he is fine and able to move freely. But, what happens if he can't?

Life Inside the Womb
Nestled in a twilight water world and wrapped tightly in a bed of pulsating, undulating soft tissue, your unborn child is subjected to continuous sensory input that stimulates the receptors responsible for touch and hearing. Free to swim, turn, roll, and play as much as he would like, your baby trusts that his home will remain open, expansive and accommodating to his playful moves.

Should your baby's environment become restrictive, due to distortions within your body, he will be confined to whatever position he can get into. Sometimes the restrictions become so severe he can no longer roll and play. His ever-growing body will then place undue force against your internal structures, causing you pain and discomfort that can last for days, weeks, or even months.

If the confinement is severe, I find mothers coming in for chiropractic care with symptoms that range from a wide variety of musculoskeletal complaints to unexplained emotional anxiety. I have learned to listen to what a pregnant mother feels and to read between the lines. Sometimes, the problem is clearly a structural imbalance within her body. At other times, her symptoms are a warning that the baby is terribly uncomfortable. I also find that a baby will try any way possible to let his mother know that he needs help. If he is stuck, he will punch and jab at her in an attempt to free some part of his body. Sometimes he can no longer punch or kick due to the in-utero constraint, but a careful examination of the mother's abdomen can reveal the abnormal position.

Chiropractic adjustments and craniosacral therapy are effective tools to free your baby and reduce the subsequent discomfort you may feel. This is accomplished by balancing your pelvis (and associated musculature) to assist the uterus in resuming a balanced, upright position.

If you don't know how great chiropractic prenatal care is, it is time you learned. To explain how this profession can help alleviate many of the complaints that pregnant women come in with, I'd like to take you on a journey into the world of the pregnant woman. Let's begin with the concept of balance.