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Chiropractic in the 9th
Month of Pregnancy
The 9th Month. William Sears, MD, Martha
Sears, RN. Parenting, June/July 1997.
"As
your baby descends into your pelvic cavity, you may feel sharp,
stabbing pains at the base of your spine or in the middle of your
pelvic bone, making it uncomfortable twinges of "pains and
needles" in the cervix itself. Pain may radiate down your
back or thighs. The increased pelvic aches and pains are likely
due to the relaxation and stretching of your pelvic ligaments in
preparation for labor. You can ease these discomforts by changing
positions. Exercise gently each day; take long, slow walks or ride
a stationary bike. If you cannot exercise without pain, consult
your doctor. He or she may be able to recommend a chiropractor
experienced in working on pregnant bodies, who may be able to give
you some gentle pelvic adjustments to get your hips back in the
balance. It is our personal theory that chiropractic care in
pregnancy can held to avoid or relive back pain and also prepare
your back and pelvic structures for the stresses of labor and
delivery.
The 9th Month.
William Sears, MD, Martha Sears, RN. Parenting, June/July
1997.
Caesarian
Under Fire
Researchers
report that half of all C-section deliveries needlessly risk the
mother’s life or health without benefit to the baby.
Today the C-section rate
averages one in four births, and at some hospitals the C-section
rate is above 50 percent. Studies indicate that the babies fare
just as well in areas where the rate is below 20 percent as they
do in areas where the rate is higher.
An analysis published in the
Journal Obstetrics and Gynecology revealed that 36 percent of
C-sections are now done because the woman had a previous
caesarean. As many as 95 percent of the women who have had a
C-section and are having another child have a second C-section,
despite studies that have shown at least half could safely deliver
vaginally.
C-section is major surgery
that places the mother at 2-4 times the risk of dying in
childbirth than if she delivers vaginally. Most likely
complications included infection (which occurs in 40-70 percent of
C-sections), hemorrhage, blood clots, and injury to the bladder or
intestines. The baby can also be endangered by a C-section
scheduled in advance of labor because mistakes are commonly made
about the due date, which often results in the delivery of a
premature baby. Preliminary studies also suggest that babies
delivered by C-section may miss the action of certain hormones and
other substances released during labor that help prepare the baby
for life outside the womb.
For the optimum delivery it
is wise for the expectant mother to be under Chiropractic care
during the pregnancy. This allows the structures to be in
alignment so that the baby can be delivered naturally.
Is
an Epidural Bad for a Newborn?
Parenting
Magazine, August 1997
An
epidural can turn a terrible labor into a tolerable one. Yet a new
study suggests this procedure (numbing the area from the waist
down enough to alleviate pain but not interfere with pushing) may
not be without drawbacks. It’s not that epidurals harm the baby
but simply that some women who have them develop a fever during
delivery, which signals that their newborns may be ill. After
undergoing `testing and treatment, however, the majority of such
infants turn out to be infection free.
Researchers at Boston’s Brigham ad Women’s Hospital studied
the medical records of more than 1,600 women who had
uncomplicated, normal childbirths. Among the findings: 15 percent
of those who had epidurals developed a fever, raising a red flag
about their infants’ health; only 1 percent of new moms who had
other forms of pain relief or none at all had fevers.
Newborns with infections rarely develop obvious symptoms (such as
a temperature rise), so maternal fever is one of the few signs
that a newborn may be ill. And an infection that’s harmless to a
new mom, if untreated, can be fatal to her newborn. Some doctors,
erring on the side of caution, draw blood from these babies for
testing and give them shots of antibiotics, which often prolongs
their hospital stay up to three days -–only to find that most
are perfectly healthy. In the study, 86 percent of the babies who
were tested for infection and 87 percent of those who received
antibiotics were born to moms who had epidurals. But of those
tested less than 1 percent were actually ill.
This puts expectant moms in
a quandary; whether to go for the Epidural or to pass on the one
pain alleviator that will allow them to experience the ecstasy of
childbirth without the agony. Experts caution against forgoing a n
epidural solely for this reason, however, because a new mom’s
temperature may rise even without it. "if a woman labors in a
heated birthing room for many hours, the physical effort alone may
result in a slight fever," "says David Birnbach, M.D.,
director of obstetric anesthesiology at St. Luke’s – Roosevelt
Hospital in New York.
Besides, experts agree that
epidurals are the best labor-pain relief available. So that
expectant women won’t have to factor in the possibility of a
fever when considering an epidural, researchers hope to find ways
other that a mother’s temperature to determine whether a newborn
has an infection.
Meanwhile, if you’re
expecting, your doctor should go over all the pros and cons of
having an epidural so that when the time comes you’ll be
prepared to make the choice that is best for you.
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