Prenatal Chiropractic Care
Vanderloo Chiropractic is committed to helping you and your family achieve
what you want out of life! Combining skill and specialty expertise, Dr. Michelle Wattier is dedicated to bringing you better
health and a higher quality of life by allowing you and your children’s
bodies to function and heal the way they were designed to!
Dr. Michelle Wattier has been certified since 2003 in a special chiropractic technique caring for pregnant mothers called the Webster Technique, developed by Dr. Larry Webster in 1976. Dr. Webster wanted to develop an adjustment “for laboring women to help with the ease of birth.” He worked diligently with pregnant women developing this technique in hopes of offering them an easier delivery than his daughter had. ( https://icpa4kids.com/about/our-story/larry-webster-dc )
Webster Certification signals trust.
Not all chiropractors are certified in this technique and proper training and certification are very important. You
can be sure that your Webster Certified Chiropractor has
been properly trained in the technique by an international organization
recognized far beyond the chiropractic profession. Your doctor’s
relationship to the ICPA demonstrates ongoing education and commitment to
the families they serve. Dr. Wattier has been a member of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association ( www.icpa4kids.org) since
2002, received her Webster Technique certification in 2003, awarded her
fellowship with the ICPA in 2004, and continues to stay up to date with their ongoing
continuing education classes. Dr. Michelle Wattier is also the only chiropractor in the Cedar Valley area to be certified by the Academy Council of Chiropractic
Pediatrics. She is also an active member of the Association of Pre and
Perinatal Psychology and Health (APPPAH) and currently working on a Pre-Natal and Peri-Natal Educator (PPNE) Certificate Program.
The Webster technique is a very specific type of analysis and chiropractic adjustment focusing on the biomechanics of the pregnant mother's pelvis. The Webster Technique is used to reduce sacral and sacroiliac joint (SIJ) dysfunction, allowing baby to move into its own best possible position for birth naturally in the womb. This analysis and adjustment helps to restore proper alignment and motion to the sacrum and pelvis, thus leading to decreased intrauterine constraint, and the neuro-biomechanical function of the pelvis is facilitated and improved. These sacral and pelvic subluxations may contribute to difficult labor for the mother (i.e., dystocia). Dystocia can be caused by inadequate uterine function, pelvic contraction, or baby mal-presentation. Correction of this sacral subluxation may have a beneficial effect on all of these causes of dystocia. This technique can also be applied in the chiropractic care of any weight bearing individual (i.e., pregnant or not, males and females, and children) as a valid sacral analysis and adjustment.
Additionally, women under chiropractic care during their pregnancies
report 24-39% faster labor times, fewer complications and less back
labor pain, 50% less drugs (analgesics) involved, better milk
production, and reduced likelihood of postpartum depression
(http://icpa4kids.org/Wellness-Articles/an-expectant-parents-guide-to-chiropractic.html).
After the baby is born, chiropractic care can provide another level of care
to the baby and for all ages of children. (See Pediatric Chiropractic
Care.)
Chiropractic care during pregnancy can provide numerous
benefits!
Potential benefits of chiropractic care during pregnancy include:
- Maintaining a healthier pregnancy
- Controlling symptoms of nausea and heartburn
- Reducing the time of labor and delivery
- Relieving back, hip, neck, or other joint pain
- Reduction in chance of a potential cesarean delivery
Pediatric Chiropractic Care
Why should every child see a pediatric chiropractor?
Children deserve to enter the world as healthy as
possible. While we support a natural approach to birth whenever possible,
we acknowledge the effects that trauma can have on both baby and mom during
the labor and delivery process, particularly when medical interventions
such as vacuum extraction, episiotomy, caesarean sections, or other
surgical procedures are employed. In the current healthcare economy, birth
trauma is frequently ignored and overlooked in many cases.
Pediatric chiropractors are specially and extensively trained to detect
signs of both macro- and micro-trauma and their destructive effects on a
child’s developing nervous system. When misalignments
known as vertebral subluxations put pressure and stress on the nerves or
the spinal cord, chiropractors gently restore proper alignment, thereby
removing interference to the nervous system and restoring proper function.
There are six major developmental events in a baby’s first year of life when chiropractic examinations are especially important:
- After the birth process.
- When the baby starts to hold his/her head up.
- When the baby sits up.
- When the baby starts to crawl.
- When the baby starts to stand.
- When the baby starts to walk.
Toddlerhood through childhood is a very “physical” time. Those first unsteady steps soon evolve into running, jumping, falls, and accidents, which are all part of a normal childhood. While most falls are minor, at times they can cause nerve-damaging subluxations with serious long-term consequences. For that reason, all children need periodic spinal check-ups as the continue to grow and develop! Just as we perform tune-ups and regular maintenance on our car and go to the dentist to get our teeth cleaned on a regular basis, so should we maintain our spinal health. Life never stops and we should keep our spine and nervous system healthy for our whole life!
The effects of an adjustment on an infant, toddler or school-aged child can
be profound because it eliminates not just the symptom of many common
ailments, but the underlying cause.
At Vanderloo Chiropractic our focus is ensuring that the nervous system has
every opportunity to work efficiently and effectively. Nerve irritations (or vertebral subluxations)
occur as a part of your child’s normal daily life and disrupt the delicate nervous system. They may result from physical,
chemical, and emotional stressors to our health, such as birth, bad
posture, sleeping on our stomachs, crashes and falls, poor food choices,
dehydration, exposure to chemicals and toxins, as well as stress and
anxiety.
Top 10 Reasons Parents take their Children to a Pediatric Chiropractor:
1.) To encourage good neuroplasticity (brain and nerve development)
2.) To support and enhance “first-class” nerve
communication throughout the body, improving the function of their nervous
system to promote health and well-being
3.) To help strengthen their child's immunity - encouraging fewer colds, ear infections, and
general illness
4.) To help resolve breastfeeding issues, colic, and acid reflux
5.) To reduce the detrimental impact our modern world has
on our children's health
6.) To encourage children to thrive by supporting digestive health
7.) To help improve their child's ability to learn, concentrate, and focus
8.) To promote body balance - helping to resolve poor posture, asthma, allergies, and bed-wetting
9.) To help kids stay fun, happy, and light-hearted
10.) To help kids stay in tip-top shape for performance in arts, academics, and athletics
Get your kids and whole family on the path to true wellness. Call us today! 319-232-1143
Research
The ICPA conducts annual peer-reviewed practice based research and case study
reports to reflect the practice of family wellness chiropractic around the
world. The ICPA Practice Based Research Network is the largest PBRN in
chiropractic, and is regularly published in the Journal of Pediatric,
Maternal & Family Health - Chiropractic. Dr. Michelle is happy to be a
part of and to provide clinical information from our practice to contribute
to such important research. Keep your eye out for a chance to participate
in a research study soon!
More information on PBRNs:
https://icpa4kids.com/research/about-pbrn/
https://icpa4kids.com/research/pbrn-projects/
Click here to see some of the ICPA's latest published articles:
http://icpa4kids.org/About-the-ICPA/icpa-research.html
http://icpa4kids.org/Chiropractic-Research/
Resources:
https://icpa4kids.com/about/our-story/larry-webster-dc/
http://icpa4kids.org/Wellness-Articles/an-expectant-parents-guide-to-chiropractic.html
https://icpa4kids.com/media/1160/webster_technique.pdf
http://icpa4kids.org/Chiropractic-Research/
http://icpa4kids.org/Wellness-Articles/
http://icpa4kids.org/Wellness-Research/
http://icpa4kids.org/About-the-ICPA/icpa-research.html
For Birth Professionals:
Webster Technique Clinically Defined:
“The Webster technique is a specific chiropractic analysis and diversified adjustment. The goal of the adjustment is to reduce the effects of subluxation and/or SI joint dysfunction. In so doing neurobiomechanical function in the sacral/pelvic region is improved. The ICPA recognizes that in a theoretical and clinical framework of the Webster Technique in the care of pregnant women, sacral subluxation may contribute to difficult labor for the mother (i.e., dystocia). Dystocia is caused by inadequate uterine function, pelvic contraction, and baby malpresentation. The correction of sacral subluxation may have a positive effect on all of these causes of dystocia. In this clinical and theoretical framework, it is proposed that sacral misalignment may contribute to these three primary causes of dystocia via uterine nerve interference, pelvic misalignment and the tightening and torsion of specific pelvic muscles and ligaments. The resulting tense muscles and ligaments and their aberrant effect on the uterus may prevent the baby from comfortably assuming the best possible position for birth.” (Source: The Webster Technique: Definition, Application and Implications: https://icpa4kids.com/media/1160/webster_technique.pdf )
When to Refer:
Please call Dr. Wattier at 319-232-1143 and she will email you a handy guide she has created!
Or you can download the guide here.