What I'm Getting Right
I've made it to almost 39 weeks (on Wednesday) feeling pretty good physically, emotionally and mentally. Some of this is luck of the draw (i.e., no morning sickness), but some of my success I attribute to my being proactive about my health.
One of the best decisions I made was to start seeing a chiropractor from the very beginning of my pregnancy. I had never been to one before, and although I'm generally pretty open-minded, I secretly wondered how much credibility this profession really had. I mean, my overall-wearing, weedwacker-haircut sporting eighth-grade lockermate went on to be a chiropractor.
But then I read an article about a doctor in my area who worked with children and pregnant women, and thinking about the back problems I've had on and off since childhood I figured I'd give it a shot.
I explained to her that when I was in sixth grade I slipped and fell smack on my tailbone -- twice -- and ever since have had periods of pain that seize up my entire torso for hours or a day at a time. These episodes had pretty much gone away, but I was worried that the pregnancy would bring them back.
Around that same time period I was screened for scoliosis, and although I passed the screening a doctor did say that one of my vertebrae was slightly twisted. He basically sent me on my way with a sheet of back exercises to do -- which I never did because, well, I was twelve, and I couldn't figure out if I was doing them right.
My chiropractor said she thinks maybe I did have a very mild case of scoliosis, but that they either didn't pick up on it or didn't label it as such because there's not much they can do for a mild case. Her examination revealed that one of my shoulders was higher than the other and that my body was off-balance -- something I'd suspected for a while.
I've been seeing her every few weeks since the beginning of my pregnancy (and now, toward the end, every week) and I will urge every pregnant woman I know to go see her. The few back pains I've had (and nothing has been truly severe) have always been resolved after an adjustment. I plan on continuing to see her after the birth, and to bring the baby in right away as well.
One of the best decisions I made was to start seeing a chiropractor from the very beginning of my pregnancy. I had never been to one before, and although I'm generally pretty open-minded, I secretly wondered how much credibility this profession really had. I mean, my overall-wearing, weedwacker-haircut sporting eighth-grade lockermate went on to be a chiropractor.
But then I read an article about a doctor in my area who worked with children and pregnant women, and thinking about the back problems I've had on and off since childhood I figured I'd give it a shot.
I explained to her that when I was in sixth grade I slipped and fell smack on my tailbone -- twice -- and ever since have had periods of pain that seize up my entire torso for hours or a day at a time. These episodes had pretty much gone away, but I was worried that the pregnancy would bring them back.
Around that same time period I was screened for scoliosis, and although I passed the screening a doctor did say that one of my vertebrae was slightly twisted. He basically sent me on my way with a sheet of back exercises to do -- which I never did because, well, I was twelve, and I couldn't figure out if I was doing them right.
My chiropractor said she thinks maybe I did have a very mild case of scoliosis, but that they either didn't pick up on it or didn't label it as such because there's not much they can do for a mild case. Her examination revealed that one of my shoulders was higher than the other and that my body was off-balance -- something I'd suspected for a while.
I've been seeing her every few weeks since the beginning of my pregnancy (and now, toward the end, every week) and I will urge every pregnant woman I know to go see her. The few back pains I've had (and nothing has been truly severe) have always been resolved after an adjustment. I plan on continuing to see her after the birth, and to bring the baby in right away as well.
posted by True Mama at
9:34 AM
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