Pregnancy Chiropractic in Carlton North, Melbourne

When Growing a Human Starts Doing Interesting Things to Your Back, Pelvis and Hips

Pregnancy changes your body enormously.

Your belly grows.

Your centre of gravity shifts.

Your posture adapts.

Your pelvis is carrying changing loads.

Your joints and soft tissues are responding to hormonal and mechanical changes.

And at some point you may discover that turning over in bed has become a multi-stage logistical operation.

Chiropractic care during pregnancy can be adapted to your changing body and may be helpful for pregnancy-related musculoskeletal problems, particularly lower back and pelvic girdle pain.

At The Urban Alchemist, our chiropractors use a range of gentle, individualised techniques and modify treatment according to your stage of pregnancy, comfort, symptoms and clinical presentation.

Our chiropractors providing pregnancy care have undertaken additional postgraduate education in caring for pregnant women and babies.

The aim is not to “correct” pregnancy.

Your body isn’t broken.

It’s doing something extraordinary.

Sometimes it could just use a little help with the mechanical workload.

Book Now!

Not sure whether Chiropractic is appropriate during your pregnancy? Contact our team on (03) 9347 9247.

Is Pregnancy Chiropractic Right for You?

Pregnant clients commonly come to our chiropractors for musculoskeletal problems including:

• Pelvic girdle pain
• Lower back pain
• Sacroiliac joint pain
• Hip and glute pain
• Pubic region discomfort
• Muscular tension
• Neck and upper back tension
• Changes in movement or mobility
• Difficulty getting comfortable as pregnancy progresses
• Mechanical discomfort around the pelvis and surrounding soft tissues

Some people come because something specifically hurts.

Others notice that movement simply isn’t feeling as easy as it used to.

And some arrive with the extremely precise clinical description:

Everything from approximately here down is pissed off.

We can work with that too.

Our Chiropractors

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Pregnancy Chiropractic Fees

Please refer to our online booking system for current Chiropractic consultation fees and appointment types.

Private Health Insurance and HICAPS

Private health insurance claiming may be available depending on the practitioner providing your treatment, the service received and your individual extras cover.

We have HICAPS available at the clinic for eligible on-the-spot claims.

We recommend checking your cover directly with your health insurer before your appointment if you’re relying on a rebate.

Your Pregnant Body Deserves Comfortable Movement

If your back, hips or pelvis have begun expressing opinions about the situation, come and see us.

Book Now!

Not sure whether to book Chiropractic or another treatment? Contact our team on (03) 9347 9247.

Chiropractic Care During Pregnancy

Pregnancy is one of the most significant periods of physical adaptation the human body experiences.

As your baby grows, your body continually adjusts.

That can change:

• Your centre of gravity
• The way you stand and walk
• The load through your pelvis
• The demands on your lower back
• Hip and pelvic movement
• The way you sleep
• How easily you bend, turn and get up
• Muscular tension around the spine, pelvis and hips

Chiropractic care during pregnancy focuses primarily on the musculoskeletal consequences of those changes.

Your chiropractor will assess what’s happening with your body rather than assuming every pregnant person needs the same treatment.

Because they absolutely do not.

Pregnancy Chiropractic for Pelvic Girdle Pain

Pelvic girdle pain can occur around the:

• Sacroiliac joints
• Glutes
• Hips
• Pubic region
• Groin
• Lower back
• Pelvic floor region

You might notice pain when:

• Walking
• Climbing stairs
• Standing on one leg
• Getting dressed
• Turning in bed
• Getting in or out of the car
• Moving from sitting to standing

Or doing the previously uncomplicated task of putting on pants.

Pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain can involve joints, muscles and surrounding tissues, and management may involve a combination of manual therapy, exercise, activity modification and advice.

Chiropractic care may be one component of that approach.

Chiropractic for Lower Back Pain During Pregnancy

Lower back pain is common during pregnancy.

As your body changes, the mechanical load through your spine and pelvis changes with it.

Your chiropractor may assess:

• Spinal movement
• Pelvic movement
• Hip function
• Muscular tension
• Movement patterns
• Activities that aggravate your symptoms

Treatment may include gentle manual techniques alongside movement, exercise or self-management advice where appropriate.

Read more about Lower Back Pain

Pain Around the Pubic Bone, Groin, Vulva or Pelvis

Pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain doesn’t always politely remain in the lower back.

Some people experience pain around the:

• Pubic symphysis
• Groin
• Inner thighs
• Pelvic floor
• Vulval or vaginal region
• Sacroiliac joints

Pain in these areas can have different causes, so your chiropractor will consider whether your symptoms appear musculoskeletal and whether chiropractic care is appropriate.

We don’t assume that all pelvic, vulval or vaginal pain during pregnancy is coming from the spine or pelvis.

New, severe or concerning symptoms may require assessment by your GP, midwife, obstetrician, pelvic health physiotherapist or another appropriate practitioner.

Chiropractic Care as Your Belly Grows

The chiropractic table does not expect you to stop being pregnant for the duration of your appointment.

We adapt.

Treatment positions and techniques can be modified as your pregnancy progresses.

Depending on your comfort and stage of pregnancy, this may include:

• Side-lying treatment
• Supported positioning
• Pregnancy cushions
• Modified table positions
• Gentle joint mobilisation
• Low-force chiropractic techniques
• Soft tissue techniques
• Movement advice

If something isn’t comfortable, tell us.

There is absolutely no need to tolerate an awkward position because you’re trying to be a good patient.

You are currently manufacturing an entire person.

We’ll move the pillow.

Is Chiropractic Safe During Pregnancy?

Chiropractic and other manual therapies can be modified for pregnancy, but no healthcare treatment should be advertised as universally or completely risk-free.

Before treatment, your chiropractor will take a history and assess whether chiropractic care is appropriate for you.

Tell us about:

• Pregnancy complications
• High blood pressure
• Bleeding
• Placental concerns
• Premature labour concerns
• Significant swelling
• Severe headaches
• Blood clot history or risk
• Medical conditions
• Advice you’ve received from your maternity care team

If something falls outside our scope or requires medical assessment, we’ll refer you appropriately.

Chiropractic Care and Preparing Your Body for Birth

This is an area where we want to be precise.

As pregnancy progresses, comfortable movement through the spine, hips and pelvis can become increasingly valuable simply because everyday movement becomes more physically demanding.

Chiropractic care may help manage musculoskeletal discomfort and mobility as you approach birth.

What we don’t claim is that chiropractic treatment can guarantee an easier birth, prevent intervention or ensure a particular labour outcome.

Your chiropractor is treating you, not manipulating your unborn baby.

Birth is influenced by an enormous number of maternal, fetal, hormonal and obstetric factors.

Our job is considerably more modest:

Help your musculoskeletal system feel and function as comfortably as we reasonably can while your body gets on with the astonishing business of pregnancy.

Can Chiropractic Change My Baby’s Position?

You may have heard claims that particular chiropractic techniques can turn a breech baby or directly change fetal position.

We don’t make that claim.

Chiropractors do not manually reposition unborn babies.

What we can assess and treat are musculoskeletal factors in the pregnant person, including mobility and tension around the lower back, hips, pelvis and associated soft tissues.

If you have concerns about your baby’s position, discuss them with your midwife or obstetric team.

Chiropractic may sit alongside your maternity care for your own musculoskeletal comfort, but it isn’t a substitute for obstetric assessment.

Does Chiropractic Make Labour Shorter?

You may have seen statistics online claiming that chiropractic care reduces labour time by very specific percentages.

We don’t use those figures because the available evidence isn’t strong enough to make that promise.

There are many reasons people choose chiropractic care during pregnancy without needing to claim that it will shave a predetermined number of hours off labour.

If your pelvis hurts less.

Your back feels more comfortable.

You’re moving more easily.

You’re sleeping a little better because getting comfortable isn’t such a production.

Those are meaningful goals in themselves.

Pregnancy Chiropractic and Prenatal Massage

These two can work beautifully alongside one another when clinically appropriate.

Chiropractic focuses more specifically on assessment and management of musculoskeletal function, joints and movement.

Prenatal Massage focuses more heavily on muscular tension, relaxation and hands-on soft tissue work.

If your body is requesting both, you don’t necessarily need to choose sides.

Some pregnant clients use one.

Some use the other.

Some enjoy both at different stages of pregnancy.

When Chiropractic Isn’t the First Place to Go

Pregnancy comes with plenty of ordinary aches and pains.

It can also produce symptoms that need prompt medical assessment.

Contact your maternity care provider or seek urgent medical attention as appropriate for symptoms such as:

• Vaginal bleeding
• Leaking fluid
• Severe or unusual abdominal pain
• Sudden or severe headache
• Visual disturbance
• Chest pain
• Significant shortness of breath
• Fever or acute illness
• Sudden or significant swelling
• Symptoms suggestive of a blood clot
• Reduced fetal movement when you would normally expect movement
• Signs of premature labour
• Anything your maternity team has told you requires urgent assessment

Those aren’t “alignment” problems.

They need appropriate maternity care.

Chiropractic Care After Birth

Pregnancy ends.

The physical workload does not.

In fact, somebody hands you a small human and your body immediately begins an entirely new movement program involving:

Feeding.

Holding.

Carrying.

Rocking.

Lifting.

Leaning over bassinets.

Car seats.

Prams.

And looking downward approximately six thousand times per day.

After birth, some parents seek chiropractic care for their own:

• Lower back pain
• Pelvic discomfort
• Neck pain
• Upper back tension
• Shoulder tension
• Musculoskeletal discomfort associated with feeding and carrying

Your treatment can be adapted according to your recovery, including following Caesarean birth or other birth interventions.

If you’re newly postpartum, tell us about your birth and any complications so we can plan care appropriately.

Chiropractic Care for Babies

Some families also bring their babies to our chiropractors.

Chiropractic care for babies is very different from chiropractic treatment for adults.

Assessment focuses on the individual baby and may include observation of:

• Head and neck movement
• Side-to-side movement preferences
• Musculoskeletal asymmetry
• Comfortable movement
• Areas of apparent stiffness or restriction

Any hands-on techniques used with babies should be specifically modified for their age, size and stage of development.

They are gentle and low-force.

This is not adult-style spinal manipulation performed on a tiny person.

Why Might a Parent Bring Their Baby to a Chiropractor?

Parents sometimes seek chiropractic assessment because they have noticed things such as:

• A strong preference for turning the head to one side
• Apparent restriction in neck movement
• Musculoskeletal asymmetry
• Difficulty becoming comfortable in certain positions
• Feeding difficulties where head, neck or jaw movement appears to be contributing
• Persistent unsettled behaviour where a musculoskeletal contribution is being considered

These symptoms can have many different causes.

Chiropractic assessment is not a substitute for paediatric, maternal-child-health, lactation or medical assessment where those services are needed.

The purpose is to determine whether there appears to be a musculoskeletal component that sits within the chiropractor’s scope of practice.

Babies Who Prefer Turning Their Head One Way

This is one presentation we particularly want parents to notice.

Some babies strongly prefer looking in one direction.

You may notice:

• Their head almost always rests toward the same side
• Turning one way seems easier than the other
• Feeding appears easier on one breast than the other
• They become uncomfortable when positioned in a particular direction
• Their neck movement appears asymmetrical

There are several possible reasons for these patterns.

A chiropractor can assess musculoskeletal movement and determine whether treatment is appropriate or whether your baby should be referred elsewhere.

Chiropractic and Breastfeeding Difficulties

Breastfeeding is complicated.

Successful feeding involves the baby, the breastfeeding parent, positioning, milk supply, attachment, oral anatomy, neurological function and plenty more besides.

Sometimes parents notice that their baby:

• Turns easily toward one breast but struggles toward the other
• Appears uncomfortable in particular feeding positions
• Has restricted head or neck movement
• Seems physically awkward when trying to latch

In those circumstances, a chiropractor may assess whether a musculoskeletal restriction appears to be contributing.

We do not claim that chiropractic treatment corrects milk supply, tongue tie, sucking reflexes or breastfeeding difficulties generally.

A lactation consultant, maternal and child health nurse, midwife, GP or paediatric practitioner may also need to be involved.

Sometimes the best care is a team.

What About Colic and Unsettled Babies?

Parents understandably look everywhere for help when their baby cries for hours.

Manual therapy has been studied for infantile colic and excessive crying, with mixed results and limitations in the quality of the evidence.

Some studies have reported reductions in crying following low-force manual therapy, while other systematic reviews have found the evidence insufficient or very uncertain.

So we don’t advertise chiropractic as a proven treatment for colic.

If you bring an unsettled baby to us, our role is to assess whether there are musculoskeletal findings that could reasonably be contributing to discomfort and to refer appropriately when there aren’t.

Persistent or unusual crying can have medical causes.

Those need medical assessment.

What About Baby Sleep?

We don’t treat babies for “poor sleep.”

Baby sleep is influenced by development, feeding, temperament, environment, illness and a truly impressive determination to disregard adult preferences.

If a baby appears physically uncomfortable or has restricted movement, we can assess whether there is a musculoskeletal issue within our scope.

But chiropractic care isn’t a baby sleep program.

What Does Chiropractic Treatment for a Baby Feel Like?

If treatment is clinically appropriate, techniques are adapted specifically for an infant.

That can involve extremely gentle, low-force contact and mobilisation rather than the techniques you might associate with adult chiropractic treatment.

Parents are involved throughout the appointment.

Your chiropractor should explain:

• What they have assessed
• What they found
• Whether treatment is indicated
• What they propose to do
• The expected benefits
• The limitations of the evidence
• Potential risks
• Other appropriate care options

You are welcome to ask questions.

And consent can be withdrawn at any time.

Does Every Baby Need a Chiropractic Check After Birth?

No.

We don’t recommend routine chiropractic treatment for every newborn simply because birth occurred.

Birth can certainly place substantial physical demands on both mother and baby, particularly after a difficult labour or assisted delivery.

But that doesn’t mean every baby has a musculoskeletal problem requiring chiropractic treatment.

If you notice a specific movement, comfort or musculoskeletal concern, you’re welcome to discuss it with us.

Treatment should have a reason.

What About Forceps, Vacuum or Caesarean Birth?

Parents sometimes seek assessment after a difficult or assisted birth because they have concerns about their baby’s movement or comfort.

The fact that forceps, vacuum extraction or Caesarean birth occurred does not automatically mean a baby needs chiropractic treatment.

But if you notice something specific afterwards, such as persistent head-turning preference or apparent movement restriction, talk to your maternal and child health nurse, GP or other healthcare provider, or contact us to discuss whether chiropractic assessment may be appropriate.

Working Alongside Your Pregnancy and Baby Care Team

You don’t need a referral to see a chiropractor.

Many people book directly.

Others come after discussing their symptoms with a:

• GP
• Midwife
• Obstetrician
• Maternal and child health nurse
• Doula
• Physiotherapist
• Lactation consultant
• Other healthcare practitioner

We are very happy working as part of a broader healthcare team.

Pregnancy, birth and infancy are not competitions between professions.

If something sits outside our scope, we want the right practitioner involved.

Frequently Asked Questions About Pregnancy Chiropractic

Can I see a chiropractor while pregnant?

Yes, chiropractic care can be modified for pregnancy where clinically appropriate.

Your chiropractor will assess your symptoms, health history and stage of pregnancy before recommending treatment.

Can Chiropractic help pregnancy-related lower back pain?

Chiropractic care and other manual therapies are used for pregnancy-related musculoskeletal pain, including lower back and pelvic girdle pain.

Individual responses vary and treatment should form part of appropriate clinical management.

Can Chiropractic help pelvic girdle pain?

It may be one component of care for pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain where musculoskeletal factors are involved.

Your chiropractor will assess your presentation and refer if another form of care is more appropriate.

Can Chiropractic help pain around my pubic bone or groin?

Sometimes pain in these areas has a musculoskeletal component that can be assessed.

Because pelvic and groin pain can have different causes, your chiropractor will determine whether your symptoms fall within their scope.

Will you crack my back while I’m pregnant?

Not necessarily.

There are many chiropractic techniques, including gentle mobilisation and low-force approaches.

Treatment is adapted to you.

Can Chiropractic turn a breech baby?

We don’t claim that chiropractic treatment turns babies or directly changes fetal position.

If you have concerns about fetal position, speak with your maternity care team.

Does Chiropractic make labour easier?

We don’t promise a particular labour or birth outcome.

Chiropractic care during pregnancy focuses on appropriate management of your own musculoskeletal symptoms and function.

Do I need a referral?

No.

You can book Chiropractic directly.

Can I see a chiropractor after giving birth?

Yes.

Postpartum clients commonly seek musculoskeletal care for back, pelvic, neck and shoulder discomfort.

Treatment is adapted to your recovery and individual circumstances.

Frequently Asked Questions About Chiropractic Care for Babies

Do you see babies?

Yes.

Our chiropractors providing infant care have undertaken additional education relevant to caring for babies.

Does every newborn need Chiropractic?

No.

We don’t recommend chiropractic treatment simply because a baby has been born.

Assessment and treatment should have a clinical reason.

Is baby Chiropractic the same as adult Chiropractic?

No.

Techniques used with infants are modified for their age, size and development and use very low forces.

Can you help if my baby only turns their head one way?

We can assess head and neck movement to determine whether there appears to be a musculoskeletal restriction and whether chiropractic treatment is appropriate.

Can Chiropractic help breastfeeding?

If restricted head, neck or jaw movement appears to be contributing to positioning or feeding difficulties, a chiropractor may assess the musculoskeletal component.

Breastfeeding difficulties can have many causes, so lactation or medical care may also be needed.

Can Chiropractic treat colic?

The research on manual therapy for infant colic is mixed and limited, so we don’t describe Chiropractic as a proven treatment for colic.

We can assess whether an unsettled baby has musculoskeletal findings that may warrant care.

Can Chiropractic make my baby sleep better?

We don’t treat babies for poor sleep.

If your baby appears uncomfortable or has restricted movement, we can assess whether a musculoskeletal issue is present.

What if my baby needs someone else?

We’ll tell you.

If your baby’s presentation requires assessment outside chiropractic scope, we’ll recommend appropriate medical or allied healthcare.

Pregnancy and Baby Chiropractic in Carlton North, Melbourne

Pregnancy changes an extraordinary amount in a relatively short period of time.

Your spine.

Your pelvis.

Your hips.

Your posture.

Your movement.

Your centre of gravity.

And eventually your ability to pick something up from the floor without first deciding whether you actually need it.

Our approach to Pregnancy Chiropractic is simple:

Assess the person in front of us.

Understand what’s hurting or not moving comfortably.

Use treatment appropriate for their body and stage of pregnancy.

Refer when something isn’t ours to treat.

The same principle applies to babies.

Not every pregnant person needs Chiropractic.

Not every baby needs Chiropractic.

But when there is a musculoskeletal problem within our scope, thoughtful, age-appropriate chiropractic care may have a useful role within the broader healthcare picture.

Our Carlton North clinic is conveniently located for families from Carlton, Fitzroy, Fitzroy North, Clifton Hill, Brunswick East, Northcote, Collingwood and Melbourne’s inner north.

Need Some Help With Your Changing Body?

Pregnant, postpartum or wondering whether something you’re noticing in your baby might be musculoskeletal?

Come and talk to us.

Book Now!

Not sure whether Chiropractic is the right place to start? Contact us on (03) 9347 9247.