Chiropractic Adjustments During Labor
A Testimony From a Birth Doula
At 12:41am on January 21, 2019 a very special little boy was born. Cobi Gray did not want to be born like any other little human… he waited for a total lunar eclipse, a blood moon, to make his grand entrance into the world. In the early evening of January 20th we went to the birthing center since my client’s contractions were coming consistently every 5 minutes. The midwife we first saw at the birthing center checked this laboring mom to see how dilated she was and to check what station the baby was in. She was concerned by how high up Cobi was, and privately expressed to me that she felt medical interventions may be needed to assist her baby into the world. This warrior mama had a good cry at the news she was still only 4cm dilated and her baby had not dropped into her pelvis. Then she wiped her tears and got to work.
We had a couple hours before the next midwife on-call would come to the birthing center. In that time I taught her partner how to use a rebozo to help get the baby to drop into the pelvis, he has much bigger muscles than I do. While he was doing that I reached out to one of wellness practitioners at Avalon Wellness Center. Luckily for this laboring mama Our Birthing Center is located downstairs from Avalon Wellness Center where Dr. Jacinda Hover’s office is. Jacinda Hover, Doctor of Chiropractic, Specialist in Women’s Health, has worked with countless pregnant women, getting their babies and pelvis into optimal birthing position. On January 20th at 10:30pm we went upstairs to Dr. Hover’s office so this laboring mama could have an adjustment DURING LABOR!
Dr. Hover used techniques that allowed my client to lay on her belly throughout the treatment. She applied pressure to the pelvis to alleviate discomfort from contractions as they occurred. For all you out there who want more details about this labor adjustment here it is. From a neurological perspective, adjustments during labor help to shift the body into a more parasympathetic (rest, digest, reproduce) state verses a sympathetic (fight/flight) state. Ya’ll that’s exactly what us doulas work so hard to achieve with our clients at every birth! Dr. Hover also did a neck adjustment using a tool called an activator which helped to alleviate muscle tension, I could physically see this shift in my client, it was so cool! From a bio-mechanic perspective, pelvic adjustments help to open up the passageway and correct asymmetries in the pelvis, making things easier for mama and baby. Guess what… two hours later at 12:41am Cobi Gray was born!
As doulas we look to medical professionals for their opinions on how they “think” labor and birth will go for our clients. We try to decode medical jargon in order to educate and prepare our clients for different outcomes. In doing so we help our clients make informed decisions, so they feel empowered by their birth choices. The first on-call midwife gave her medical opinions based on her decades of experience as a certified nurse midwife. She was not wrong to express her concerns and even stated privately to me, “but I have seen miracles happen.” Seeing the strength in this mama’s eyes I knew we were not going down without a fight! I was prepared to offer up whatever magic I could, which were my rebozo & my chiropractic friend Dr. Hover! Donna Roosa, CNM, Co-Founder of Avalon Midwives & Wellness Center is who went on-call at 9pm and also played a huge part in making this magical dream birth a reality! Quite the team that night!!! Not sure how things would have went if Dr. Hover didn’t answer my late-night random text, crazy to think how differently things may have wound up had my magical friend not come to this warrior mamas aide! THANK YOU DR. JACINDA HOVER!!!
Want to work with Dr. Jacinda? You are in luck! Besides having regular office hours at Avalon Wellness Center, Morristown, Dr. Hover is now offering monthly Pelvis Screenings for Optimal Birth
& Postpartum Recovery. $20/20-Minute Screening:
Screenings Available:
1st Saturday of the month | 10-12pm
1st Tuesday of the month | 4-6pm
Learn if your pelvis is aligned. Proper pelvic alignment reduces breech presentation, reduces labor time, and optimizes postpartum recovery to prevent pain and future pregnancy complications.
Perform a functional movement screen to reveal tight or weak muscles which may interfere with labor progression and contribute to both prenatal and postpartum aches and pains.