Breech Position and the Webster Technique
We reached out to our community partner, Dr. Jennifer Wise (DC) and asked her to share the benefits of the Webster Technique during pregnancy. This technique helps to create space in the uterus and may help a breech baby turn to a head down position. This guest blog post was provide to us by prenatal chiropractor, Dr. Jennifer Wise. She practices in Ajax and Toronto, ON and is passionate about helping people have their best pregnancy possible! You can learn more about her practice at www.pregnancychiropractor.ca
Finding out that your baby is breech can be very stressful news, but it is important to know that you have options. There are many possible reasons why a baby may not yet be settling into his ideal position and the good news is that many of these reasons can be helped with gentle maneuvers, optimal resting positions and gentle chiropractic adjustments.
The Webster Technique is a specific chiropractic technique used by prenatal chiropractors to reduce constraint in the uterus. The goal is to remove tension, which can allow your baby to move into the head down (vertex) birth position that she innately wants to get into to prepare for delivery.
Using this protocol, your prenatal chiropractor analyzes the position of the bony joints in the pelvis and works to restore them to optimal alignment while also gently reducing tension in the muscles and ligaments of the pelvis to create space for your baby to find a better position. Your chiropractor can also recommend stretches and positions that will support and optimize the adjustments you’re receiving.
If you have recently learned that your baby is breech, make an appointment with your prenatal chiropractor as soon as possible to assess whether the Webster Technique is going to be helpful for you. The earlier, the better, but it is never too late to try! If your alignment issues have been with you for a while, it may take some time to create optimal position and movement and the smaller your baby is, the more space she will have to move into a better position.
It is also important to note that even if your baby is not breech, the Webster Technique can still be very helpful in helping to make you more comfortable during pregnancy while still working to reduce intra -uterine constraint giving baby more space to find her optimal birth position.
Instagram- @dr.wise.chiropractor, @thrivehealthclinic
Pregnant? Join us for our Prenatal Fitness Series! Each series is usually 6 weeks long and we focus on various topics relevant to the prenatal population and work to help develop a feeling of community for our members. Find more information on our Prenatal Fitness page or have your questions answered on our FAQs page.
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