Rachel’s Pregnancy

A few years ago, my daughter Rachel arrived at the vacation beach house our family rented and could not get out of the car without help. She was pregnant and due in four days. She could barely stand or walk. As she started for the front door, I directed her to the sidewalk alongside the side of the house and to the deck in the back where a chiropractic table was ready for her. She needed help to get to the table.

We placed her in the supine tilted position. I then evaluated her and asked her partner, Randall, to reconfirm my evaluation. Rachel was in severe distress and the pubic symphysis was significantly misaligned. Palpation of the ASIS’s showed that she was high on the left side and palpation of the pubic symphysis showed that she was anterior on the right side. I then showed Randall how to pull her left leg and do a backwards push on her right side. He repeated each maneuver five to six times, until there was no tenderness and the bones were aligned anteriorly (front) and superiorly (up). The ASIS’s were level. We then had her roll onto her right side to sit up. Note that she was high on the left side and we do not want her loading that left side with changing positions or lifting things. 

This is a major management issue. 

After the adjustments, Rachel was able to stand up and walk around without distress. She did a few deep knee bends, she declared herself fine and then they went for a walk on the beach. I had Randall practice a few more times through the weekend. Tuesday morning she went into labor and delivered in eight hours. She had a natural childbirth without complications. When I arrived shortly after, I was told that Randall was a great help to Rachel.

In just about five minutes of instruction and a few practice sessions, Randall was able to learn these simple techniques, saving Rachel much pain and discomfort before, during and after her labor.

Photo by Tim Kraaijvanger on Unsplash