Pregnancy and Babies

Pregnancy and birth should be beautiful life experiences but they can put pressure on the body and mind so looking after yourself during this time is vital. Whether you are looking for help with a painful condition or to improve your overall health and wellbeing, we have a selection of treatments to choose from for both mum and baby at Elphick Clinic. 

Treatments for You

Chiropractic during pregnancy

Chiropractic care is a completely natural, drug-free way to keep your body healthy and functioning optimally. It's safe and good for people of any age, but it has some particular benefits for pregnant mothers. Regular Chiropractic care can help ensure a more comfortable and healthy pregnancy, labour and birth. Make sure you let us know when you're expecting so the techniques can be adjusted accordingly. 
 
If you have any questions you can book a free chat with one of our Chiropractors. 
 
Examples of how Chiropractic can help.
  • Low back pain and pelvic girdle pain are common during pregnancy due to the changes in posture, weight and stability of your joints. Chiropractic can reduce the strain put through the joints, muscles and ligaments of the whole body by improving their alignment and function. 
  • The overall health of mum and baby can be influenced by improving the function of the nervous system. One of the most fundamental premises of Chiropractic is to enable the body's "innate intelligence" which is it's ability to help itself / correct itself / heal itself. In order for this to happen the nervous system must transmit the information needed through to the CNS (central nervous system).  If there are restrictions or irritations within the spinal column this information may be slowed or altered resulting in suboptimal health and healing.
  • Better intrauterine positioning for the baby. The pregnant belly is supported by the pelvic floor which in turn is influenced by the alignment of the pelvis. In a similar vein, the diaphragm can be thought as the "roof" of the pregnant belly which is influenced by the ribs. Restrictions or misalignment of the ribs and/or pelvis can result in imbalanced tension and torque of either the diaphragm or pelvic floor muscles. This can affect their ability to open, relax and stretch, which is essential during labour and birth.

Pregnancy Massage

Massage is especially beneficial during pregnancy by helping to reduce stress and fatigue. There is an overall improvement in the sense of calmness and wellbeing due to an increased production of oxytocin and decreased level of cortisol. Regular massages throughout pregnancy can help improve sleep patterns as well as overall health. Massage can also help symptoms such as swelling and sciatic pain, increase blood and lymph flow, as well as decrease regular muscle tightness.

Reflexology during Pregnancy

Reflexology is a non-intrusive complementary therapy. It involves stimulating or sedating particular pressure points on the feet and legs that correspond to certain organs or body parts. Reflexology can help women with a variety of physiological and emotional discomforts during pregnancy.  It can help with induction of labour or as pain relief during labour and in the postnatal period.

Therapies can be given for general relaxation to reduce stress hormones or to help alleviate a number of common ailments including tiredness, nausea and vomiting, heartburn, back ache, symphysis pubis discomfort, caesarean-section recovery, poor milk supply and breast engorgement.

Rebecca has trained with Denise Tiran and has a certificate in Reflexology for Maternity Practice accredited by the Royal College of Midwives.

The effectiveness of reflexology increases significantly with multiple treatments.  Depending on your needs, there is the option of booking a single or a course of treatments. Each treatment lasts 60 minutes and includes a consultation and a full antenatal check up.

Pregnancy Yoga

Pregnancy yoga is a gentle and safe way of keeping toned and supple during pregnancy without strain. Yoga has a wonderful calming effect on the body. This calm is also transmitted to the baby. The practice is designed to be comfortable, enjoyable and safe. The techniques learnt during the classes can be used throughout pregnancy and birth. In our prenatal classes you will:
  • learn safe, gentle postures and movements specifically adapted to pregnancy
  • strengthen, tone, improve flexibility to prepare you for labour, birth and motherhood
  • ease tension and stress
  • learn poses to aid optimum fetal positioning
  • practice with rebozo sifting
  • relax with aromatherapy
  • be guided through breathing techniques to help cope during labour
  • strengthen the bond between you and your baby
At Elphick Clinic our pregnancy yoga is taught by our qualified midwife Rebecca, which means you will gain from her knowledge and extra tips that she shares throughout the classes. You will also be able to ask any midwifery-related questions.
 

Treatments for your Baby

Chiropractic care for your baby

When people think of Chiropractic they often associated it with the 'pops' of an adjustment. A young baby's body is very different and takes much less effort to correct. Those subtle corrections (which are directed to unwind the connective tissue) can make a huge difference to both mother and baby ... perhaps by improving latch and suck, or enabling the baby to lie comfortably on it's back, or improving reflux, or helping the cranial bones settle and improve the 'shape' of the head.
 
Chiropractors also assess the primitive reflexes which are good indicators to how the baby is developing. Retained primitive reflexes are associated with atypical neurology and are thought to be associated with easily distracted and 'jumpy' babies which could lead to a diagnosis of ADHD later in life.
 

Cranio-Sacral Therapy for your baby

Cranio-Sacral Therapy is ideal for even the tiniest baby because of it's gentle nature.  Following birth a baby's system can be unsettled due to compression in the birth canal.  The soft bones of the head, designed to move during birth, may not return to their optimum position.

If there has been a difficult birth or medical intervention, it can be physically and emotionally traumatic.  This may result in immediately obvious feeding, sleeping or behavioural symptoms which can often be cleared very quickly with treatment.

Baby Massage

Baby massage is an ancient tradition, dating back over 3000 years, in regions such as Africa, Asia, New Zealand and the Caribbean. Even today in these countries baby massage is still used as part of every day routine from birth to walking to help their baby sleep better and feel more relaxed and nurtured. It wasn’t until the mid 1990’s that baby massage became popular in the UK after professionals started to recommend baby massage as a way for new mothers to give their baby the best possible start in life. The long-standing benefits of baby massage are plentiful, especially when it is incorporated into a baby’s daily routine. Immediate benefits include: helping improve sleep duration & quality, improving circulation, alleviating symptoms of colic, teething, wind and constipation, helping the parent read their baby's cues.  It can also help with postnatal depression and help improve bonding.

Baby Yoga

Baby yoga is based on Hatha yoga – looking into postures, breathing, uniting opposites and always working equally on both sides. It encourages playful interaction and communication between parent and baby, helping your baby’s brain grow lots of happy neuron networks. Baby yoga helps you attune to your baby’s needs and to calm or stimulate them as appropriate with a sense of security and wellbeing. There are many other benefits to baby yoga including improved tone and condition of muscles, improved breathing and oxygen intake, baby becoming more aware of their own body, improved coordination, learning and language development.

Baby yoga perfectly compliments baby massage and expands the benefits of touch with those of movement and relaxation.