“Honestly, throughout my pregnancy I never had any back pains, I slept well throughout the night, and I was able to keep up with my daily routines without feeling fatigued or achy.”
As a soon-to-be first time mom, Sheila wanted to make sure she supported herself the best she could throughout her pregnancy and after labor, which is what caused her to seek services at Connection Cafe Chiropractic. For a majority of her life, Sheila experienced issues with her hip flexors and during pregnancy those muscles take on a lot of stress. Her pelvic muscles and ligaments started to become really tender as early as 28 weeks.
“Dr. Morgan really helped me as my body started changing. Not only did she help me physically, but she really helped me emotionally prepare for birth. I felt good knowing that I was doing what I could to take care of my body and my baby just by getting adjusted.”
During her routine chiropractic visits twice a week, Dr. Morgan and Dr. Derrell made sure her pelvis and spine were moving properly and everything was balanced. They also checked for tightness in specific pelvic muscles and ligaments. By addressing the bones, muscles and ligaments of the pelvis, they made sure Sheila was as comfortable as possible and that Baby G had the optimal space for growing and the room to get into the best position for birth. Baby G was in the head down position throughout Sheila's pregnancy.
“Just knowing that chiropractic can help in positioning a baby is something that is so wonderful. My baby wasn't breech, and I don't know if my baby would have been breech without chiropractic services; but I do know that I wanted to be preventative and I wanted a comfortable pregnancy. I didn't want to take any chances.”
Since Sheila was feeling so great throughout her pregnancy, she sated very busy and active. When she started her maternity leave at 37 weeks, she had lots of plans meeting up with family and friends. When she hit 38 weeks, she began having Braxton Hicks contractions which soon became active labor contractions. She called the hospital a few times, and they continued to tell her to stay home...that it was just early labor. After the third call, Sheila had a gut feeling just to go. If they sent her back home, that would be fine, but she needed some peace of mind. When she got to the hospital, she was 6cm dilated! Needless to say, everyone was shocked. With the help of her midwife, Sheila was able to labor in different positions until it was time to push.
“As a first time mom, I didn't know what to expect. I didn't even know what it would feel like to need to push. I was able to feel our baby crowning. Each push was during a big contraction. At my last one (which was maybe number 6), his head was out! I was tired though, and I was asked if I had one more big push in me. I didn't, BUT, I also didn't want to feel another big contraction, so with the encouragement of the staff and my husband, I gave one big push and out our baby boy came! I was able to lift our baby and place him on my chest. The emotions in the room were running high, but I was in shock. I just stared at our baby.”
Sheila is the true definition of strength and grace. Baby G experienced his first chiropractic adjustment within his first week of life! He is happy, healthy and surrounded by so much love. Sheila, her husband and Baby G continue to receive regular chiropractic care as a means to support the health of their growing family through many of life's milestones!
“This was a surreal experience, and I had no idea what to expect. I didn't know how I was going to handle labor and delivery. I prepared myself for all different scenarios. I wasn't sure what I was able to handle. I listened to my body and made decisions based on that. I just needed to make sure we had a safe delivery for myself and our baby."