Chiropractic Care During Pregnancy in Santa Rosa
Pregnancy asks a lot of your body, and it's easy to hear that framed only as strain, sacrifice, or something to "recover from" once it's over. We see it differently. Pregnancy is also a real opportunity — a season where building strength, capacity, and body awareness can prepare you not just for birth, but for the whole postpartum chapter that follows. Prenatal chiropractic care, often paired with Foundation Training, is one part of that: a gentle, pregnancy-adapted approach that eases common discomfort while helping you build a body that's ready for what's ahead, rather than one you're just trying to get back to.
Prenatal chiropractic care is adapted at every stage of pregnancy. That means modified positioning — often using pregnancy-specific tables or supportive pillows so you're comfortable lying face-down even later in pregnancy — and gentler techniques than what might be used with a non-pregnant patient. It focuses on the musculoskeletal side of pregnancy — posture, pelvic balance, low back and hip discomfort — not on obstetric care itself, which stays entirely with your OB or midwife.
Dr. Adrian holds advanced training in perinatal and pediatric chiropractic care, including certification in the Webster Technique (more on that below). We see this as a specialty within chiropractic, not a generic adjustment applied to a pregnant patient.
What Prenatal Chiropractic Care Looks Like
Common Discomforts During Pregnancy
A few things that commonly bring people in:
Low back pain, especially later in pregnancy
Pelvic or hip pain, sometimes felt as one side being "off" from the other (often related to the sacroiliac joint)
Round ligament pain — a sharp, pulling sensation on one or both sides of the lower belly
Upper back and neck tension as posture shifts to accommodate a growing belly
Rib discomfort as the ribcage expands
Tingling or numbness in the hands, related to fluid retention and posture distortion
There's a common narrative around pregnancy: that it's something a mother's body sacrifices for, endures, and eventually needs to "recover" from. We'd rather offer a different lens. Pregnancy is a season of real physical change, and how you move through it can genuinely set you up well for what comes next — labor, and everything after it.
That's a big part of why we often incorporate Foundation Training into prenatal care. Foundation Training is a bodyweight-based movement practice built around strengthening the posterior chain — the muscles along the back of the body — and it translates directly to two of the most physically demanding parts of this whole process: labor itself, and postpartum recovery.
It also draws attention to a piece of the body that's easy to overlook: the deep front line, which includes the diaphragm and pelvic floor. These two work together as a pressure system that shifts throughout pregnancy, and that relationship matters here more than almost anywhere else — it plays a real role in how your body manages labor, and in how it recovers afterward.
In practice, that can look like:
Building strength and endurance in the positions and muscle groups most involved in labor
Developing better coordination between the diaphragm and pelvic floor, which supports breath, core stability, and labor mechanics
Developing body awareness heading into a physically intense event
Setting up movement patterns that support a more supported postpartum recovery — not a race back to "how things used to be," but a genuine rebuilding
We're not going to promise a specific delivery outcome or a specific recovery timeline — every pregnancy and every birth is different, and pretending otherwise wouldn't be honest. What we can offer is a body that's had the chance to prepare, rather than one that's simply along for the ride. We think of healing, postpartum, as something to build toward with intention — not something to rush or apologize for needing.
Building, Not Just Enduring
The Webster Technique
The Webster Technique is a specific chiropractic approach focused on pelvic balance and alignment during pregnancy. By working with the alignment and mobility of the pelvis, it can help ease discomfort and support better movement as your body changes.
The Webster Technique is a specific chiropractic analysis and adjustment focused on pelvic balance during pregnancy. It works by addressing tension and alignment in the network of ligaments and fascia that shift and adapt as your body changes — including the round ligaments, broad ligaments, and sacrotuberous ligaments. The round ligaments support the uterus itself and are a common source of that sharp, pulling pain many people feel on one or both sides of the lower belly. The broad ligaments help stabilize the uterus and surrounding structures, and the sacrotuberous ligaments connect the sacrum to the pelvis and play a real role in overall pelvic stability. Balancing tension across this network, along with the surrounding fascia, can ease common pelvic and low back discomfort and support better overall movement as your body adapts throughout pregnancy.
Some practitioners and patients associate the Webster Technique with babies turning from breech position. We do not turn babies. What the Webster Technique does is help create a balanced pelvic environment — one that often creates more room and comfort for both mom and baby, and allows the baby the opportunity to find their own optimal position. What we can offer is a gentle, ligament- and pelvis-focused technique that many patients find genuinely helpful for comfort and movement throughout pregnancy, and we're happy to talk through realistic expectations at your visit.
Most pregnancy-related discomfort is a normal, common part of a healthy pregnancy and a reasonable thing to bring to us. The list below covers symptoms that need your OB or midwife first — these are medical concerns specific to pregnancy, not the musculoskeletal discomfort we address.
Contact your OB, midwife, or seek immediate medical care for:
Vaginal bleeding
Severe or persistent headache, especially with vision changes
Sudden swelling of the hands, face, or feet
Decreased or absent fetal movement
Contractions, cramping, or signs of preterm labor
Severe abdominal pain
Fluid leakage
Fever
Calf pain or swelling, especially if one-sided
If none of these apply to you, musculoskeletal discomfort like back or pelvic pain is a reasonable, common thing to bring to us.
A Note on Imaging
We do not take X-rays during pregnancy, for any patient, at any stage — no exceptions. Care during pregnancy is guided entirely by your history, symptoms, orthopedic testing and a hands-on assessment.
When Should Someone Seek Medical Care?
What Should Someone Expect?
A first visit typically includes a conversation about your pregnancy, your history, and where you're feeling discomfort, along with a gentle movement assessment adapted for pregnancy. Care is adjusted throughout your pregnancy as your body changes, trimester to trimester, and we stay in communication with your OB or midwife when appropriate.
Is chiropractic care safe during pregnancy?
Which trimester can I start chiropractic care?
Do you take X-rays during pregnancy?
Can an adjustment cause preterm labor or harm the baby?
Can chiropractic help turn a breech baby?
Can chiropractic help turn a breech baby?
Yes, when techniques are appropriately modified, which is standard for prenatal chiropractic care. We adjust our approach, positioning, and equipment specifically for pregnancy at every stage.
Any trimester — but we recommend the sooner the better. Starting early gives your body more time to adapt and build the kind of support that helps through the rest of pregnancy, though plenty of people also start later as low back or pelvic discomfort becomes more noticeable.
We do not X-ray pregnant patients under any circumstances, at any stage of pregnancy.
No credible evidence links appropriately modified chiropractic care to harm or preterm labor. We always want to know about your pregnancy and any concerns your OB or midwife has flagged, and we adjust our approach accordingly.
What the Webster Technique does is help create a balanced pelvic environment — one that often creates more room and comfort for both mom and baby, and allows the baby the opportunity to find their own optimal position. We're glad to talk through what's realistic at your visit.
Dr. Adrian holds advanced, specialty-level training in perinatal and pediatric chiropractic care, including certification in the Webster Technique through the ICPA. This isn't a general skill set applied to pregnant patients — it's training built specifically around the needs of pregnancy, birth, and early childhood.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Topics
Pediatric Chiropractic Care — care for your little one once they've arrived
Low Back Pain — a common source of pregnancy-related discomfort
Foundation Training — a movement practice we sometimes adapt for pregnancy-safe postural support
Chiropractic Care — our overall philosophy and approach
Ready to feel strong, prepared, and supported through this season of life?
Schedule an assessment with Russian River Chiropractic in Santa Rosa. We'll help you build a body that's ready for birth and postpartum — not one you're trying to get back to.