Your journey

Prenatal and postpartum chiropractic in Marietta

Pelvic and low-back pain relieved without medication, with technique and equipment built for a pregnant body — and someone who will tell you what the evidence does and does not say.

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Where you are starting

A different load, looser ligaments, and twelve weeks to go

By the third trimester you are carrying a substantially different load, your ligaments are more elastic than they have ever been, and your center of gravity has moved forward. Pelvic and low-back pain in that situation is not a mystery, and it is not something you simply have to endure for another twelve weeks.

The honest framing matters here, because choosing a prenatal chiropractor in Marietta means wading through a field with a great deal of overclaiming. Chiropractic care during pregnancy has good support for one thing in particular: relieving musculoskeletal pain in the low back and pelvis. Claims beyond that deserve more caution than they usually get, and you will get the distinction from us rather than a brochure.

Your challenges

What you are actually dealing with

Tap the ones that sound like you and the rest of this page narrows to match. Choose none and you will see everything we treat.

Our solutions

How this actually gets treated

Gentle, positioned care through pregnancy, then a graded return to stability afterwards — with a referral to a pelvic floor specialist when that is what you actually need.

What is safe, and what makes it safe

Manual care during an uncomplicated pregnancy has a strong safety record, and the reason is mostly technique and positioning rather than luck. That means a table that accommodates a pregnant abdomen properly rather than a pillow arrangement, side-lying and modified positions instead of prone, no rotational force through the abdomen or pelvis, and low-force instrument or drop-table options where a manual adjustment is not appropriate.

There are situations that change the answer: vaginal bleeding, placental abruption or previa, pre-eclampsia, ruptured membranes, or an ectopic pregnancy. Those are medical situations, and the answer is your obstetrician or midwife, not us. We screen for them, and we would rather decline to treat than proceed with something that needs an obstetric decision first.

Recognize yourself

Sound familiar?

The complaints we see most often through pregnancy and the first year afterwards — including the ones concerning the baby rather than you.

Postpartum, which nobody warns you about

The complaints after birth are different from the ones during it and are largely about repetition and position: a rounded upper back and neck from nursing and looking down, one-sided loading from carrying a baby and a car seat on the same hip, wrist and thumb pain from lifting under the arms, and a pelvis and core that need to regain stability rather than simply be strengthened hard and fast.

Pelvic floor recovery is a specialty of its own, and where that is the driver we will say so and refer you to a pelvic floor physical therapist. Working alongside one is common and produces better results than either of us alone.

Self-check

Sleeping is the thing you want fixed first

Position by position, what to support and where, adjusted for which trimester you are in. It takes two minutes and tends to help the same night.

What happens next

What care through pregnancy looks like

How we work with your obstetrician, midwife or doula

Most people in this position have a care team already, and the last thing you need is a provider working in isolation from it. We are happy to communicate findings to your obstetrician or midwife, and we would rather do that than have you relay clinical information between providers.

You will also not be asked to sign a long prepaid plan while pregnant. Pregnancy has a timeline of its own, and care should be scheduled against how you actually feel week to week.

  1. Visit one

    Examination, screening and a plain answer on what is appropriate

    History including your obstetric care, screening for anything that belongs with your obstetrician or midwife first, and an examination of the pelvis, sacrum and low back using positioning built for pregnancy.

  2. First two to three weeks

    Get the pain down enough to sleep

    Gentle, positioned care aimed at the pelvic and sacral restriction and the soft tissue around it, plus how to sit, stand, sleep and get out of a car without provoking it.

  3. Through the third trimester

    Keep you mobile as the load increases

    Frequency is set by how you actually feel rather than a fixed schedule, with the aim of staying working, walking and comfortable as your center of gravity keeps moving.

  4. After birth

    Rebuild stability, and refer where appropriate

    Pelvic and core stability restored gradually, plus the nursing and carrying postures that cause most postpartum neck and wrist complaints. Where the pelvic floor is the primary issue, you are referred to a specialist rather than managed here.

Technology we use for this

Technology that guides your care

The Webster Technique, described accurately

Webster is a specific assessment and adjustment of the sacrum and pelvis, together with release of the round ligaments, intended to reduce pelvic and sacral restriction and the associated soft-tissue tension. That is what it does, and for pelvic pain and discomfort it is often very effective.

What it is not is a procedure that turns a breech baby. It is not an external cephalic version, and it is not a substitute for one. Some practitioners describe it that way and the description overreaches. The reasonable statement is that reducing pelvic restriction may make it easier for a baby to find an optimal position, and any decision about a breech presentation belongs with your obstetrician or midwife.

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Written by the founder of The 100 Year Lifestyle

Dr. Eric Plasker, DC, created The 100 Year Lifestyle and is an international best-selling author. The guides on this site are his, and they are free to read.

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The 100 Year Lifestyle is a registered trademark and service mark in the United States and Canada. Plasker Chiropractic is a certified provider.

Questions patients ask

The questions expectant and new mothers actually ask

Is chiropractic care actually safe while I am pregnant?

For an uncomplicated pregnancy, yes, and the safety comes from technique and positioning: a table that accommodates your abdomen, side-lying and modified positions, no rotation through the abdomen or pelvis, and low-force options where a manual adjustment is not appropriate. There are conditions that change that answer — bleeding, pre-eclampsia, placental problems, ruptured membranes — and we screen for them and refer rather than treat.

Will the Webster Technique turn my breech baby?

No, and we will not tell you otherwise. Webster is an assessment and adjustment of the sacrum and pelvis with round ligament release. It reduces pelvic restriction and the tension around it, which may make it easier for a baby to find a better position, but it is not an external cephalic version and it is not a substitute for one. A breech presentation is a decision for your obstetrician or midwife.

How far into pregnancy can I still be treated?

Right up to delivery, with the technique adapting as you progress. Many people come in most frequently in the last six to eight weeks, which is when pelvic and low-back load peaks and when medication options are most limited.

How soon after birth can I come in?

Usually within the first few weeks, and sooner if you are in significant pain, though it depends on your delivery. After a cesarean or a complicated birth we follow your obstetrician's clearance. Early care tends to focus on the neck, upper back and wrists from feeding and carrying, with pelvic and core work introduced gradually.

Do you adjust newborns, and is that necessary?

We do see infants, and the technique bears no resemblance to adult care — it is sustained pressure of roughly the force you would use to test a ripe tomato, and it is generally well tolerated. Where it has the most reasonable support is mechanical problems like head tilt, a preference for turning one way, and associated latching difficulty. Broader claims about colic and ear infections are commonly made and less well supported, and we will tell you that rather than sell it to you.

Should I be seeing a pelvic floor therapist instead?

Possibly as well, and sometimes instead. Leaking, heaviness, pain with intercourse or prolapse symptoms are pelvic floor territory and should be assessed by a pelvic floor physical therapist. Working alongside one is common and works better than either of us alone. If that is what you need, we will say so and refer.

Get the pain down without medication

An examination in Marietta using positioning built for pregnancy, with screening first and a straight answer about what is appropriate for you.

Service areas

Pregnancy and postpartum across greater Marietta

Plasker Chiropractic is in Marietta, and patients drive in from across Cobb, north Fulton and DeKalb. Pick your area for directions, parking and what we most often treat for people nearby.

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