KELLY
“Overall, I had an easy and healthy second pregnancy. The only lifestyle change I made from my first to my second pregnancy was weekly chiropractic care. From start to finish, my labor was 1 hour and 20 minutes. I was in the hospital just 20 minutes before my little girl arrived.”
Being her second pregnancy, Kelly knew that she wanted to do some things differently to support herself so that she could have a different experience this time around.
“My first pregnancy ended in a c-section after a fairly quick labor for a first time mother. Once contractions began, I was fully dilated within 12 hours. I had a slow drip of Pitocin and the epidural for pain relief. Despite the baby still being high, the doctor wanted me to begin pushing and she broke my water. I pushed for 30 minutes and the doctor called for a c-section due to no progression. Being a first time mother, I was terrified and went along with the doctor’s recommendations without asking further questions.”
Sixteen weeks into her second pregnancy, Kelly found herself seeking chiropractic care with Dr. Morgan.
“I had two motivations for seeking chiropractic care during my pregnancy. I did not want to experience the constant pain in my lower back and hips as I did in my first pregnancy. I also wanted to attempt a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). After doing a little research, I found that chiropractic care during pregnancy can help position the baby correctly for a smooth delivery. I was skeptical, but my motivations were enough to persuade me to give it a try in hopes that it would work. I am so thankful I did.”
Kelly experienced a profound difference between her first and second pregnancy when it came to how she was feeling. Her first pregnancy was filled with constant aches and pains in her hips, low back, and she experienced sciatic pain down her legs.
“Getting out of bed each morning felt similar to walking on a bed of nails. I exercised and stretched almost daily, but my third trimester was really hard on my body. My second pregnancy had a few scattered days of round ligament and low back pain, but those days were so few. With regular weekly adjustments, my second pregnancy was virtually pain free. There were many weeks I considered skipping an adjustment because I felt perfectly fine, but I always went at least once a week for a check up.”
As Kelly approached the end of her pregnancy, her baby was in the perfect head down position, and Kelly was feeling so much better than she had the first time around. Along with her experience during pregnancy, Kelly’s delivery was also drastically different.
“Contractions began and were immediately strong and intense with 2-3 minutes in between. I labored through about 5 of them and we immediately started the 30-minute drive to the hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital doors, my water broke and I slowly walked to the labor and delivery wing only stopping to breathe through a couple contractions. When I get to the room that was being prepared for me, the nurses checked me and I was 9.5 cm dilated. This was about 45 minutes after the first contraction began. I laid down on the bed and within the next 3 contractions, I pushed through each one and delivered my VBAC baby.”
With Kelly’s strength, determination and support, she was able to have the VBAC delivery that she had set out to experience. In less than 2 hours, she welcomed her beautiful baby girl into the world, along with her husband and son, thus completing her family of four!
