Chiropractic and Physiotherapy Care During Pregnancy

Pregnancy brings real physical change in a fairly short space of time — your centre of gravity shifts, your posture adapts, and a hormone called relaxin loosens your ligaments in preparation for birth. For a lot of people, this comes with genuine discomfort: lower back pain, pelvic girdle pain, or leg pain that wasn't there before. At Velca, pregnancy-related care is a two-person job — chiropractic care with Shanaya, and women's health physiotherapy with Amal — working alongside your midwife or obstetrician rather than instead of them. This guide covers what that looks like in practice.

How Pregnancy Affects Your Body

As your baby grows, your centre of gravity moves forward, which changes how your spine and pelvis carry load through the day. Relaxin, released throughout pregnancy, loosens the ligaments around your pelvis and spine to prepare your body for birth — a normal and necessary process, but one that can leave joints feeling less stable and more prone to strain in the meantime. These changes are a normal part of pregnancy, though how much discomfort they cause varies a great deal from person to person.

Trimester by Trimester: What Tends to Change

First trimester: Physical symptoms related to posture and joint loading are often minimal this early, though some people notice early pelvic or lower back discomfort. Fatigue and nausea are more commonly the dominant issues at this stage, and treatment, where needed, tends to be fairly similar to standard care with minor comfort adjustments.

Second trimester: As the bump becomes more noticeable, postural changes accelerate and this is when lower back pain, rib discomfort, and early pelvic girdle symptoms often start appearing. This is also when positioning during treatment typically starts adapting — pillows, side-lying, or table modifications.

Third trimester: Relaxin effects are most pronounced, the bump is at its largest, and pelvic girdle pain, sciatic-type leg pain, and rib pain are most common. Treatment focuses heavily on comfort, pelvic support, and preparing your body for labour, alongside coordinating with your midwife or obstetrician as your due date approaches.

Common Pregnancy-Related Complaints

• Lower back pain, often related to the "swayback" posture that develops as the bump grows
• Pelvic girdle pain, sometimes called SPD (symphysis pubis dysfunction) — pain at the front of the pelvis or deep in the hips, often noticeable rolling over in bed or getting out of a car
• Sciatic-type leg pain, from pressure or irritation affecting the sciatic nerve
• Rib or upper back pain, particularly later in pregnancy as the ribcage adapts to accommodate your growing baby

None of these are things you're required to just put up with for nine months — they're genuinely common, and also genuinely worth getting assessed rather than assuming there's nothing to be done.

Is Chiropractic Care Safe During Pregnancy?

This is one of the most common questions we're asked. Many pregnant patients continue chiropractic care throughout pregnancy, with technique specifically adapted for each trimester. That said, "is it safe" isn't a single yes-or-no answer that applies to everyone — it depends on your specific pregnancy, any complications, and what your midwife or obstetrician knows about your situation. It's genuinely worth raising chiropractic care with your midwife or LMC, and being upfront with your chiropractor about your pregnancy, trimester, and any concerns, so care can be tailored appropriately rather than assumed to be one-size-fits-all.

In practice, adaptation typically includes:

• Comfortable positioning — using pregnancy-specific pillows or tables that allow lying face down without pressure on the bump, transitioning to side-lying or seated treatment as your pregnancy progresses
• Lower-force techniques — such as instrument-assisted adjustment or a drop-piece table, rather than higher-force manual techniques
• A focus on the pelvis and sacrum, alongside a broader assessment of your spine and posture
• Ongoing check-ins — your comfort level, positioning needs, and stage of pregnancy are expected to change over time, so a good chiropractor reassesses at each visit rather than assuming week-12 positioning still works at week 32

Meet Shanaya: Chiropractic Care for Pregnancy at Velca

Shanaya is one of our chiropractors and is the practitioner our pregnant patients most commonly see. She takes a hands-on, patient-focused approach, tailoring care to each person's specific needs, goals, and stage of pregnancy rather than applying a standard approach to everyone. If you're pregnant and considering chiropractic care, a conversation with Shanaya about your specific situation — including anything your midwife or obstetrician has flagged — is the right starting point.

A Note on Pelvic-Focused Techniques and Baby Positioning

Some chiropractors use specific pelvic-balance techniques — the Webster technique is the best-known example — with the aim of reducing tension around the pelvis and uterus, and supporting general pelvic balance and ligament function. You may see this discussed online in connection with breech babies or fetal positioning. It's worth being clear-eyed about the evidence here: research specifically on chiropractic technique changing fetal position is limited, and it shouldn't be relied on as a method to turn a breech baby or guarantee a particular birth outcome. Where these techniques are used, it's reasonably understood as one part of general pelvic comfort and balance during pregnancy, not a guaranteed intervention for baby's position — and any concerns about your baby's position belong with your midwife or obstetrician first, who can discuss options such as an External Cephalic Version (ECV) or planned care pathways with you directly.

Amal: Women's Health Physiotherapy for Pregnancy and Beyond

Amal is our women's health physiotherapist, and her focus complements chiropractic care rather than duplicating it. Where chiropractic care looks at joint alignment and movement, women's health physiotherapy focuses more specifically on the muscles that support your pelvis, spine, and core — including your pelvic floor.

For pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain (SPD) specifically, physiotherapy commonly involves:

• Teaching you to activate your deep core (transversus abdominis) and pelvic floor to help support and stabilise the pelvis
• Fitting a pregnancy support belt (SIJ belt) where appropriate, to help physically support the weight of the bump
• Movement and activity advice specific to your stage of pregnancy and symptoms

Postnatally, women's health physiotherapy typically extends further — assessing pelvic floor function and any core separation (diastasis recti), and building a graded return to exercise and daily activity that accounts for what your body has actually been through, rather than a generic "get back to it" timeline. Pelvic floor symptoms after birth, such as leaking with coughing or exercise, are common but not something you need to just live with — they're a reasonable thing to bring to a postnatal physio assessment.

How Chiropractic and Physiotherapy Work Together

Chiropractic and physiotherapy aren't competing approaches to pregnancy-related pain — they generally address different parts of the same picture. Chiropractic care focuses on joint alignment and movement, particularly through the pelvis and spine; physiotherapy focuses on the muscles and core system that support those joints day to day. Because both are available at Velca, Shanaya and Amal can coordinate directly on your care rather than you needing to find and separately brief two unconnected providers.

Postnatal Care: The "Fourth Trimester"

Physical demands don't end when your baby arrives — lifting a car seat, feeding in awkward positions, and carrying a baby on your hip all place new load on your body. A postnatal check, sometimes six or so weeks after birth, commonly looks at core separation (diastasis recti), neck and shoulder tension from feeding positions, and general pelvic health following labour. If you're due for this kind of check, it's worth booking in with either Shanaya or Amal, depending on what you're noticing.

When to Seek Urgent Care During Pregnancy

Chiropractic and physiotherapy care sit alongside your midwife or obstetric team, not in place of them. Contact your midwife, LMC, or maternity unit promptly — rather than booking a routine chiropractic or physio appointment — if you experience:

• Vaginal bleeding
• A significant reduction in your baby's movements
• Severe or unusual abdominal pain
• Severe headache, visual disturbances, or sudden swelling in your face, hands, or feet
• Calf pain or swelling in one leg significantly more than the other
• Any symptom that feels urgent or out of the ordinary for your pregnancy

What to Expect at Velca

If you're pregnant and dealing with back, pelvic, or leg pain, Velca offers a complimentary check with Shanaya for new chiropractic patients, or you can book directly with Amal for women's health physiotherapy — whichever feels like the right starting point for what you're experiencing. We're also happy to liaise with your midwife or obstetrician as part of your care.

Preparing for Your First Appointment

A few things that make a first pregnancy-related appointment more useful:

• Your expected due date and any complications your midwife or obstetrician has flagged
• A rough timeline of when your symptoms started and what makes them better or worse
• Comfortable, loose clothing you're happy to move in
• Details of your midwife or LMC, in case coordination between providers is useful

Frequently Asked Questions

When during pregnancy can I start chiropractic or physio care?
There's no fixed rule — many people start whenever discomfort begins, which varies widely. Raising it with your midwife and being clear with your practitioner about your stage of pregnancy is more useful than trying to time it to a specific week.

Will treatment involve lying on my stomach?
Early in pregnancy, yes, this can be comfortable using a pregnancy-specific pillow or table cut-out. As your bump grows, treatment typically shifts to side-lying or seated positions instead.

Is it normal for pelvic pain to affect one side more than the other?
Yes, this is common with SPD and doesn't necessarily indicate anything more serious — but it's worth describing accurately at your assessment, since the specific pattern helps guide treatment.

Can I keep seeing my chiropractor or physio right up until birth?
Many people do, with technique continuing to adapt as needed. Whether it's appropriate for you specifically is worth an ongoing conversation with your practitioner and your midwife, particularly if anything changes in your pregnancy.

Does insurance or ACC cover pregnancy-related chiropractic or physio care?
This depends on your specific policy and circumstances rather than being a blanket yes or no. Check with the clinic and your insurance provider about what applies to you.

Can chiropractic or physio care help me prepare for labour itself?
Some patients find pelvic balance and core/pelvic floor work supportive as part of general preparation, alongside antenatal classes and your midwife's guidance. It isn't a substitute for antenatal education or a guarantee of an easier labour, and is best thought of as one part of a broader preparation picture rather than a standalone solution.

What if my symptoms don't match anything described here?
Pregnancy affects everyone differently, and this article can't cover every possible presentation. If something feels off or doesn't fit a familiar pattern, it's always reasonable to raise it with your midwife or book an assessment rather than trying to self-diagnose from general information.

Getting Started

If pregnancy-related back, pelvic, or leg pain is affecting your day-to-day, Velca's chiropractic and women's health physiotherapy team can help you work out what's likely going on and what support fits your specific stage of pregnancy. Book online or call 09 950 6801 to get started.

This article is general information and isn't a substitute for individual assessment or advice from your midwife, obstetrician, or a registered health practitioner. If you have any of the urgent symptoms listed above, contact your midwife or maternity unit promptly.