Stress + Pregnancy: A Chiropractor’s Perspective

“Relax.”

“Just breathe.”

Easier said than done, right? It can be hard. Women are pulled in a thousand different directions in a day. As a pregnant woman, your body is changing physically and hormonally at a such a significant rate, in addition to the daily stressors of life. Additionally, there may be concerns about your labor and delivery, bringing home the baby, and the new experience of motherhood.

Many...

Using the gift of “touch” in my practice and life. First and foremost, I am a mama to three incredible boys, a wife, a sister and a friend. I have been lucky enough to find my gifts early on and share them with others.

I am the owner/creator and sole practitioner at the Heart of Touch Massage & Birth Support. Early on in my life, I realized that I was NOT cut out for the corporate world. I became a LMT 23 years ago & birth doula 14 years ago. BEST life choices ever!
Helping...

Dear Owner,

Hello up there from down here.  I was hoping we might have a few words.  You don’t look at me as much as I would like and I feel I have been mis-treated.  In case you haven’t noticed, I am beautiful.  And unique.  See, no two vulvas are exactly alike; we’re like fingerprints and we’re very proud of our individuality.  We don’t like it when you compare us to other vulvas.  Some vulvas have outer lips that completely...

“To Everything (turn, turn, turn) there is a season (turn, turn, turn). A time to gain, a time to lose.”

The Byrds were first to remind us, and then the migrating geese, and finally the Fall trees shedding their leaves are one final reminder that “letting go” is part of the natural order of things.  We humans don’t embrace change nearly as easily.

And from my experience, the same applies to women and their exercise regimens. It can be hard to let go of the...

On July 22nd I will turn 40.  I typically don’t make a big deal out of my birthday and don’t particularly enjoy being in the spotlight.  This year, I do feel like celebrating though.  More of a quiet, introspective celebration of all that I have learned (and have yet to learn) and all that I have to be grateful for.  

Here’s what I have learned:

1. You can’t depend on someone else to make you happy.  You have to learn all the big and...

In Week 3 of my Postnatal Pilates class our topic is “Let’s Talk About Sex (after) Baby.” The reasons most women don’t want to have intercourse or don’t enjoy intercourse can usually be broken down into 3 main categories: 
Pain
Emotional Factors, and
Core Changes and Feeling stretched out “down there”

Let’s start with pain. Usually, pain is the result of decreased lubrication, scar issues, skin disorders or infection, and/or tight pelvic...

My 6 year old son recently celebrated 100 years of school in his Kindergarten class.  They were allowed to dress up like 100 year old people, and they were asked to bring in 100 items for counting and math practice (he chose cotton balls).  He was so excited to show me the paper he worked on, outlining all the things he will do when he is 100 years old.  In addition to having “gray hair”, a “beard” and a “mustache” (a very hairy 100 year old...

In a fascinating post by writer, blogger, and brain injury survivor Debbie Hampton, I learned that a thought is an electrochemical event taking place in your nerve cells producing a cascade of physiological changes.  

There are thousands of receptors on each cell of our body that are receptive to one particular peptide or “juice” from a thought.

When we have feelings of doubt, fear, joy, anger these “juices” flow throughout the body and connect with those matching...

I love the Pilates mermaid stretch!  It accomplishes so many things for my pregnant mamas, it feels so good, and it’s such a pretty move.  This is perfect for pregnant women who feel they are “running out of room” in their torso.  

It’s also a lovely exercise for pregnant women experiencing numbness and tingling in the upper extremities (once more serious nerve involvement has been ruled out).  While we most often think of these symptoms as relating...