Dr. marisa has extensive training in caring for pregnant women.

Pregnancy is an incredible, yet sometimes challenging, season of life. Our goal for our moms is to empower them during this process and for both mom and baby to thrive. We love to serve as a resource during the entire process- from prenatal to postpartum.

In order to have a great pregnancy and full birth experience, mothers need to be feeling and functioning at their best, with a clear and uninterrupted nervous system. One of the worst things in the world is emotional trauma and thoughts. If a mother-to-be is emotionally stressed, it will affect her baby neurologically. The umbilical cord is not just for nutrients but is the neuro-emotional power cord to the baby. Experiencing stress due to fear, anxiety and the unknown thrown on a mother by the world or medical doctor, or due to a lack of emotional support, empowerment and education, the child’s autonomic nervous system only knows sympathetic dominance in return as it develops. Your sympathetic nervous system is what runs your “fight-or-flight” response and being “stuck” in that state has a lot of detriment to bodily function and the way we react to and process the world physically and emotionally. In our office, prenatal chiropractic is about neurological empowerment, care and education in addition to physiological function and symptom relief.

Specific physical benefits of enhancing neurological balance and function through Chiropractic before, during, and after pregnancy can include:

promoting regular menstrual cycles, optimizing uterine function, preparing the body for healthy implantation, ensuring proper nerve supply to the reproductive organs, and increasing fertility.
improving the condition of and having a greater degree of control over the pelvic floor muscles and potentially decreasing the risk of future stress urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence and vaginal prolapse.
relieving joint pain (especially in the low back), reducing birthing times and labor pain, helping to prevent dystocia, allowing for decreased rates of potential cesarean birth and induction, reducing symptoms like nausea and heartburn, increasing energy levels and sleep quality, and maintaining a healthier pregnancy overall.
increasing milk production, experiencing more comfort while breastfeeding, and reducing the incidence of postpartum depression.

Dr. Marisa is also certified in the Webster technique, which is a technique specific for pregnant women to analyze and balance the pelvic structure.

This specific technique to help decrease neurological stress locally in the area of a woman’s body that is experiencing the most physical change during pregnancy will aid in reducing stress on the uterus and supporting ligaments so that the growing baby can have an ideal environment for development and can naturally achieve optimal position for birth. The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics reported an 82% success rate of babies turning vertex (proper birthing position) when doctors of chiropractic used the Webster Technique. There is a lot of empirical observation that moms with breech fetal positions were reporting correction of the breech position due to the Webster Technique, and therefore it has been inappropriately referred to as a breech turning technique. It should be clear that the Webster Technique does not turn breech babies; however, we do know that when the mother’s pelvis is without tension and restriction, the baby tends to go head-down.

For more information, contact Dr. Marisa or explore the Pediatric Experience Docs, International Chiropractic Pediatric Association and the American Pregnancy Association websites at www.pxdocs.com, www.icpa4kids.org and https://americanpregnany.org/