Pay attention to this one thing during pregnancy!

Alignment of your pelvis during pregnancy plays a pivotal role in determining how your baby will get into position for birth. So, if you want to support your baby in assuming the optimal birthing position, one of the essential starting points is being mindful of your pelvic posture and movement during pregnancy.

Here at Balanced for Life, we have helped many pregnant mums prepare for the birthing process - you know the saying ‘preparation is half the battle’, and I have three tips that can help reduce the likelihood of a baby assuming non-ideal positions and it has to do with … sitting. We know that many expectant mothers lead a more sedentary lifestyle, which can inadvertently encourage a slouched posture, compromising spinal alignment and pelvic balance.

Did you know that slouching can misalign a mum’s pelvis, making it more comfortable for the baby to assume posterior or breech positions? This is important to know because when a baby is in a posterior position, labour times can be long, and with added back pain, breech positions often lead to interventions like c-sections.

So, while sitting can be unavoidable, here are three tips to improve your sitting posture:

1) Sit with your hips rocked forward and your knees lower than your hips. 2) Stop slouching, crossing your legs, and sitting on your legs. 3) When taking long car rides or sitting at work, take breaks often and move your body.

To be clear, even if you follow these tips, your pelvis may still not be optimally balanced, and sometimes that has to do with previous physical injuries like a big fall, being in a car accident, or suffering sports injuries like playing a one-sided sport like tennis. Interestingly we have found that pelvic injuries, no matter how long since they occurred, may still impact your spinal and pelvic alignment, leading to tension in the connecting ligaments. During the pregnancy, these ligaments, linked to your uterus, can exert uneven forces, potentially resulting in uterine rotation. And If your uterus is rotated, well…this can make it difficult for the baby to assume an ideal position within the womb.

• To prepare your body for childbirth or to prevent discomfort during your pregnancy, a chiropractor can help; consider making an appointment with us here.

• Our techniques are gentle and specific, designed to realign the pelvis and restore function to the muscles and ligaments associated with pregnancy chiropractic care.

Why am I sharing this with you? Because here at Balanced for Life, we know that moving better, for you and your baby, matters.