The importance of a healthy spine and nervous system cannot be underestimated in allowing pregnancy and labor to progress safely, naturally and efficiently, and for expressing optimum wellness for mother and child.

The World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) is a longstanding protector and promoter of chiropractic care for babies and children, so in "alignment" with the beginning of a New Year,

let's explore the beginning of new life -- the birth process -- and discuss chiropractic's unique contribution.

On a recent brisk winter day, a chiropractor was called into service to assist in the success of something extraordinary.

The event: labor and the birth of an innocent...

The purpose: ease and optimum LIFE...

The service: subluxation detection and correction.

The chiropractor who made the difference for mother and child that day was Dr. Heather Rice, a member of the WCA Council on Women's Health, who practices in Vermont, and is deeply committed to working with women during their birthing experience.

Dr. Rice knew she wanted to be a chiropractor at 13, and had the great advantage of coming from a chiropractic family, with members attending Palmer (Davenport) uninterruptedly from 1974 to 1988. After graduation, Dr. Rice embarked on a number of extraordinary chiropractic opportunities, including Life Around the World, witnessing the Seoul Olympics and opening the first chiropractic clinic in mainland China. Returning to the U.S., she was led to Vermont, where she fell in love with a man visiting from Scotland, and created a home and practice.

Today, Dr. Rice embraces a passion for practice and working with pregnant women with the delights of the Vermont outdoor lifestyle. The WCA offers heartfelt thanks for her superb contributions to chiropractic and this month's column.

The essence of chiropractic's uniqueness anytime, anywhere, with anyone, is "The Big Idea." The art of chiropractic is how it is applied and how chiropractors offer care to the persons they are called to serve.

Dr. Rice has noted clear and consistent responses to chiropractic care during labor, including an improved and safe progression, increase in efficiency and coordination of the body, and a positive increase in the woman's awareness of her body. Chiropractic's most vivid impact is expressed directly in those lives it affects.

Here's a case where it was a mom who had been laboring for five hours without progressing. After an office adjustment, there was a response so immediate, she was still on the table when the interference released and she was able to make progress. Later, at the woman's home, the relationship between adjustments and progression of contractions continued.

Additional adjustments were applied as needed, contractions increasing appropriately as well as full and proper dilation, and in a short time a boy was born.

His breathing was a bit ragged and he was immediately checked and adjusted for any subluxations associated with the birth process. The newborn responded by taking a big belly breath and his respiration smoothed out. Post partum, mom was adjusted to help her release the stress of birth.

Another mom also noted improvements and progress in contractions following her adjustments, and observed that after one contact she felt her whole pelvis/sacrum sway and open, with tension melting away and her little girl dropping to be born not long after. The birthing experience was completed with adjustments all around for baby, mom and dad.

In Dr. Rice's words: "I've always felt that the moment I'm adjusting a newborn is the reason I am on the planet. I have this image that from the moment of birth, their life could go in the direction of subluxation and distortion or in the direction of ease and optimum expression. An adjustment at that moment will do more for them in their life than one after years of subluxation and distortion."

Many pregnant women want the benefits and information chiropractors offer daily, but don't know how to find us. Or, they are not yet aware of the positive association between chiropractic and a healthy, natural pregnancy and birth.

To educate that complete care includes subluxation correction, Dr. Rice offers CHAT (Chiropractic Health Awareness Classes). Families are introduced to how the spine affects the function of the body and how an optimally functioning nervous system relates to an optimum pregnancy, labor and birth.

The office is also busy with testimonials, moms and babies all around! Moms talk about their experiences, including how responsive the baby in their belly is to the adjustments, how they can feel the connection of their system getting clearer. This helps mothers make healthier choices and be more in tune with their natural rhythms, as well as to have more trust and confidence in their bodies to go through labor.

Dr. Rice has found that most women want every advantage they can find in moving through pregnancy and labor. They enjoy having the benefits of consistent care while experiencing the many changes that occur during this influential time.

Moms-to-be may begin care with her because their back hurts, yet once they understand the bigness of the concept of a healthy nervous system in their health and well being, it makes sense to them and they are delighted to hear the option of having her present at the birth. She honors their choice of where/how they want to give birth, and serves them in having an optimum birth experience in any venue.

To support a woman during labor, Dr. Rice indicates that honoring her rhythm, being familiar with her spine and being creative are essential. She shares these successful clinical observations:

*** If mom wants to lay prone, use a pregnancy pillow so there's room for their belly and breasts.

*** During active labor, work with mom in whatever posture she is in -- standing, squatting, side posture, leaning on a bed or table, in a tub, on a birthing stool, or a hospital bed -- and don't suggest any change in her choice of positions or movements unless she asks.

*** Being creative can include getting arms wet and working under water if a mom is in a birthing tub, working with just the cervicals if a fetal monitor is used in a hospital setting, or watching for where there is access to the nervous system regardless of the position.

*** Usually wait for a contraction to pass before making an adjustment.

*** An adjustment can have the effect of shifting the experience of contractions from work to bliss.

*** Stay sensitive to when a mom may need to be alone with her husband/partner.

Well-regarded by the midwives in her community, Dr. Rice has been called in for women in labor where there is concern, i.e. labor that is prolonged, not progressing, overdue or breech -- even when they haven't been under her care.

A woman may be exhausted and feeling like she can't do it anymore, she may not be dilating effectively or the baby may not be positioned well. A chiropractor can detect subluxations and the impact of this interference on the woman's experience.

There is more tension overall in the spine, so that even when she rests between contractions the woman is storing tension. Her physiology isn't working in as coordinated a manner as it could be, so she is expending a lot more energy with each contraction without getting as much benefit from it. She may also get disconnected from her body, as areas overload.

As doctor and in-labor mom begin working together, tension can drop away, the contractions can become more productive and efficient, and the woman may start to get more in tune with how she wants to move her body. As subluxations are corrected, the she now has the advantage of a more optimum birth experience.

As a professional courtesy (that has supported her in being able to move with ease in a variety of settings, from homes to hospitals), when invited as one of the birth support team, Dr. Rice likes to contact the midwife/obstetrician ahead of time, to familiarize them with her role and address any concerns in advance, thus removing possible added stress in the room during the birth.

Many chiropractors have a relationship of mutual respect with their local midwives. Dr. Rice's initially began after a midwife had come to her to receive chiropractic care and it has grown through word of mouth.

Very tuned in to the health of the mother, midwives see the real change that occurs after each adjustment, and hear the comments of the women on how chiropractic helped them with labor and post partum. Because of these positive experiences and results, midwives have complimented Dr. Rice and indicate that they wish she was there for all the births!

Midwives also appreciate how the adjustment helps the newborn deal with the stress of birth (especially with respiration and nursing), prevents the need for intervention, and also with birth injuries after a difficult birth. And, Dr. Rice is happy to adjust the midwives at the birth as well as baby, mom and dad.

Modern birthing has options that include hi tech diagnostic tools, schedules, and birth by appointment. Yet, the reality is that labor and birth is a human process, a human event and a human moment. Can a procedure have more advantages than a healthy body? Can touch be replaced by technology?

Families seeking the advantages of a healthy and natural birth, labor and pregnancy have been turning to the hands-on benefits of chiropractic for more than a century. Chiropractic is a great choice for healthy families, yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Following are some resources to support your office:

1) "Misconceptions," a book by Naomi Wolf, a prominent author who wrote this after her own birth experience. Nothing happened the way she imagined, her birth plan was only an exercise. Well researched are procedures often presented as lifestyle choices (i.e. c-sections), which can be dictated not by the mother's needs, but by legal and financial priorities.

2) Pregnancy pillow: Body Cushion by Body Support Systems, Inc. 451/488-1172.

3) For further information, contact Dr. Heather Rice at hricedc@vtlink.net, me at mbdcawe@aol.com, or Dr. Veronica Gutierrez at veronicapgdc@aol.com.