An update.

Dear readers,
     It is with the utmost excitement that I confess to you, a secret. I am going to have a baby. I'm entering my 6 month of pregnancy and so far, it has been a wild ride. I'm writing this blog post for very similar reasons that I started this blog in the first place. I get asked many questions, most of them all surrounding the same topics. I tend to think that if our conversations and thoughts navigate in certain directions, those subjects deserve some attention. So, let's get to it!

1. How was my first trimester?
       Health wise, my first trimester was incredibly simple. I ate whenever I started to feel poorly, and overall avoided most of the unpleasantness associated with morning sickness, fatigue, etc. That being said, I did experience all the scary things of the first trimester. I had bleeding on a regular basis, I experienced "higher than normal" cramping, but all the while my midwife assured me that I was ok. Then, around 8 weeks, I was sitting at my desk (scrolling through strollers) and a message popped up. And long story short, my husband and I were offered positions in our dream town. We've been here 2.5 months and I we couldn't be happier.

Here's what I've deduced from the first trimester: I am under regular chiropractic care. As a product, I haven't had any low back pain, I didn't really have any morning sickness to speak of, and my fatigue was really mild. Between the support of my chiropractor and my midwife, I've maintained a fairly low stress approach to my pregnancy that I honestly believe would be completely different without them.

2. Where am I going to deliver?
     My husband was born at home, his brother was born at home and his sister was born in a birth center. I was born via c-section due to health risks to both my mother and myself. My goal throughout this pregnancy is to do what is best for the longevity of my health and the health of my baby. In considering what I wanted and what I believe to be the best path with least intervention, my husband and I decided to hire a midwife and pursue a home birth. I was nervous that I would "opt out" due to high blood pressure or other health concerns that my mother had, but so far (22 weeks) nothing has come up. We are also planning to participate in a Bradley birth class to help us prep.

3. When am I due?
     August. I'm willing to accept July 29th-September 3rd. But really any time in that window is fine by me.

4. What cravings am I having?
     Pickles, deli sandwiches, french onion dip (gross, I know), sparkling flavored water (La Croix) and spicy foods. I'm specifically not enjoying peanut butter, bread, bacon, or sweet things.

5. How is my husband doing?
      Like he always does, my husband is my greatest cheerleader and the best support I could ever ask for. Keep an eye out, the next blog will be about dads :)

6. What are you having?
      Hopefully a baby. :) We opted to not find out. But so far we know that baby has ten fingers and toes, 4 heart chambers, a spinal cord, a brain, and a wicked kick.

That's all for now. Check out the next blog in which I make a huge apology to dads.

Mental illness and health advocacy; a lesson in compassion and growth

Maslow's hierarchy of needs dictates that once our basic needs are met, then we can aspire to healthy interactions with others, and ultimately self-actualization.

A side, but valuable, comment here is that this doesn't indicate that self-actualization is the inevitable crown on a harrowing climb. It simply means that self-actualization, for the sake of life span and achievement, would be the launch pad that would carry someone to their greatest achievements. In other words, self-actualization is really the beginning of what could be. 

Today we will talk about mental health, but not yours.

Many people tout that mental health issues are better left under the rug. I identify strongly with honor culture. It should come as no surprise then, that people in my culture do not discuss their weaknesses. They push through them while mocking people who admit their struggles. For the most part, honor culture is on the decline, and more importantly, honor culture seems to be evolving to acknowledge that one can have pride in one's work, while admitting the difficulties in accomplishing it. 

This is overwhelmingly present in social media. And this is a good thing! We see what it really looks like to lose 100+ pounds. We see what it looks like to struggle to conceive. However there is one huge blot on the professional spectrum that seems to be a century behind when it comes to acknowledging mental health issues: health care. 

Did you know that professions with prescriptive rights are among the most likely to suffer from mental illness [1]? While medical doctors have a high rate of depression, there's also things like bipolar disorder, anxiety, addiction, and panic attacks that aren't accounted for in the reference listed below. 

A second side note: Chiropractors are also listed on the reference, but we are the only profession on the list that says, "Category includes chiropractors (a licensed profession) along with miscellaneous unlicensed health diagnosing practitioners." (insert eye roll here). That is like saying, "This category includes medical doctors along with miscellaneous actors that play doctors on t.v."

All that withstanding, I have two points to make.

1. Healthcare providers are under a LOT of stress. They deserve our patience and our compassion for the work they do.

2. In this current situation, it is not simply a pleasant concept, it is absolutely vital that you be your own advocate.

There are brilliant minds throughout our history that have had mental illnesses. Many of the diagnoses that previously would have resulted in inhumane treatments are now easily managed with chiropractic care, medication, or supplements.. But part of this stress and anxiety that affects our medical professionals so greatly is from carrying the burden of being the "decision maker". I would also argue that some of that stress comes from algorithms and pressures within the hospitalist system, but that's not anything that you and I can influence, other than with our mighty dollars. 

Most people don't become doctors because they hate people. Most people become doctors because they want to help people. Most doctors approach each patient with the wealth of knowledge that they have, and every motion is to help the patient towards health. Most doctors don't act out of malice. Most of them are working on 4 cups of coffee, too little sleep, too much stress, and frankly, too much outside influence to be the teacher their name implies. 

If you are pressured or emotionally manipulated away from your own decisions: you need a new doctor. That doctor isn't a bad person. That doctor is simply too distracted to acknowledge that the body you have is the one you will have for the rest of your days; the actions and consequences performed upon it are literally your burden to bear. 

Things to consider about your health:

• take time to read and learn about diagnoses you've been given
• go into follow up appointments with a knowledge of what to expect
• ask questions
• take a friend with you to listen and be the objective ears in the room. 
• if you are interested in alternative therapies for your diagnosis, print some articles and take them to your doctor
• don't assume that your doctor will say, "My way or the high way." Because I bet, if your doctor is worth their salt, they will either be open to your ideas, or will explain to you why it isn't a good idea.
• ask for dialogue, not just a prescription
• take notes!

1. http://www.businessinsider.com/most-suicidal-occupations-2011-10

Ideal birth; an image

We've seen all seen it. In the age of social media dominance, you've seen that gorgeous mom with the high top messy bun, eyeliner on point, perfect manicured nails, in a deep squat or on her back with a doting scruffy faced husband with a furrowed brow or bulging eyes at his instantaneous conversion of seeing his wife the sex goddess become his wife....The Godess. She is 40 weeks to the day, maybe even a few days early, she gained 20 pounds exactly, and only in the past 3 weeks gave up her back squats. She delivers naturally; probably in a birthing center. She is only moments away from the perfect latch and perfect milk let down. She will be enchanted by her baby immediately and will step into motherhood with grace. Because of her authoritative physical presence, no one will ask her when she will start watching what she eats. No one will bat an eye when baby sleeps for 9 hours a night after the first week until the baby is 13 years old. The baby will never have a blow out, ear infection, and certainly will never cry every night between the hours of 4:30pm and 8:00pm. She will wait the appropriate 4 hours after birth and her husband will post an image of mother and baby on instagram, and he will say his wife is the strongest woman he's ever met and he is SO in love with his new baby.

Gah, these people are such jerks! Right!?!? Nope. They aren't. They aren't jerks. They are two people that decided to have sex during the fertile phase of the ovulatory cycle, and as a result, she had a baby. Even that is presumptuous. That baby could have been prayed for, for years. That baby could be a rainbow baby. The point is not how other people do pregnancy and birth. The point is that you don't have to do it that way. 

There are general markers of pregnancy; as a whole, consuming a bottle of wine a night is not the best idea. It's a good idea to have a birth leader; be that a midwife, an obstetrician, or your Aunt Lucy. They are way more attuned to the best practices of pregnancy, but the focus here is that you choose. 

When anyone tells me they are pregnant I send them to the same place. It is my favorite place to send people because it is a webpage that offers, "40 questions for your midwife." Most often I send people there and they immediately say something like, "I don't even know what half of those words mean." This isn't meant to overwhelm you or make you feel stupid. This is meant to call you to a higher level of thinking. The questions asked on that page are going to make you ask questions. Hopefully, when you ask those questions, you get answers that make sense and align with what you want. My goal in practice is to empower parents to be as present with their children as possible and in my mind, this starts right with that first pregnancy test, and probably even before. 

Your ideal birth doesn't have here or there, or up or down, or right or wrong. It must be one where mama is comfortable. In my social circles, if I said, "You know, I really want to deliver in a hospital with an epidural." I would be harshly judged. That judgement would come from a place of education and statistically likely outcomes... but it's judgement nonetheless. I'm sure there are social groups that would faint at the idea of an unassisted childbirth; it would appear that the politicians making the rules on all of our births are in that crowd.

As a newb entrepreneur, I've been attending a lot of personal growth/mindset meetings in my community. 75% of them are amazing and worthy of your time, by the way. In those meetings the final, obnoxiously esoteric and yet also applicable recommendation, is to envision your dream. I don't see why birth should be any different.

When you think of birth, what are your first thoughts? I suspect that a solid 1/3 of the people reading this immediately thought of the financial burden. Ok, so let's take that and place it aside. What next? What do you see? I think, because I saw it right when it occurred to me that I might one day go through birth, I think of Katherine Heigl in Knocked Up; again...maybe not the best image.

Who is in the room? Who holds your hand? Does your hand need holding? Are you quiet and still? or panting and dancing and wild? What do the eyes look like of everyone in the room? Are they old and crinkled into anticipatory smiles? Are they wide open to take in every velvety moment? Are you on a bed? Or are you on the floor? Are there medical masks? What are you wearing? Are you wearing a hospital gown? Are you wearing a cute piece of lingerie, like women wear when they need an extra "oomph" of confidence? Are you wearing your spouse's old shirt? Are there windows in the room? What's the weather like outside? Are you inside or outside? When you give that last push, what is the first thing you want your baby to feel? Will a doctor catch your baby in nitrile gloves? Will your baby go from one aquatic environment to another? Will you pull him to the outside world yourself? And then what? Will there be shrills and screams of pleasure and excitement? Or will everything melt down into liquid serenity. Will anyone else exist in those precious moments?

I've been told a million times, "I thought I wanted to sit on the ball: I didn't want to sit on the ball". "I thought I would want my husband to rub my back: If anyone touched me I threw up." It's ok for things to change. It's ok to want to wear something special and then it gets poop or pee or some other bodily function on it and have to change. It's ok to start at home and end up not at home. It's ok to have a birth plan that goes out the window. But that doesn't make the birth plan any less significant. Have someone, or a team of someones with you to help you. If you don't want pitocin, and you are offered pitocin...that's not ok. If you don't want an epidural and you are offered an epidural, that's not ok! If you don't want your husband's sister's mailman in the room, guess what? THEY DON'T COME IN. You are delivering your baby into the world. Anyone else in the room is merely an observer or an accomplice in miracle work. Make sure your company is worthy of the experience; because birth is nothing short of miraculous. 

Chiropractic and Birth

For the sake of this post we will only discuss pelvic floor and mechanistic views of the pelvis for labor and delivery. There is A LOT more at hand, but this is the best entry point for what will later prove to be a pretty complex relationship.

Round Ligaments
These are best described as the ropes that tether the top of a hot air balloon. Before conception, these ligaments sort of hang off the top of uterus like arms. The fibers of the round ligament actually descend so far as the labia majora (external female genitalia). As the uterus expands to accommodate the growing baby, the round ligaments look like the ropes that go over the top of the hot air balloon keeping it on the ground.

This balloon is tethered, and look how roomy it is! This is what we want the uterus to look like. If a woman has a traumatic pelvic trauma like falling off of a bike, falling off of a horse, even some hard falls when she was a baby, these ligaments can have different tensions. This would lead to something like this:

This is an exaggeration, but our goal is to give baby as much room as possible to flip and flop and wiggle around all they want until the time comes to get serious. Then, when it's time to get serious we want baby to engage and exit with as much ease as possible, for mama and baby.

Sacrotuberous ligament
This ligament deserves a regal entry. This dude is the unsung hero of all pregnancy. So, the sacrotuberous ligament makes a lot of things work: it attaches the spine to the leg (sacrum to biceps femoris, aka major player of the hamstrings), it protects the pudendal nerve (responsible for muscle tone in the perineum--wowzas!!), contains branches of the gluteal artery, Similarly to the round ligaments, if a woman has pelvic trauma, this ligament can lose it's flexibility, thus preventing the pelvis from opening properly during labor.

Sacrospinous ligament
The fibers of the sacrospinous ligament are integrated into the sacrotuberous ligament, but this job of this ligament is to essentially create the greater and lesser sciatic foramen. If you have ever been pregnant, and developed sciatic-like nerve pain...this ligament could be a contributing factor. Again, this ligament, as it is so closely related to the sacrotuberous ligament is going to have heavy influence on the pudendal nerve, which is the nerve that helps determine the muscle tone in the perineum; if the perineum is taut, you are more likely to have perineal tearing and postpartum incontinence [1]

Abdominal muscles
The abdominal muscles are an accessory in birth. While the myometrium of the uterus is responsible for the actual contraction, the abdominal muscles are there for backup and extra "oomph". Guess where the insertion of 2/3 of the abdominal muscles are? Either directly on the vertebrae in your spine, or on the tissue that is attached to those vertebrae,

Pelvic girdle
The Pelvic girdle consists of muscles, bones, and ligaments of the pelvis that ideally open symmetrically to allow baby to exit. Pelvic girdle pain is exceptionally common in the last trimester and up to 16 weeks postpartum. Many of the muscles in this area are innervated by the pudendal nerve. Previously we said that the pudendal nerve was closely related to the sacrotuberous ligament, and that between the round ligament, the sacrotuberous ligament, and the abdominal muscles, the attachment sites for all of these are either on the spine or directly to the bones of the pelvis.

So what does Chiropractic have to do with any of this?
Chiropractors who specialize in pregnancy should know how to address all of these ligaments and bones. Our pelvis is responsible for keeping us moving. Think of it in terms of survival; our arms are held on by a flimsy articulation and 4 main muscles. You can lose an arm and still get away from the lion chasing you.Your legs are held on by one solid ball in socket articulation; in our body this is the most stable a joint can get and still move. Beyond that, there are at least 5 ligaments and 4 muscle groups (multiple muscles working together) to keep your leg on; because you need the leg to escape the lion. So then amplify that by a million, when we incorporate a mother's protective reflex, and you begin to realize the significance of this hammock that we make while pregnant.

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3279110/

The moving target of an ideal birth.

Millennials (yep, I'm going there), are culturally perceived to be lazy, but more and more research is showing that people in this age group are working harder, spinning their wheels earlier and longer, than other generations (see facebook meme a-aaaaaa, as example).

We as a whole are out to improve the world. As the Harvard Business Review article below states, millennials do not value vacation time, often choosing the statement, "No one can do my work as well as I do" as a comment on why vacations are on the decline. Is this a deep seeded remnant of arrogance? Or, have we simply come to believe what we've been told: "Become the best, so that you can't be replaced."

Maybe I see this more than others because I am in a profession that is solidly planted in entrepreneurship. Burn out is for REAL in my world; it is an actual threat to the survive/thrive plan. So, what does this ideology have to do with birth?

We, you, they, whatever you want to read, are over-achievers. My people, my crowd, my soul sisters and brothers are the Hermione Grangers of the world. I fancy myself more of a Ron, but at the end of the day I'm intellectually one of the laziest of my friends....and I am a HARD worker. This lends itself to smart people with a lot of promise, burning out way too soon. They burn out because their soul kissing dreams are intangible. Words like "success" and "financial freedom" float around, just outside of grasp because they are indefinite. Here's where birth comes in.

Different organizations surrounding birth have created guidelines of what is acceptable in the progression of normal pregnancy, and this amplifies in birth. In pregnancy you should measure a certain way, blood pressure should stay within a certain range, blood and urine analysis should show markers of health, weight gain has its own parameters, and fetal heart rate has a window of acceptable findings. Any variance from these numbers will inevitably involve some element of intervention. Sometimes this intervention is mild, like bed rest. Other times, the end result is a shell shocked new mom with a 24 week gestation baby, or worse. This is in no way to insinuate that medical intervention is unnecessary. I am quite literally the product of medical technology; if not for NICU services, I most likely wouldn't be alive.

In birth, there are Bishop Scores, APGAR scores, statistical rates of advancement, and other markers that indicate necessary intervention. Here is the problem: time is changing these parameters. As overachievers we want to be perfect. Ne'er you mind the mom who smoked throughout her pregnancy in the 60's, moms now avoid flying due to radiation exposure and avoid deli meats all in an attempt to give their baby the best start possible. These moms and dads are changing their whole lives from the day of conception (or possible conception) out of love  to the be the best for their children as possible. This is parenting. This is love and sacrifice from day one. Healthcare professionals tend to want to focus on objective parameters, and that is great! Generally, though, we aim to impose the statistical norms and that takes the control out of mama and daddy's hands, and places them in an algorithm. I am a huge fan of Improvingbirth.org. I want the birth world to be over flowing with research! But at the end of the day, if a mom is comfortable birthing at home, she should, unless absolutely unavoidable circumstances arise, be at home. If a mom is comfortable in a hospital, with every monitor and doo-hicky attached to her, she should be there.

 We can not turn birth in to a race. We can't turn it into a talent show where someone loses. When we do that, competition and self-depreciation become the name of the game and no one, especially that new family unit, will benefit. No matter where a woman labors and delivers, when she meets the eyes of her little one, there should be no room for anything but absolute adulation. The target should be that look. The target is that smile, or sob, or throwing heads back, or hugs, or whatever, but it should be ideal in the eyes of mom and dad. Ideal doesn't mean without a hitch, it doesn't mean a baby born in the caul in a tranquil water birth, it doesn't mean sans stretch mark, it doesn't mean measuring exactly 35 cm at 35 weeks. It means, at the end of the day, Mom and dad (insert any birth partner and their relationship to mom), know that they have done what was best from their own knowledge base.




Harvard business Review article about the work-a-holic-millennials

Building strong children AND repairing broken men

It takes a village right? It takes a village to raise a baby? It takes a village to build a community and it takes a unified voice to change the world. While changing the world is inevitable or impossible depending on your definition, my goal is to make sure my circles of mamas are empowered to make the decisions that work FOR them. My goal is to help women meet those goals by making sure their spine is unsubluxated and providing them information on what might be best for them. This is a big task! Most women you talk to have some aspect of their labor that was taken from them: something they didn't like: something that in the moment didn't seem like a big deal, but afterwards became a big deal. Fortunately, there are several organizations and individuals out there that agree with my goal and are also working to help women make the best labor and birth decisions for themselves.

Previously I've discussed the Chiropractic principle of time. Thank the forces that be, because it is unlikely a woman wakes up not pregnant and goes to bed that night having delivered a baby. We have time! Elephants have a 3 year gestation period.... Suddenly 40 weeks doesn't sound so bad does it? We have discussed subluxation within the complexity of time, but if time is a component of subluxation, why would a baby need to be adjusted? They are squishy, and tiny, and new, and markedly not very ossified. 

Well, I'd like you to welcome Andra Allcorn to the stage. She is in the village and she is one of the hardest working people I know. Below, Andra tackles the question, "If time is a component of subluxation, why would a baby need to be adjusted?". In my opinion the piece is articulate, emotional, and speaks a truth of that unified voice mentioned above. 

Time is a funny thing. I’ve been told time doesn’t exist – it’s a man-made construct. But so much of our understanding as human beings is centered around time. But if time is a component of subluxation, why would a baby need to be adjusted?

 

Depending on your beliefs surrounding when life begins, a human life can begin 40(ish) weeks prior to birth. That’s 280(ish) days that the little human is growing and changing at a rapid pace. From 2 microscopic cells to a 7(ish) lbbaby at birth, those 40(ish) weeks that momma is pregnant they are constantly growing and changing. Depending on the pregnancy, there can be many other influencing factors that could inhibit optimal cell growth and development, such as diet, or medications. In addition to those factors, the birth process can be a lengthy, stressful transition from inside the mother’s womb to the outside world. Most often you hear pregnant mommas say their one wish is for a healthy baby with 10 fingers and 10 toes. But if the means to connect your baby to their Innate Intelligence hours or weeks after coming into this world, wouldn’t you want to take advantage of that?

A mere 16 days after conception, the primitive beginnings of your nervous system start to form. Around 7 weeks, your brain, the command center of you starts to form. With the beginning of the central nervous system forming, the skeletal structure protecting the brain and spinal cord start to develop as well. Around 4 months, the baby is lengthening and strengthening those bones. During the 40(ish) week gestation period, your beautiful baby develops and builds more than 200 bones! They grow and grow and grow until they are ready to enter into the world as tiny little babies.

 

Through the transition from womb to real world, the baby’s skeleton is squeezing and twisting through the 4.3(ish)-inch-wide birth canal in a process so beautifully designed it can only be called miraculous. Adjusting to the real world after this transition can be just that, a transition. From the birthing process to learning to walk, the spine takes on a lot of force from the beginning. Specific chiropractic adjustments for infants, babies, and toddlers are gentle adjustments, using no more than the pressure you would put on your eyeball. The aim is to align the vertebrae of the spine so as to remove interference within the nervous system so that your little bundle of joy has the Innate Intelligence of their body flowing to every cell in their being. Vitalistic chiropractors focus on how the body functions, and provide adjustments that remove interference from day zero. 

                                     

Since we can’t deny that the progression of time is inevitable, just like death and taxes, wouldn’t it be wonderful to have all babies checked and adjusted, if necessary? As they continue to grow and develop into kidlets, tweens, teens, and beyond, having a nervous system free of interference will continue to serve them as they grow and grow and grow for the next 20+ years.