Quick Summary: Pregnancy shifts your center of gravity, loosens pelvic ligaments, and changes how your nervous system communicates with your body, often leading to new aches by the second trimester. Those changes aren’t something to just push through, they’re a normal sign of adaptation that responds well to the right kind of care.
Changes occur within your body before you start to show. The hormone relaxin relaxes ligaments in your pelvis to accommodate your growing baby, and affects ligaments and connective tissue all over your body, sometimes causing back pain in women who haven’t experienced it before.
As your belly grows, your center of gravity shifts forward, your back curves more, and your shoulders start to round. Around week 20 is when we start seeing these changes, and we see them every week here in College Station. During an exam for our pregnant patients we use an objective tool called the Insight Nervous System Scan, since tension and misalignment put pressure on the nerves that stop your body from functioning the way it was meant to.
The Webster Technique is a specific analysis and adjustment designed for pregnancy. It looks at the muscles and ligaments that support the uterus for any imbalances and uses a very specific and gentle adjustment to reduce tension. There is no twisting or forceful adjustment involved.
Not every chiropractor who says they offer prenatal care is specifically trained in this technique, many simply modify their normal adjustments and call it prenatal care. There is a real difference between the two.
Dr. Levi Hansen is Webster Technique certified by the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA). This is a certification that involves in-depth study of the changes that occur in the pelvis during pregnancy, not a weekend overview. Being certified does not mean we can guarantee the baby will turn or guarantee any particular outcome in labor, it means we have been trained in the anatomy of pregnancy so we can adjust with those changes, not against them.
Before making an appointment with any provider, ask if they are Webster Certified, and with whom.
What happens in a visit? We’ve designed it around the same three steps every patient goes through: Prime, Facilitate, and Integrate. That sequence matters even more during pregnancy, since your body is adapting quickly.
Different stages of pregnancy call for different approaches. Hip pain in the third trimester requires a different approach than nausea in the first.
What about during pregnancy? Well, your body is changing from week-to-week. Posture is changing, ligaments are laxer, your center of gravity is changing. Pain can mask improvement, pain can mask problems. Scanning cuts through the confusion and shows us what’s going on. Here’s what that scanning actually does for you throughout pregnancy:
Mothers are always surprised when we show them their scans side by side. Seeing the changes is impactful, nothing like a verbal check-in.
Is it too late to start? The short answer is no. Some patients start as soon as they are eight weeks along, dealing with balance and nausea. Others don’t come in until the third trimester, dealing with achy hips and poor sleep. Any trimester is fine, though starting earlier gives your body more time to adapt before labor.
We never arbitrarily decide how often to see you. It’s based on the results of the examinations. In your first trimester we might see you every other week, but as you get closer to your due date, we’ll likely see you every week, based on the diagnosis and how you are doing.
Our goal is to work alongside your OB or midwife, not replace them. Here’s how that coordination works:
That’s a completely normal feeling, and it’s something we walk through together before anything happens. Nothing is done without your comfort and consent, and your care is modified for your stage of pregnancy and your specific body. We use gentle, specific techniques and positioning that avoid unnecessary pressure, and if anything comes up that makes chiropractic care inappropriate for you, we’ll screen for that and coordinate with your OB or midwife rather than proceed anyway.
The Webster Technique is a gentle, pregnancy-specific analysis and adjustment that reduces tension around the uterus. Certification matters because it means real training, not just a weekend course. Dr. Hansen is Webster Technique certified through the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, which studies pelvic changes during pregnancy in depth. Ask your provider who certified them before your first visit.
You won’t need to lie flat on your stomach or use a special drop-piece table. We use a pregnancy pillow that supports your belly and lets you lie comfortably, so positioning adapts to you rather than the other way around.
Your visit follows three steps: Prime, Facilitate, and Integrate. First, we guide you through diaphragmatic breathing to calm your nervous system, and most moms feel their shoulders drop within a minute or two. Next comes a gentle, specific adjustment tailored to your changing shape, often including the Webster Technique. Instead of rushing you out the door afterward, we ease you back into movement, and your body continues adapting to the adjustment over the next day or two as you go about normal daily life.
Yes, we welcome postpartum patients. Your body goes through another round of significant changes after delivery, and the same principles of gentle, specific care apply as it recovers and readjusts. If you’re postpartum and dealing with new aches, don’t assume it’s something you just have to live with.
No, you don’t need a referral to book a visit with a prenatal chiropractor. You can call directly to schedule an exam, which includes the Insight Nervous System Scan to check how your spine and nervous system are handling pregnancy changes. Many moms in College Station come in on their own once they start noticing back pain, hip tightness, or posture changes around their second trimester.
Proudly serving College Station and Bryan, River of Life Chiropractic starts every visit with a real exam, not a guess. Ready to find out what’s actually going on?
Real feedback from the patients we’ve had the privilege to care for
College Station is home base, but patients regularly drive in from Bryan, Navasota, Caldwell, and Snook for care, most traveling somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes to get here. Within College Station itself, we see a lot of familiar faces from Pebble Creek, Indian Lakes, Southern Pointe, and the Castlegate and Castlerock communities.
Wherever you are driving in from, the visit looks the same: a real exam first, X-rays when they are actually needed, and a plan built around what your body is showing us, not a guess based on your zip code.
Contact us for expert chiropractic care in College Station, TX.
Monday: 9am – 1pm, & 3pm – 6pm
Tuesday: 3pm – 6pm
Wednesday: 9am – 1pm, & 3pm – 6pm
Thursday: 9am – 1pm, & 3pm – 6pm
Friday: 9am – 1pm, & 3pm – 6pm
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed
