123: Perinatal Chiropractic Care with Dr. Elliot Berlin

Do you know the benefits of chiropractic and massage during pregnancy and the postpartum period? Despite the opinions of some, these practices can be a regular and extremely beneficial part of overall maternal wellness. What does chiropractic care for prenatal women look like and what conditions can be treated in this way? We’re diving into these topics and more with today’s expert guest. Dr. Elliot Berlin is an award-winning prenatal chiropractor, childbirth educator, and labor doula. He’s here to share how chiropractic care can support mental wellness and, specifically, perinatal mood and anxiety disorder. He shares how he came into this amazing work, almost by accident. His Informed Pregnancy Project aims to utilize multiple forms of media, including a weekly podcast, documentary films, and a YouTube series to compile and deliver unbiased information about pregnancy and childbirth to empower new and expectant parents to make informed choices regarding their pregnancy and parenting journey. Show Highlights: Dr. Berlin’s work and how it resulted from his lifelong interest in holistic medicine He and his wife took a long medical journey to have a child---with no success A holistic approach brought them their first baby, and then another every two years for awhile! When they moved to Los Angeles, he started a program to help others improve their health and fertility naturally He was soon surrounded by pregnant women who wanted to continue their wellness with chiropractic and massage care His work grew into attending births and body work, so he and his wife completed doula training together Their holistic perspective of prenatal wellness that developed over time The debate over C-section and VBAC (vaginal birth after Caesarean) How he wrote articles, then a blog, then a magazine, then a podcast, then documentary films, and then a YouTube series How he sees about 15 pregnant patients each day and tries to make sure they are informed about their choices Common conditions that people seek chiropractic care for during pregnancy: sciatica, hip pain, neck/shoulder pain, headaches, pubic joint pain, heartburn, nausea, and positioning problems The analogy of the birth canal: a stretchy rubber band and a squishy basketball How chiropractic care helps with mental wellness, especially with perinatal mood and anxiety disorder The Importance of improving sleep during and after pregnancy Every appointment at Dr. Berlin’s clinic includes at least 25 minutes of massage and body work Being “part of the puzzle” to perinatal mental health Misconceptions about chiropractic care: getting one adjustment isn’t enough unless you keep coming back, and pregnancy isn’t a good time for chiropractic and massage If you are looking for a chiropractor/massage therapist, you need to know that no special training is required for prenatal/postnatal chiropractic Dr. Berlin’s podcast, Informed Pregnancy, airs one episode weekly; they have great audience interaction as they provide information and entertainment about pregnancy, postpartum, and early parenting. They present facts about topics in an unbiased way and let people know about their choices The YouTube series: The Real Midwives of Los Angeles, Heads Up, a documentary about the disappearing art of vaginal breech birth, and VBAC, about vaginal birth after C-section   Today's episode supported by Ritual Vitamin! Essential for Women and Essential Prenatal. Go Find out how awesome this vitamin is at www.ritual.com/mind Resources: Find resources on Instagram: @DoctorBerlin icpa4kids.com Find a chiropractor for pediatric patients and pregnancy Find Dr. Berlin on Twitter @DrBerlin or on Facebook @InformedPregnancy Parents on Demand network Find parenting resources!