SingaporeMotherhood | Pregnancy
January 2026
How Chiropractic Care Helped this Mum through Pregnancy and Postpartum
It was 2018 and the combined stresses of work, grief, and trying to conceive were wearing Sarah Bagharib down. “I had tension headaches, disrupted sleep, a buzzing anxiety that lived in my chest, and a sense of never being able to fully switch off,” recalls the founder and director of Shine Bright Media.
“At the time, I had a full-time job, as well as a side hustle (Crazycat, a media company that supports women’s well-being and personal growth). I was also trying to conceive my first child,” shares Sarah, who also emcees, and hosts #NusantaraWomenConversations podcast.
Scrolling through social media, Sarah saw posts from friends who shared how seeing a chiropractor had helped regulate their nervous system, manage their stress, and improve their gut health and sleep.
“I’d been seeing a therapist for anxiety and to cope with grief after losing a loved one, but I thought I could use some additional support. I was curious about chiropractic care so I decided to try it out. That was when I first met Dr. Clara White,” says Sarah, now 35, and mother to two girls aged six years old and 10 months old.
A Comforting First Chiropractic Session
“What surprised me most during my first visit was how much time was spent simply listening. The initial assessment didn’t begin with hands on my spine, but with questions. How was I sleeping? Where did I hold stress in my body? What had life been demanding of me lately?
I was asked to stand, sit, and walk while Dr. Clara observed my posture and how my weight settled through my hips and feet.
She saw how my shoulders rounded forward, and how my head subtly jutted out. This posture was shaped by years of stress, desk work, and looking down at my phone.
Then came the spinal checks, where her careful, attentive hands moved along my back, noting where things felt restricted or tense. She explained how these areas of tightness were linked to how my nervous system had been coping. Chronic stress, she said, has a way of living in the body long after the mind thinks it’s “fine.”
The first adjustment itself was far gentler than I expected. No dramatic cracking, no force. Just a precise, intentional movement. Once the adjustment was done, I felt lighter, as if someone had pressed the reset button on my nervous system. That night, I slept deeply for the first time in what was probably three to four months. It was the moment I realised chiropractic care wasn’t simply about the spine, it was about nurturing overall well-being.
Chiropractic Care Helped with Nausea during her First Pregnancy
I continued seeing Dr. White once a fortnight and before long, chiropractic care had become part of my lifestyle. When I got pregnant with my first child at the end of 2018, I learned about its benefits for pregnancy: better pelvic alignment, reduced back pain, and support for optimal foetal positioning.
Dr. Clara explained how in pregnancy, the body isn’t just changing structurally, but hormonally and neurologically too. The pelvis, lower back, neck, and shoulders all carry different kinds of strain.
I battled really bad nausea during the first half of my pregnancy and had quite bad and uncomfortable sleep. However I remember having a deeper sleep after each chiropractic session. Similarly my nausea became increasingly bearable after a few sessions.
(See also: PRENATAL AND BABY CHIROPRACTIC: HOW IT WORKS, AND WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT IT)
Chiropractic Care Helped to ease Discomforts during her second Pregnancy
I stopped receiving chiropractic care a year after giving birth to my first child and only sought treatment when I needed it, on an ad hoc basis. Fast forward to 2024, when I became pregnant with my second child.
This pregnancy was more intense, more demanding, and far more physical than the first. I had relentless nausea and vomiting that lasted beyond the first trimester, severe tightness in my shoulders, and a lower back that felt permanently strained from carrying the weight of pregnancy. I was also running a boutique PR and communications consultancy then.
That’s when I found my way back to Dr. Clara. She now had her own studio, Purely Family Chiropractic, in Joo Chiat. Her adjustments helped ease the nausea enough for me to function through the day, released the tightness across my lower back and pelvis, and helped me sleep better.
A Difference between Both Pregnancies
My first birth six years earlier had been long and exhausting (42-hour labour!). This time, I wanted a different experience. I wanted to move, breathe, and work with my body, not against it.
I shared with my obgyn that I was seeing a chiropractor. She was aware of some of the benefits of antenatal chiropractic care, but cautioned that there were risks involved. She said that ultimately, it was my choice.
So throughout this second pregnancy, I went for weekly chiropractic sessions. Nearing the end of my pregnancy, I increased the number of sessions to twice a week.
What Chiropractic Care during Pregnancy is Like
Dr Clara began every session by checking how I was sleeping, where I felt strain, and whether nausea, breathlessness, or pelvic discomfort had intensified.
These cues matter because pregnancy doesn’t follow a linear path: what the body needs at 20 weeks can be very different from what it needs at 36 weeks.
Physically, adjustments are modified to prioritise safety and comfort. I was never asked to lie flat on my stomach. Instead, I was supported with specialised cushions, or positioned on my side, or seated, depending on what felt most stable that day.
These positions reduced pressure on the abdomen and allowed Dr. Clara to work gently with my spine, pelvis, and the surrounding joints.
The adjustments themselves are subtle. They often involve light, controlled pressure to areas under strain — most commonly the pelvis, sacrum, lower back, and upper spine. These regions work hardest during pregnancy, adapting to a shifting centre of gravity and increased ligament laxity caused by pregnancy hormones. The goal is to encourage balance and mobility, particularly in the pelvis, which plays a critical role in comfort during pregnancy and movement during labour.
A more Intuitive Labour and Delivery
My second labour was shorter, smoother, and more intuitive. I was in active labour for three hours before giving birth and I knew what to expect this time. In addition, my lower back and pelvis had been supported throughout my pregnancy through chiropractic care.
Birth is unpredictable, but going into it with a balanced pelvis, a supported nervous system, and months of intentional care made a world of difference.
I genuinely believe that chiropractic care, especially with someone who understands maternal physiology so deeply, played a big part in helping me have the empowering birth I had hoped for.
Chiropractic Care in the Postpartum Period
Postpartum was another chapter where chiropractic care held me. Nursing in awkward positions, holding a newborn for hours, and the constant bending and lifting took a toll.
I did a 40-day confinement but I managed to sneak out for my first chiropractic treatment two weeks after giving birth. I continued with weekly sessions after that.
Dr. Clara assessed my baby at about one month old as her studio offers a complimentary newborn assessment with my package. According to Dr. Clara, babies can be assessed and treated as soon as they enter this world!
Returning to chiropractic adjustments felt like reclaiming pieces of myself. Each session helped ease the strain in my shoulders and back, improved my posture, and supported my postpartum recovery at a time when everything felt raw and tender.
Prenatal and Postpartum Chiropractic Care: Worth the Cost?
People often ask if it’s worth the cost. Sessions typically range between $80 to $120 (at time of publication), and yes, it adds up over months of pregnancy and postpartum.
For me, chiropractic care is an investment in the body that carries, births, and nurtures my children, and in the long-term well-being of my family. Even now, I still go monthly to maintain alignment, support my posture (especially with breastfeeding and daily baby-carrying), and simply to give my body the care it deserves.
Looking back, chiropractic care has supported me through the seasons that shaped me most: stress, pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and motherhood. And that is thanks to a practitioner who truly sees the whole person, not just a spine. In many ways, I would say that chiropractic care didn’t just keep me aligned physically, it helped me stay aligned with myself.”
Featured image: Depositphotos
All content from this article, including images, cannot be reproduced without credits or written permission from SingaporeMotherhood.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, and TikTok for the latest article and promotion updates.
