The Incredible Benefits You Need to Know About Chiropractic Care During Pregnancy & For Newborns: Dr.Kim Tran | 63

Kim Tran 


Quick note, this podcast is for educational purposes only and does not replace your medical advice. Check out our full disclaimer at the bottom 


of the show notes. 


So welcome Dr. Kim Tran. 


kim tran: Hi. Thank you for having me. I'm Dr. Kim Tran. I'm a pregnancy and pediatric chiropractor out of Houston, Texas. I work out of integrated chiropractic with my husband, and I've been practicing for almost eight years now. 


trish: Wow. That's as long as your motherhood journey, 


kim tran: correct? 


And I honestly did not have much of that. And I really chocolate up to being well adjusted during chiropractic school and going through that pregnancy and how everything was during those nine months. 


trish: I love that so much. And so what's so funny is that I was pregnant with Laney when I was in nursing school, and so I absolutely 100% can picture that you were the test student for a lot of different things during the pregnancy section of chiropractor school. 


And then I waddled across the stage, very big pregnant, sat for my boards on Friday and had her on Monday. Wow. So it was, yeah, so she's like my measuring, like my visual measuring stick of my nursing career so funny. So I 


kim tran: would say the same. It's the same. Yeah, pretty much the same. Yeah. 


Like chiropractic school during our labor which was called I think it's like pregnancy development. I forgot what the name of the course was, but literally you learned about pregnancy and peds in this course and I was definitely the person and thankfully I was pregnant during the last year, so we do rotations during that last year. 


trish: Yeah, that's exactly for me. I, everyone else in my class was like studying all summer and they were gonna take their boards in the fall. I was like, oh no. Oh no. I am taking it right now because I knew if I had that baby and then postpartum things hit and I was exhausted and I didn't wanna leave her and all that, I would. 


I would be probably not sitting here right now, more than likely. But anyway, so I digress a little bit. But I love that because my first question usually to my guest, because we are the birth experience, is to tell me about your birth experience and how that. Integrates with what you do. So I'd love to hear that we heard a little bit of the baseline. 


My water breaks while I'm on the couch. I'm like, oh my gosh, should I just pee? Did my water break? What is going on? The universal 


trish: question. 


kim tran: So yeah, my water breaks and 14 hours later, nothing happened. There's no contractions, no nothing. My midwife was like, let's just go to sleep and, prepare your body for labor. 


So I literally woke up that morning and nothing was going on. And so I had an OB at this time too, like a midwife and an ob. And called my OB and he was like, why don't you just come on in, let's get you checked and everything, see what's going on. And I ended up in a C-section and found out that. 


Evie had a very short, umbilical cord that no one saw on ultrasound during my pregnancy. And so everything was fine and healthy with her, but my umbilical cord was so short that she could not even make it into the birth canal. 


kim tran: No. She could not descend. Yeah. No matter what we did. 


So obviously that's not to say like it was. Anything positional or anything like that. Her umbilical cord was definitely so short that she couldn't even make it into the birth canal. Yes. But for the three babies after that, that had three V backs after that. Yep. Did same thing, didn't change anything. 


Because it was like, So random that we had a short umbilical cord. But the three babies after that were perfect vaginal, physiological births and did all the things. And they were literally the best vbacks and best recoveries I could literally ask for, true labor was only like an hour with Oh, wow. 


All of them. Yeah. By the time I thought it was like showtime call my midwife babies are here within 45 minutes to an hour. 


Not usually happy, we're usually like moody, but We just met this last week and we were talking about birth trauma and the various forms of it. And a lot of women who have fast deliveries like that, other women are like, oh my God, you're so lucky. But some women are actually traumatized by the speed of it. 


So I'm wondering if that affected you at all, if it freaked you out a little. My 


kim tran: second one did. Yeah, so baby number two, Penelope. She's about to turn five in April. That one I would say was pretty traumatic. Just because we were 41 and three, so I was already pretty tired. Yeah. And I feel like after my water broke, she just came so fast, like there was not a lot of control. 


And so like the induction plus when I got my water broken and everything after that point, everything was really fast and it was just crazy in that moment. Yeah, and I had a lot of coach pushing and not a lot of. I would say physiological pushing that it was very traumatizing. Yeah. I tore pretty badly that healing process was probably worse than even my C-section. 


I 


trish: was just gonna say that I want. People listening to remember that your baby number two was like your baby number one, because this baby is what I say, paving the path. And because I know some people are like, oh my God, you do really bad with your second. Does that mean I will, and not necessarily if you've already had a vaginal delivery, but I love that you're pointing out and recognizing that. 


When we listen to our bodies and allow the physiological process to happen the way it does for us for, in particularly for you, for myself, and not having forced coaching or direction from the outside. Like the direction needs to come from the inside. I'm so passionate about that. So I love that you said that and I'm sure everybody's can we get to the point of the chiropractor care? 


kim tran: I feel like most women should see a chiropractor during pregnancy because ultimately everyone, every woman wants the best birth experience, right? Everyone thing to go smoothly. Baby has the best passage for birth. And with chiropractic care, we focus on the, what I always call the three P's, the power, the passage, and the passenger. 


The uterus is healthy, going to do what's supposed to do, and then the passage being in the mom is well aligned pelvis and everything is well aligned because you know in your pelvis, my imaginary pelvis here, Yeah, if you have an imbalance in your pelvis, then not only misaligns the pelvis, but all the pelvic floor structures that are holding everything in there. 


You're around ligament, your broad ligament, all the different structures. Internally, if there's a structural misalignment, everything on the inside will be misaligned as well. And babies are so smart. That they will go wherever it is comfortable for them. Baby's always on the right. If they're reached, whatever it is, baby, it's gonna go wherever it's comfortable for baby. 


You can have, pubic synthesis disfunction. You can have, like lightning crotch happening. You can have all these different like realm, ligament, plane, just all the little host of. Pregnancy things. And all that goes back to what does structure look like, and then correcting that and making sure mom is doing well, while walking, sleeping, doing daily acti, things, activities of daily living. 


I love that. So really getting adjusted through pregnancy, not just coming in at the end of pregnancy and hoping please help me, kind of thing. But throughout all of pregnancy, because Pregnancy. There's so many changes in our body. We are, working with relaxing. We're working with all the different physiological changes that happen during pregnancy, so getting adjusted throughout. 


trish: I love that you said that because. I get that question all the time. Like, when can I, when is it okay? Because I do, and I've got this induction workshop that we have, and one of the top questions that people ask me is cuz I tell them during that, one of the things you can do to help get your labor started is chiropractic care. 


And then I always throw out there, That is really one of my biggest regrets that I didn't that and see an a pelvic floor specialist during my own pregnancies. And so invariably there's always girls on there that are just, wanting to learn about the induction process, whether they're eight weeks pregnant or 40 weeks pregnant. 


And someone always says like, when can I start chiropractic care? And so you are saying day one? 


And yeah, day one, you can get adjusted and it's okay and it's safe. And then as you get further along, we have pregnancy pillows to accommodate. Belly and everything is super gentle the whole time. And there's no twisting or torsion or any kind of like major manual adjustments involved that would torque or rotate the uterus. 


It's pretty much good, the safe, the entire pregnancy, and I definitely agree to come in the sooner the better. That way everything looks beautiful throughout the whole pregnancy. 


trish: And I love that you said that because coming as an emergent response to something might be for the like you said, for the passage side of it. 


And nine times outta 10 when I break apart that birth journey that one of my mama has had. Cuz we do have a v a birth course, obviously. And one of the things that we sometimes come down to very common is the baby was in a wonky position and. That does not necessarily mean straight up breach. It could just be off a little. 


So I love that you're saying that because if they're coming to see you or to another chiropractor from the beginning, would you say that there's more of an opportunity that the, the baby will be in better alignment? The body be, will be ready to get the baby into the right 


Just because like you said, it doesn't always have to be a breach presentation, and obviously as chiropractor, we don't churn breach babies, right? We just make sure mom is well aligned and baby will go in the best position available for birth, right? As long as mom is in a good position as well. And during the adjustments, if the sacrum is in the way, if tailbones in the way, cuz it could be sometimes just tailbone, that baby's getting stuck on. Or if baby's shoulder is caught on something, it could just be not having the right amount of space that's there. And so just because of a simple pelvic misalignment. And yes, I would say, If you're getting adjusted throughout pregnancy there's more time to catch things like that and to prevent sacrum rotation and tailbone getting the way and pelvic misaligns in the first place. 


kim tran: you think? No, I would definitely agree. Yeah, lots more sitting lots more stationary, stagnant time, and so I definitely educate my moms on that as well. 


If we're sitting to always get up and move around with it like every 30 minutes. And if you are super busy and sitting there, then at least every hour. And then as we get further along in pregnancy, maybe switching to one of those like giant exercise balls that you can sit on or even sitting on like a dyna disc or like a wobble disc. 


trish: I love that so much. So we've talked a little bit about the adjustment side and the alignment side and getting baby into proper positioning, which is so important. 


And also, Taps into the pain side of why it's good to see a chiropractor, which you know, I know that you agree and I agree that just because your grandma says, oh, that's just normal for pregnancy, you're gonna be hurting. That is not what you have to accept. You do not have to accept, trust me, from a generation that did accept that. 


Don't accept it. Yes. But another thing that I was reading and I've heard throughout my career is that it can also alleviate morning sickness symptoms or nausea. Is that true or is that something that is just, said, but not necessarily true? 


We all, we impact the nervous system as well. And so when your nervous system is functioning well, and as it should, it could alleviate a lot of those symptoms. And then a lot of times it's also just as our body's changing, hormones changing diaphragm can get tight, esophageal, things can, it is can get tight, things like that. 


And so just getting chiropractic care during that early time can help alleviate any kind of fashional tightness on the digestive system, any kind of thing that would aggravate like this diaphragm area. And to help prevent the morning sickness. But it's also just the education that goes along with that too. 


And so I think those, all those little things just go hand in hand when it comes to chiropractic care. Not just the nervous system, the physiological aspect of it, but also just the nutrition education too. 


trish: Oh, I love that. I love that so much because it's such a holistic approach. That I think can is valuable. 


So if they're getting some of that from their obstetrician and then from the chiropractor and maybe you know, a nutritionist or what have you, then again, they don't just have to accept this is how it is. But I wanted to ask you one thing. You mentioned being Webster certified. Correct. Yes. And I have a lot of students who live in areas where they can't find a chiropractor who is Webster certified. 


So what do you recommend to those moms? 


And then if you see the letters like C A C P behind that means that they finished a lot of pediatric training in there as well. 


trish: Okay. So that will lead me into the next thing that I wanted to talk to you about and another one of my top regrets is not taking my babies to chiropractors. So is there reasons that you recommend that mamas bring a new baby to see you? 


And so I always love to check babies as soon as possible just to make sure all the reflexes are good, that they have great range of motion. That if mom wants to breastfeed, that there's no oral restrictions going on in there. Even if even bottle feeding, that there's making sure there's no oral restrictions, no tongue tie, lip tie, any jaw issues, growed pallet space and then. 


Baby had to mold to come out of the vaginal canal. So just checking the cranium, doing cranial sacral therapy, making sure baby is just rounding out well. And then as baby gets older, if baby isn't latching well or having reflux or colic like what is going on there to cause those issues, if baby doesn't like tummy time, you know there's a reason for that. 


I love seeing babies really all within the first year of life just to make sure that they're doing well and developing well. I 


trish: am so blown away in a, so a couple reasons. So one, just for a side note, we have been posting recently about lip and tongue tie, and we posted to see a chiropractor as well, and we get so much negativity whenever we post these different things. 


But you're saying this needs to be like a multi, multi disciplinary approach. 


kim tran: Yes. So I actually specialize in lip and tongue tie, oral restrictions in my practice. I see a ton of babies with this and for this. My kids even had oral restrictions Very close to it, very familiar with it. 


We work very closely with pediatric dentists and pediatric Ts at my office as well, and so I love that. In my area, it's a well-rounded approach where you see a pediatric, a n T or dentist, you see a lactation consultant, you see a body worker, and all of that. Cuz it's not just chiropractic care. 


But that is enough to impact the baby. And it's really just making sure that the body is moving the way it's supposed to be moving. And then when it comes to lip and tongue tie, even if they have. The restriction there is really good to loosen up the fascia that's in there. It's really good to loosen up the muscles underneath the tongue and to the jaw and the head and face area. 


Before the procedure and then post-procedure. It's really good to continue to get adjusted in cranial sacro therapy and body work because, there's so much change going on after the pH anatomy procedure. Baby basically has a brand new tongue, right? And so you wanna make sure the tongue has a good muscle strength back, that it's moving properly, that you know our tongue. 


Part impacts the pallet and it changes face and head shape. And making sure that tongue is actually reaching pate, that's how babies like to properly lash and breastfeed or bottle be and that the changes happening to the face, head, body are all working well. So that baby heals well after that too. 


And mom and baby have the best feeding experience, whether that's breastfeeding or bottle feeding. 


So what, one thing I wanna ask is, what do you feel like is the top reason most women come to see you during pregnancy? Is there like one specific ailment or, 


kim tran: Yeah I've gotta say it's either sciatica or S P d. Okay. That's what I was 


trish: guessing. 


kim tran: I was guessing that. Yeah. Yes. Cause it's not fun, right? 


Who wants pelvic bone and pain? When you're already feeling so much pressure from pregnancy and it's. It's not fun. It is painful. And then sciatica too, like we wanna be able to walk and not have sharp shooting pain go down our leg, so sciatica and S P D would be the top two reasons. 


So 


trish: tell them what S P D is, just in case they don't know about it yet. 


So I really love to, when I have S p d mamas, I really love to work with pelvic floor therapists as well. I'm thankful to have closed pelvic floor therapists to me that we work really well with. Cuz they go hand in hand. A lot of women don't feel like they need pelvic floor therapy during pregnancy. 


Everyone always thinks about it for after. But pelvic floor therapy during pregnancy is also amazing because what if pelvic floor was too tight and baby is just like rebounding, when. Babies there, or like a trampoline? Yeah. Like a trampoline. Or the muscle musculature is too weak and it's not holding things well. 


trish: I love that you said that because I just did a recording with a pelvic floor specialist and she said the exact same, just the opposite way, is that you need to combine pelvic floor therapy with a chiropractor. 


And she said the same thing, like if women at least had a baseline exam during pregnancy, just that, just minimum, then the pelvic floor specialist would have. So many more avail, resources available after pregnancy. But she said the same thing come and see us during pregnancy because the same thing for pushing is if you have a hyperactive pelvic floor or whatever, then they can figure that out and work with you during pregnancy. And I love that you're saying that with the S P D because I think that is so important because everyone thinks it's just my pelvis, it's just the bones. How can I fix that? So I think that's great. Yeah. 


kim tran: They go hand 


And then also let us know let my guests know, or my listeners know where they can find you. 


kim tran: So they can find me at shire katie carro.com. And or follow us on Instagram at dr underscore Kim tr, like Dr. Underscore Kim Tran. Our business Instagram is integrated Carro Wellness. But our practice name is Integrated Chiropractic and Wellness. 


And and that's okay. You should always question things. And so we do our best to just walk and talk moms through every adjustment, everything that we do, and really make mom feel comfortable and safe about that. Just because, as women, and especially during first pregnancies too, you're just more hyper aware of things. 


And so it is perfectly okay to get adjustment adjusted as soon as you find out you're pregnant, literally until even during in labor, yeah. It's okay. It is okay. There's always modifications. There's things that we can do. To modify all things during pregnancy. We don't always have to use hands. 


Don't think like that. It is always okay to get adjusted. Even if you're coming in at 38, 39, 40 weeks at least you're still getting in to get an alignment to get adjusted, and it's still gonna be very helpful during pregnancy. 


trish: So one more thing I wanted to ask you because we didn't touch on it. How soon after baby can they come to see you, and why would they come to see you after Baby? 


kim tran: So after baby, your body has definitely trying to get used to what it was, right? Your body has been getting used to having this baby in you for nine months. And so after you have baby, your b your uterus is trying to shrink down and get back. To where it was. Your body is literally trying to get used to not having a baby in the belly, in the womb anymore. 


Tailbone might have been hit, pee pit bone got stretched out more than it was during pregnancy. All those things, it really just helps the body heal a lot faster. And it's still super gentle postpartum no matter when you wanna come in. Even my C-section Mamas, we make accommodations for that and modifications for that as well. 


And so whenever mama's ready postpartum, it really helps with. The recovery process even helps. Like I said, we work with the nervous system too, so just like troubleshooting, like breastfeeding things and making sure breast doesn't look as good and or if mom has any other. Things going on. Like just feeding baby this up here is a lot. 


trish: bottom the weight of the breasts are pr it's pretty significant when that milk comes in. And a lot of shoulder and neck pain from that as well. 


kim tran: Yes. And so just all of those things right there. 


I definitely. Love getting adjusted literally throughout, like obviously throughout, during labor, and then as soon as possible postpartum. So I know that I'm gonna be healing. Okay? Because if you're good, then you know it's a lot easier to take care of baby. 


trish: Kim, not all of us have a chiropractor living with us, so you get to have one there in the labor room with you. 


So that's an unfair advantage. But thank you. Thank you so much for coming on today. This was amazing. 


I got to do physiological pushing. No coach pushing. I recovered much better. I did. Pelo therapy for three and four as well during pregnancy, doing all the things. And even though those other two were faster labor as well. Number three was literally born 45 minutes after my waterproof. It was still me, it was still my intuition. 


My body's inmate wanting to push and having baby. And not so much like a forceful guided pushing. So healing and birth with three and four were definitely a lot better than one and two. Continuing to do all the same things. I 


trish: love that because that's really a whole that is what we preach, I guess and say is that you are the driver of the ship. 


And having the courage to speak up because that's where it really all push, comes to shove is that you can learn all these things and your pelvic floor specialist can tell you some things. I can teach you some things. Kim's can teach you some things, but if you're not willing to speak up and put it into action, then, and that's what we try to help empower these women to feel. 


It's like we're sitting here having a cup of coffee with a friend and you don't wanna go home. But we do want to honor your time as well cause I know your children are home and my son is home. So thank you so much for being on today. 


kim tran: Yes, thank you so much for having me. I loved it. Hey mama. 


trish: I hope that you enjoyed this episode of the Birth Experience with the Labor Nurse Mama. 


I am so passionate about you guys seeking out care during your pregnancy and not just saying, oh it's expected to be in pain, or this or that. So I hope you love this episode. Be sure to hit subscribe and leave a review. Thank you so much. We'll see you next Friday. Bye for