– by Doreen Marion Gee –
This is the third in a six-part series of profiles on some great local businesses that are working to keep us all in good health.
A local chiropractic doctor helps women during that beautiful time of creating new life, “so mom and baby can dance better together!” This poetic quote by Dr. Misty Watson perfectly describes her caring work with women during pregnancy. She helps ensure optimal health and comfort for mom and baby and helps facilitate a safe healthy birth. Her expertise also extends to helping the newborn and the growing child.
Dr. Misty Watson of Saanichton’s Island Family Chiropractic has been in practice since 1998 – her skills are based on a seven-year post secondary education that rivals a medical degree. Misty’s “core principles centre around the fact that the nervous system runs the body. If the nervous system is in optimal regulation, when it is flowing well, then the body functions well. But when it is blocked and holding tension, the body becomes dis-regulated.” If this situation persists, overall health deteriorates. Misty uses her adjustment techniques to return the nervous system – hence the body – back to good health.
Prenatal care and care for young infants are Misty’s special focus. A direct quote from the Island Family Chiropractic website: “The nervous system works overtime during pregnancy to nourish a rapidly growing baby and help a mother’s body adapt to the physical changes that take place in the months leading up to delivery. Adjustments during pregnancy can help the body adapt to the structural changes that must take place as the baby grows. The uterus attaches to the pelvis through ligaments, and any imbalances that a woman has in her pelvis or her spine before pregnancy become exacerbated by the physical stress and rapid changes that take place during the prenatal period. A balanced nervous system and properly aligned pelvis ensure that the baby is given as much space as possible to move, to grow, and to move into an optimal position for labour and delivery. In cases where a baby is not ideally positioned in the last few weeks of pregnancy, adjustments can be done to take stress off the ligaments that support the uterus and encourage the baby to assume a more optimal position for a healthy labour and delivery.”
A “Webster Technique” certification provides Misty with the training to do these adjustments. In all these ways, Misty’s compassionate expert care during pregnancy can help her patients enjoy more comfortable and healthier pregnancies – and can even help facilitate safer births.
Misty’s support is ongoing: she does “well-baby adjustments” and also works with infants experiencing problems – using a very gentle light touch with a brand new nervous system. “In that first year of life, there is so much neurological development happening that we require for our entire future health and the ability to learn and function in the world.” In that crucial time, “I can keep the body in a state of optimal function, so the baby is at its full potential when all of those very important pathways are being laid down – giving the nervous system the best chance to grow and thrive.” Her adjustments even help new babies sleep well.
The personable professional helps women during the postpartum period and follows people from birth onwards. An adolescent client started with her at 18 months: “He is rarely sick and doing well. Kids that get regular adjustments tend to not get ill as often and when they do, they recover quickly.” To Misty, the explanation lies in how chiropractic works. Since the nervous system controls our immune system, chiropractic adjustments that help it perform optimally also result in improved immunity. “People who get adjusted regularly have a healthy glow.”
“Chiropractic is for everyone – you don’t have to wait until you have a problem!” And if a woman comes to see Misty during those special nine months in her life, mom and baby will learn to dance together – in perfect harmony and perfect love.
Contact: www.islandfamilychiro.ca.
