Pregnancy brings constant physical change. Week to week, sometimes day to day, something’s shifting. Babies present the opposite problem: they can’t tell you a thing, so whatever’s going on has to be worked out another way entirely. Each stage brings its own considerations and benefits from an approach tailored to the individual’s needs.
Growing up around our clinic gave her a feel for family-centred practice. She later formalised that through a double degree at Mandurah University plus postgraduate training focused on pregnancy and paediatric care.
Babies and mums are telling you what they need constantly, just not always in words. A big part of my job is learning to notice those cues and adjust my approach at every stage, whether that’s week twelve of pregnancy or a six-week-old’s first visit.”
— Dr Grace
A Body in Constant Change
The way weight moves through the spine and pelvis changes as the baby grows, which means whatever felt fine in the first trimester might not hold up by the third. A generic plan doesn’t really account for that. Understanding how a body adapts stage by stage does.
Plenty of mums assume they just have to grit their teeth through pregnancy aches until after the birth. Pregnancy can bring pelvic pain, lower back discomfort, rib discomfort from a growing bump, and that heavy, dragging feeling that often develops later in pregnancy. Following an individual assessment, chiropractic care may be considered as one approach to helping manage these physical changes where appropriate.
Caring for Babies Who Can’t Tell You What’s Wrong
There’s no describing discomfort when you’re three months old. So the information has to come from somewhere else: how a baby’s moving, how they’re lying, whether feeding’s gone sideways lately. Additional postgraduate training in paediatric care places a strong emphasis on careful observation and assessment, helping practitioners recognise non-verbal cues alongside the clinical picture.
In practice, parents may be asked more specific questions than they’d expect. Is there a side they prefer when they’re fed or held? Has sleep changed recently, and how? Small answers like these, stacked together, help build a clearer understanding of what’s happening.
More Than Just a Chiropractor
Patients tend to like that Dr Grace has a life outside chiropractic. Before the degree, there was fashion and textile design, a stint in the building industry, and floristry training somewhere in between (she’ll happily talk renovations or flowers if the conversation drifts there).
It says something about the kind of attention she brings to a treatment room. That same curiosity and eye for detail that shows up in a conversation about fabric shows up in how she works with patients too.
A Familiar Face Through Every Stage
Many families appreciate seeing the same practitioner through different stages of care. Often, that means Dr Grace sees a mum throughout pregnancy and then, not long after, meets the baby. For the team at Mandurah Chiropractic, being a steady, familiar presence across pregnancy, birth, and those unpredictable early years is a big part of what makes this work worthwhile.
Whether you’re expecting a baby or have questions about your child’s movement and development, we’re here to help you explore whether chiropractic care is appropriate for your family’s needs.