Contrary to what I'd expected, which was worsening pelvic pain up until the time of birth, it instead seems to have subsided entirely. This seems nothing short of miraculous to me, considering how much pain I was in just a few weeks ago. The acupuncture seems to have set off the initial healing reaction, helped along by an activator adjustment by my new chiropractor. I can't recommend these two things highly enough, and you can go to this site to find out whether there are any acupuncturists offering sliding-scale fees in your area.
The things that helped me most during the actual flare-up were an ice pack to the area, and also doing the exercise described in the previous post which involves putting your fist or a flat pillow between your knees and squeezing it for a count of five. That one sounds counterintuitive, but I found it to give me an almost instantaneous measure of relief, especially if I did it a few times before standing up from a sitting position (which previously really exacerbated the pain). It resulted in kind of a "good hurt" during the exercise, like a good deep stretch, and then the area felt better afterward.
The things that helped me most during the actual flare-up were an ice pack to the area, and also doing the exercise described in the previous post which involves putting your fist or a flat pillow between your knees and squeezing it for a count of five. That one sounds counterintuitive, but I found it to give me an almost instantaneous measure of relief, especially if I did it a few times before standing up from a sitting position (which previously really exacerbated the pain). It resulted in kind of a "good hurt" during the exercise, like a good deep stretch, and then the area felt better afterward.
I was able to go to a conference last week on support techniques for natural birth, and was fortunate enough to hear the Bagnells, a husband-and-wife chiropractor team, speak on their techniques for pregnancy adjustments and resolution of fetal malpresentation. While my chiropractor doesn't specifically practice the Bagnell technique, she is very hands-on with pelvic adjustments, and hearing the Bagnells speak made me glad that I was able to find effective interventions for my symphysis pain so early on. One interesting point they made was that any time a pregnant woman experiences severe round ligament pain, especially early on, one should suspect pubic bone malposition. As you may recall, I started with round ligament pain in the first trimester, and interestingly, so did my coworker who also developed pubic bone pain (and actually referred me to my current chiropractor). A misalignment there is associated with a much higher incidence of malpresented babies, including breech, posterior, and transverse presentations, which is not anything that I am interested in!
A good site for those who want to learn more about the interaction between maternal tissues and fetal position, and how that affects the duration and ease of labor, is Spinning Babies.
Another good resource for understanding the physiology of pregnancy and birth and beyond, and what you can do to maximize it, is Elizabeth Noble's Essential Exercises for the Childbearing Year. I got mine used off Amazon for $0.01, bringing my total to $4 with shipping--an investment that is well worth it.
A good site for those who want to learn more about the interaction between maternal tissues and fetal position, and how that affects the duration and ease of labor, is Spinning Babies.
Another good resource for understanding the physiology of pregnancy and birth and beyond, and what you can do to maximize it, is Elizabeth Noble's Essential Exercises for the Childbearing Year. I got mine used off Amazon for $0.01, bringing my total to $4 with shipping--an investment that is well worth it.
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