Dr. Ryan Porterfield of Porterfield Family Chiropractic Earns
Webster Certification to Better Care for Pregnant Women
Valparaiso, IN — Dr. Ryan Porterfield has completed the requirements needed to be officially Webster certified by the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) and is acknowledged by the ICPA as proficient in this specific chiropractic skill on date. Dr. Porterfield will better serve pregnant women who are preparing for safer and easier birth outcomes.
Webster certified doctors are taught gentle adjusting techniques, individual case management systems and evidence-informed practice to best care for pregnant women. In addition to this, doctors are given an in-depth view of birth and are provided with the necessary skills and resources to support women who want safer natural births.
Dr. Porterfield has undergone a written and clinical exam for Webster Certification proficiency. This technique includes a specific chiropractic pelvic analysis and accompanying adjustment. The goal of the adjustment is to reduce the effects of pelvic misalignment and to restore normal function and balance in the pelvis.
In the care of pregnant women, this pelvic misalignment may lead to difficult labor for the mother (i.e. dystocia). Dystocia, as defined by William’s Obstetrics, is caused by inadequate uterine function, pelvic misalignment, and baby malposition. Preliminary research indicates that chiropractic adjustments using the Webster Technique may have a positive effect on birth outcomes by addressing these three causes of dystocia
This certification enables Dr. Porterfield to expand his/her range of care to individuals throughout pregnancy with excellence and in accordance with evidence-informed practice.
“With the training and support of ICPA, I am thrilled to provide enhanced care for expecting mothers!” — Dr. Porterfield
About the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association
The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance chiropractic by establishing evidence-informed practice, supporting excellence in professional skills and delivering educational resources to the public. It fulfills this mission by engaging and serving family chiropractors worldwide through Research, Training and Public Education. Founded in 1986, the ICPA is the profession’s oldest, largest and most sought out chiropractic pediatric association. For more information about the ICPA and chiropractic research, visit discoverkidshealth.com.
About the Webster Technique
Chiropractic care in pregnancy is vital to the normal physiological function of both the mother and baby throughout pregnancy and birth. More women and birth providers are discovering the many benefits associated with chiropractic care in pregnancy and recognize this area of expertise through the ICPA Webster Certification.
The Webster Technique is a specific chiropractic analysis and adjustment. The goal of the adjustment is to reduce the effects of pelvic imbalance.
In pregnancy, pelvic imbalance may affect the mother’s comfort and the baby’s imbalance. During birth, pelvic imbalance can affect labor progression, leading to unnecessary intervention. Pelvic imbalance adversely affects uterine nerve function, the structure of the pelvis, and may hinder a baby’s ability to gain optimal positioning. These are the very causes of dystocia or difficult, stalled labor. The Webster Technique helps achieve a state of balance in the pelvis that may contribute to a safer, easier birth outcome.
History of the Webster Technique
Dr. Larry Webster, founder of the ICPA, developed the Webster Technique in response to his daughter’s long and arduous birth of her first child. He felt that chiropractic could have a bigger impact on birth with a more specific approach to the pregnant pelvis. He developed, then applied the Webster Technique in his practice as a means of achieving pelvic balance in preparation for birth. He noticed that in most cases, when women had a breech presentation, these babies would turn themselves to the more desirable, head down position!
The ICPA initiated the Webster Technique Certification to provide doctors of chiropractic with the advanced training and physiological understanding for this technique in pregnancy. Additionally, Webster Certified doctors contribute to ICPA’s ongoing clinical research relating to the technique’s ability to support optimal physiological function in pregnancy and birth. The research reveals that this particular adjustment may very well contribute to safer, easier births by alleviating the very cause of dystocia.
The goal of all birth providers and mothers is a safer, easier birth for both the mother and baby. As more mothers are benefitting from the specific care offered by the Webster Certified doctors, more and more birth care providers are actively seeking these doctors to care for their pregnant women through pregnancy.