Meeting Dr. Blake at the Justine Blainey Wellness Center Brampton

Welcome to the first in my monthly blog series meeting with local practitioners in Peel Region. The first interview I did was in January with Dr. Blake Broker, a local chiropractor in Brampton. (Forgive the lateness of the actual post since my family was ill for weeks after the meeting). He is trained in the Webster Technique, which is a series of adjustments used specifically in pregnancy to help optimize the mother’s pelvic function and is often recommended to mothers with breech babies.

Dr. Blake and his wife Justine Blainey founded The Justine Blainey Wellness Center together, located here in Brampton and will be celebrating their 18th year of business this June. Besides chiropractic care, they also have massage therapists, physiotherapists, acupuncturists, and naturopathic doctors on staff. They also offer a series of monthly workshops and education sessions covering a wide variety of topics such as balancing hormones, heart health, coping with stress, raising healthy families and so much more. You can find more information about those sessions here.

Dr. Blake is the youngest of four children, three of whom are chiropractors. He grew up in a small town in Saskatchewan and spent a lot of time working with children as a lifeguard. When Dr. Blake began to think about his professional career, he decided that he was going to pursue a career as a medical doctor or optometrist rather than follow in his siblings’ footsteps as a chiropractor. Once he began to really look at the holistic approach that chiropractic care takes when treating patients, he realized that it was more aligned with his values. He is extremely caring and passionate about the work he does with each of his patients. He cares deeply about helping everyone live a life of health and abundance through the holistic care that he provides in his practice. He prides himself on making a personal connection with his patients each visit, which can be as often as several times per week.

So, What is Chiropractic Care and How does it help in Pregnancy,

Postpartum and with Infants?

Chiropractic care aims to treat the root of the problem, rather than treating symptoms by focusing on strain that may be on the nervous system. If the spine is not aligned properly, the nervous system doesn’t function as well due to stress placed on the vertebrae and spinal cord. In pregnancy, our bodies undergo big changes to accommodate a growing baby, and naturally this affects your posture and puts stress on the vertebrae and spine. This can cause common complaints such as sciatic nerve pain and headaches. Receiving regular chiropractic adjustments can help provide relief of these complaints as well as help reduce strain on the ligaments that support the growing uterus.
In the postpartum period regular chiropractic adjustments can help with returning the spine and the posture to its optimal position, while continuing to reduce strain on the nervous system.

Infants can benefit from gentle adjustments after birth from the journey through the birth canal. As you might be able to imagine, the journey down through the birth canal can be difficult on the baby, especially if they are not optimally positioned at birth, or there are interventions such as vacuum extraction or a cesarean section. Gentle adjustments can be used to help reduce stress to the nervous system. Chiropractic care may even help with what appears to be colic or an inconsolable baby, because the adjustments address an underlying issue affecting the nervous system after a difficult birth.

What is the Webster Technique:

The Webster technique was discovered by Dr. Larry Webster in 1978 and is series of chiropractic adjustments to help optimize a pregnant mother’s pelvic function. It is often recommended as a course of action if a baby is found to be in breech position. The Webster technique encourages the baby to turn to a head-down position by relieving pressure in the uterus and the ligaments that support it and hold it in place in the body. The best success can be seen if you visit a chiropractor around 32-34 weeks of pregnancy. The Webster technique is a great option if you find yourself with a breech baby due to the increasing difficulty in finding a care provider who will attend a trial of labour if baby is breech.

Dr. Blake was originally taught the Webster technique by a colleague when Justine was pregnant for the first time with a breech baby. He later went on to certify in the technique so that he could incorporate it into his practice.

If you are looking for a great chiropractor for overall pregnancy wellbeing, to help turn a breech baby  or to help you with aches and pains such as backache, or headache, I highly recommend Dr. Blake’s services, as he is passionate about his work and helping pregnant women have a great pregnancy through the use of chiropractic care.

On March 24th, I will be hosting a workshop on infant sleep at The Blainey Wellness Center. Find out more about the workshop and get your tickets here.

Did you ever have a breech baby? What steps did you take to try turning baby?