Chiropractic Care Linked to Quality of Life and Emotional Health in Pregnant and Postpartum Women
Originally published: 2025-06-10
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ATLANTA, Georgia – 2025
A newly published study in the Journal of Pediatric Maternal & Family Health - Chiropractic provides groundbreaking insight into how chiropractic care may influence the emotional well-being and physical health of women during pregnancy and the postpartum period. The study examined changes in depression symptoms and quality of life (QoL) in 33 women receiving chiropractic care in their third trimester through six weeks postpartum.
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Chiropractic care was provided to women experiencing common perinatal challenges, such as low back pain, pelvic discomfort, fatigue, and emotional stress. Utilizing the validated Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and PROMIS-29 Profile, the researchers tracked key domains including physical function, pain interference, anxiety, depression, sleep quality, fatigue, and social participation.
Results revealed that patients experienced clinically meaningful changes highlighting the dynamic nature of depression across the perinatal period. Pain interference and physical functioning showed statistically and clinically significant changes from pregnancy to postpartum, consistent with prior research indicating postpartum physical decline.
Notably, chiropractic care was associated with improvements in some women's depression scores, with providers using the EPDS to identify cases requiring mental health referrals. The PROMIS-29 tool further supported chiropractic clinical decision-making through multidimensional tracking of patient-reported outcomes.
This is the first known study to implement both the PROMIS-29 and EPDS tools within chiropractic care for perinatal women. The findings underscore the need for chiropractors to actively monitor quality of life and emotional well-being, especially given the known impacts of maternal stress and depression on birth outcomes and child development.
The study calls for expanded use of standardized tools in chiropractic care and highlights the importance of integrating physical and mental health screening during a critical life stage.
Contact Information:
Matthew McCoy DC, MPH
Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic
http://www.chiropracticpediatricresearch.net
drmatthewmccoy@gmail.com
