Your baby’s nervous system begins forming remarkably early in pregnancy. Around the third week after conception, the foundations of the brain and spinal cord are already beginning to develop.
And for many women, this happens before they even know they’re pregnant.
Read that again.
By the time you see a positive pregnancy test, some of the most important early developmental processes may already be underway.
That isn’t meant to scare you. It’s meant to highlight something couples planning a pregnancy don’t always think about: the opportunity to prepare your body before the journey even begins.
And part of that preparation is understanding your nervous system.
When You’re Doing Everything “Right” and Still Waiting
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’ve already been working hard. Prenatal vitamins. Cycle tracking. Cutting back on caffeine. Blood tests. Maybe even fertility appointments.
And maybe you’re still waiting. Still wondering what you missed.
Or perhaps you’re not experiencing fertility difficulties at all. You’re simply planning ahead and want to feel as physically prepared as possible.
Either way, preparing for pregnancy involves more than checking things off a list.
Your nervous system plays an important role in coordinating many of the functions that support your everyday health, from movement and muscle activity to your body’s responses to stress.
And understanding how your body is functioning before pregnancy can be a valuable part of preparing for the changes ahead.
Your Nervous System Is the Master Controller
Your nervous system is one of the body’s most important communication networks.
It coordinates movement, processes sensory information and helps regulate functions you don’t consciously think about, including your heartbeat, breathing and digestion.
An important part of this network is the Autonomic Nervous System, which has two main branches:
- The sympathetic branch is the gas pedal. This is your fight-or-flight response, helping your body respond to physical and emotional demands.
- The parasympathetic branch is the brake pedal. This supports functions such as digestion, rest and recovery.
These two systems work together, continuously adjusting to what your body needs.
An important component of the parasympathetic system is the vagus nerve, which extends from the brainstem through the neck and into the chest and abdomen.
The vagus nerve contributes to the regulation of heart rate, digestion and several other automatic bodily functions.
But the nervous system doesn’t work in isolation.
It communicates with the endocrine system, which produces hormones involved in metabolism, stress responses, reproduction and pregnancy.
The nervous system and hormonal system are closely connected, and both contribute to the body’s ability to respond to changing demands.
That’s one reason understanding nervous system function is such an interesting part of the conversation about preconception health.
How Stress and Reproductive Hormones Connect
Your body has two important hormonal communication pathways:
- The HPA axis helps coordinate your body’s response to stress, involving hormones such as cortisol.
- The HPG axis helps regulate reproductive function, including the hormonal processes involved in ovulation and the menstrual cycle.
Both involve communication between the brain and endocrine glands.
And research has shown that significant or prolonged physiological stress can influence reproductive hormone signalling in some circumstances.
For example, substantial physical stress, inadequate energy availability or certain health conditions can disrupt normal menstrual function.
But here’s an important distinction: experiencing everyday stress doesn’t mean your body is incapable of conceiving.
Fertility is influenced by many factors, and the relationship between psychological stress and conception is complex.
So if you’ve ever been told to “just relax”, you already know how unhelpful that advice can feel.
You can’t simply switch off the demands of work, family life or the emotional uncertainty that sometimes accompanies trying to conceive.
What you can do is pay attention to your physical wellbeing, recognise the demands being placed on your body and make time for activities that support your overall health.
One way researchers investigate the body’s physiological responses is through Heart Rate Variability (HRV).
HRV measures small variations in the time between heartbeats. It provides information associated with autonomic nervous system activity and the body’s responses to different demands.
Generally, higher resting HRV can be associated with greater autonomic flexibility, although individual readings vary considerably with age, fitness, sleep, breathing and other factors.
HRV isn’t a fertility test, and a low reading doesn’t mean someone will struggle to conceive.
But it can provide an interesting window into aspects of physiological function.
Why the Work Starts Long Before the Delivery Room
Pregnancy and birth place remarkable demands on the body.
Over approximately nine months, a woman’s body adapts to changes in weight distribution, posture, circulation, hormonal activity and the physical demands of supporting a growing baby.
And those changes don’t suddenly begin in the delivery room.
They build throughout pregnancy, which is one reason we believe there’s value in paying attention to your physical health before conception.
In Australia, birth experiences vary considerably.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 41% of women who gave birth in 2023 had a caesarean section, while approximately 33% experienced an induction of labour.
These interventions can be important parts of safe maternity care, depending on individual circumstances.
But regardless of how a baby is born, pregnancy and childbirth involve significant physical changes for the mother.
Your spine, pelvis, muscles and joints all contribute to how you move and manage everyday physical demands.
As pregnancy progresses, changes in posture and weight distribution can influence the way these structures are loaded.
For some women, this contributes to lower back pain, pelvic discomfort or changes in movement.
That’s where chiropractic has a valuable and clearly defined role: assessing spinal and musculoskeletal function and providing appropriate care for physical concerns.
Preparing before pregnancy provides an opportunity to understand your current spinal movement, posture and musculoskeletal health before those additional demands begin.
You’re not just thinking about conception.
You’re thinking about how your body moves, adapts and functions through pregnancy, birth and recovery.
The Perfect Storm Starts Before Conception
At Coast Family Chiropractic, we often talk about the way different physical and environmental demands can accumulate over time.
It’s a concept sometimes described as the Perfect Storm.
Rather than looking at one isolated factor, it encourages us to consider the different influences on a person’s health and development.
In the context of pregnancy and early childhood, these may include:
- Preconception and prenatal health: the physical health, lifestyle, environmental exposures and experiences of parents before and during pregnancy.
- Pregnancy and birth: the physical changes of pregnancy, the birth experience and the early postnatal period.
- Early childhood development: movement, sleep, nutrition, physical activity and the many experiences that contribute to a child’s growth and development.
These different stages are connected through the complex processes of human development.
But they’re not a predictable chain of events.
A stressful pregnancy doesn’t mean a child will develop neurological difficulties. A caesarean section doesn’t mean a baby’s nervous system has been damaged. And experiencing musculoskeletal discomfort before pregnancy doesn’t mean there will be complications later.
The Perfect Storm is a way of encouraging a broader conversation about health history and physical wellbeing, rather than a medical explanation for developmental or neurological conditions.
And when we’re talking about preparing for pregnancy, there’s an important message here.
You don’t have to wait until you’re pregnant to start paying attention to your own health.
Understanding your current physical function, movement, lifestyle and wellbeing can be a positive part of preparing for the changes ahead.
Not because you need to create the perfect conditions for conception.
But because your health matters too.
Four Foundations Worth Thinking About Before Pregnancy
Preparing for pregnancy can sometimes feel like an endless list of things to do.
Take this supplement. Avoid that food. Track this date. Schedule another appointment.
But it can help to step back and think about the broader foundations of health.
1. Understanding Your Nervous System and Stress Responses
Your nervous system is constantly responding to the world around you.
Some days, the demands are physical. Other days, they’re emotional, mental or a combination of all three.
Your autonomic nervous system helps coordinate many of the body’s automatic responses to those demands.
And while the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches are often described as the gas and brake pedals, both are essential.
You need the accelerator to respond to challenges.
And you need the brake to support rest, digestion and recovery.
The goal isn’t to eliminate stress or remain in a permanently relaxed state.
It’s to recognise how your body responds to different demands and establish routines that support your overall wellbeing.
That might include regular physical activity, adequate sleep, time outdoors or simply making space for activities you enjoy.
These habits are worthwhile whether you’re planning a pregnancy or not.
2. Looking After Your Spinal and Musculoskeletal Health
Pregnancy changes how the body carries weight and manages movement.
As the abdomen grows and the body’s centre of mass shifts, the spine, pelvis and surrounding muscles respond to different physical demands.
For some women, these changes are accompanied by back pain, pelvic discomfort or difficulties with particular movements.
But you don’t need to wait until pregnancy to pay attention to your musculoskeletal health.
If you’re already experiencing recurring back discomfort, restricted spinal movement or other physical concerns, understanding those issues before pregnancy may be useful.
At Coast Family Chiropractic, our assessments consider spinal movement, posture, joint function and relevant muscular findings.
Where chiropractic care is appropriate, we can discuss options for managing suitable musculoskeletal concerns.
It’s about understanding how your body moves today, before asking it to manage the additional physical demands of pregnancy.
3. Supporting Your Everyday Health
Preconception health involves many different aspects of wellbeing.
Nutrition, sleep, physical activity and the management of existing health conditions all deserve attention.
For women planning a pregnancy, appropriate folic acid and iodine supplementation, medication reviews, immunisation checks and other preconception health considerations can also be important.
These decisions should be informed by individual health circumstances and appropriate medical advice.
And while it’s tempting to search for one single thing that will make all the difference, health rarely works that way.
There isn’t one perfect supplement, exercise, scan or treatment that guarantees conception or a healthy pregnancy.
Instead, preparation involves understanding your individual needs and making informed decisions about your health.
4. Making Space for Both Partners
It’s easy for conversations about preparing for pregnancy to focus almost entirely on women.
After all, pregnancy places extraordinary physical demands on the mother’s body.
But preconception health is relevant to both partners.
Male reproductive health, lifestyle factors, existing medical conditions and general wellbeing can all be important considerations.
And the emotional experience of planning a pregnancy often involves both people, too.
There may be excitement, uncertainty, anticipation and, for some couples, disappointment along the way.
Supporting each other through those experiences matters.
Preparing for pregnancy isn’t about one person doing everything perfectly. It’s about understanding the health and wellbeing of both people as they plan for the future.
What Does Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Look Like Before Pregnancy?
At Coast Family Chiropractic, we’re particularly interested in the relationship between the spine, movement and nervous system function.
The nervous system is responsible for coordinating movement and processing sensory information from throughout the body.
And the spine isn’t simply a structure that holds us upright.
The muscles and joints surrounding the spine contain sensory receptors that contribute information about movement and body position.
This sensory feedback is part of a process called proprioception.
Proprioception helps the nervous system understand where the body is positioned and how it is moving.
When you turn your head, bend forward, walk or change position, sensory information from your muscles and joints contributes to the coordination of those movements.
That’s one reason spinal movement and muscular function are important parts of chiropractic assessment.
For someone preparing for pregnancy, our approach begins with understanding their individual health and physical history.
We may consider:
- Current spinal movement and joint function
- Posture and relevant movement patterns
- Muscular activity and musculoskeletal concerns
- Previous injuries or recurring physical discomfort
- Physical demands associated with work, exercise and everyday activities
These findings help us understand whether chiropractic care may be appropriate for a person’s musculoskeletal needs.
Neurologically-focused chiropractic recognises the relationship between movement, sensory feedback and the nervous system.
But it doesn’t mean that every health concern originates in the spine.
And chiropractic adjustments haven’t been established as a way to improve fertility, regulate reproductive hormones or increase the likelihood of conception.
Our focus is on understanding spinal and musculoskeletal function, with an appreciation of the nervous system’s role in movement and sensory communication.
What Can INSiGHT Scans Tell Us?
At Coast Family Chiropractic, we may use INSiGHT scanning technologies as part of an individualised assessment.
These non-invasive technologies provide measurements relating to certain physiological and muscular functions.
Depending on the assessment, these may include:
neuroTHERMAL Scanning
This measures patterns of skin temperature along the spine.
Skin temperature is influenced by various physiological and environmental factors, so the findings need to be interpreted in context.
neuroCORE Surface Electromyography (sEMG)
This measures electrical activity in muscles along the spine.
It can provide information about muscular activity during testing.
Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
HRV measures variations in the time intervals between heartbeats.
These measurements provide information associated with autonomic nervous system activity, although readings can be affected by age, breathing, fitness, sleep and other factors.
Together, these technologies can provide additional measurements that may be considered alongside a person’s history and physical examination.
However, INSiGHT scans aren’t fertility investigations.
They don’t measure reproductive hormone levels, determine whether someone is ready to conceive or establish whether the nervous system is interfering with conception.
They also cannot predict pregnancy outcomes or demonstrate that chiropractic adjustments will improve reproductive function.
Understanding what a measurement can and cannot tell us is an important part of responsible, individualised care.
Preparing for Pregnancy Is About More Than a Positive Test
When you’re planning a pregnancy, it’s easy to become focused on one moment.
The positive test.
The confirmation that something you’ve been hoping for is finally happening.
And of course, that moment can mean everything.
But preparing for pregnancy is also an opportunity to think about your own health.
How are you feeling physically?
Are there recurring musculoskeletal concerns you’ve been putting off?
How is your body managing the demands of everyday life?
Are you making time for movement, rest and the things that support your wellbeing?
These questions matter whether conception happens quickly, takes longer than expected or your plans change along the way.
Because your health deserves attention independently of your fertility.
And while the nervous system is only one part of the complex physiology involved in reproduction, understanding its role in movement, sensation and the body’s responses to everyday demands can be a valuable part of learning about your body.
You don’t need to achieve a perfect state of health before becoming pregnant. But you can take positive steps towards understanding and looking after yourself.
Your Body Deserves Attention Before the Journey Begins
There can be so much pressure around preparing for pregnancy.
Pressure to eat perfectly.
Pressure to exercise enough, but not too much.
Pressure to avoid stress.
Pressure to make all the right decisions before you’ve even begun.
But your body isn’t a checklist.
And pregnancy isn’t something you can guarantee by getting every detail right.
Your nervous system, hormones, muscles, joints and other physiological systems are constantly working together in remarkably complex ways.
Learning about those systems can be empowering.
So can recognising that looking after your own physical wellbeing is worthwhile, regardless of what stage of the pregnancy journey you’re in.
At Coast Family Chiropractic, we believe understanding spinal movement and musculoskeletal function can be one part of that broader picture.
Not because chiropractic care is a prerequisite for conception.
But because your physical health matters before pregnancy, during pregnancy and long after your baby arrives.
Take the Next Step
If you’re planning a pregnancy and would like to better understand your spinal movement and musculoskeletal health, Coast Family Chiropractic is here to answer your questions.
Our neurologically-focused approach considers spinal function, muscular activity and the relationship between movement and sensory feedback.
We take the time to understand your individual health history, physical concerns and goals.
Where appropriate, our assessments may include INSiGHT scanning technologies to gather additional physiological and muscular measurements.
If chiropractic care is suitable for your musculoskeletal needs, we’ll discuss an individualised approach based on your assessment findings.
Get in touch with Coast Family Chiropractic to arrange an initial consultation.
Because preparing for the next chapter of your family’s life can also be an opportunity to look after your own physical wellbeing.
