If you've started looking for a chiropractor during pregnancy, you've probably run into the word "Webster." It's on clinic websites, in birth-class handouts, and in the advice moms pass along to each other: make sure they're Webster certified.
It's good advice. But it usually comes without an explanation, and it's fair to want one before you let anyone work on the pelvis that's carrying your baby. What is Webster, exactly? Who decides who's certified? And does it actually change anything about the care you get?
Here's the full answer, and why, if you're pregnant, it's one of the most useful things to look for in a chiropractor.
The Webster Technique is a specific chiropractic analysis and adjustment of the pelvis: the sacrum at the base of your spine and the joints and ligaments around it, which take on a lot of new strain during pregnancy. It was developed by Dr. Larry Webster, who founded the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA).
Webster Certification is ICPA's post-graduate credential in pregnancy care. Earning it takes dedicated training, a hands-on practical exam, a written exam, and ongoing ICPA membership to keep. For you, it means your chiropractor has been specifically trained and tested in caring for pregnant women: the right technique, the judgment to know what your body needs at each stage, and accountability to a professional standard.
It's also a sign of focus. Chiropractors who pursue Webster certification are usually the ones who have made prenatal care a real part of their practice, so they tend to have far more experience with expecting moms. Dr. Oestreich is Webster certified. (One thing Webster doesn't do is promise a particular birth outcome or "turn" a breech baby. More on that below.)
What the Webster Technique actually is
ICPA, the organization that certifies it, defines Webster as "a specific chiropractic analysis and diversified adjustment." That's a mouthful, so here's what it means in practice. There are two parts.
The analysis. A careful check of how your pelvis is sitting and moving. The focus is the sacrum, the triangular bone at the very base of your spine, and the sacroiliac (SI) joints, where the sacrum meets your hip bones on either side. The question is simple: is one side restricted, or carrying more tension than the other?
The adjustment. If something is out of balance, a specific, gentle correction helps restore more normal motion. Attention also goes to the muscles and ligaments that attach to and support the pelvis.
ICPA describes the goal as reducing SI joint dysfunction and improving how the whole sacral and pelvic region functions. What sets Webster apart is its precision. Instead of a general adjustment adapted on the fly for a pregnant patient, it's a specific, established protocol built for the part of your body that's working hardest during pregnancy.
Why the pelvis, and why pregnancy
Your pelvis does more work in these nine months than at almost any other time in your life.
As your baby grows, your center of gravity moves forward, which changes how you stand, walk, sleep, and carry weight. At the same time, pregnancy hormones (relaxin is the one you'll hear about) loosen the ligaments around your pelvis so it can make room for birth.
Both changes are normal and necessary. Together, though, they mean the joints at the base of your spine are carrying more load with less ligament support than they're used to. It's common for one side to take more of the strain than the other. That's often where the low back, hip, and pelvic aches come from, the ones that get brushed off as "just part of pregnancy."
Webster is built for exactly that situation: checking whether your pelvis is balanced, and gently helping it back toward balance if it isn't.
Where the Webster Technique came from
Dr. Larry Webster was a family chiropractor who practiced in Missouri for twenty years and served as a clinic director and pediatric instructor at Life Chiropractic College for eleven. According to ICPA, he started developing the technique after his daughter, Lucinda, gave birth to her own daughter in 1976. He wanted an adjustment that could support women through pregnancy and birth.
In 1986 he founded the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association to train chiropractors in caring for children and expecting mothers. He passed away in 1997. His wife, Connie Webster, carried the organization forward, and in 2000 ICPA turned his technique into a formal certification program. Today ICPA reports around 10,000 members and describes itself as the oldest and largest chiropractic association of its kind.
One piece of that history is worth knowing. Over the years, ICPA deliberately moved away from describing Webster as a way to "turn" breech babies, and asked its members to stop using that language. Today the technique is taught as what it is, an analysis and adjustment of the pelvis, not a fix for a baby's position. More on why that matters below.
"A Webster-certified chiropractor isn't guessing how to care for a pregnant body. They've been trained, tested, and held to a standard for it."
What "Webster certified" actually means
Every chiropractor in Texas has to be licensed by the state. Webster Certification goes beyond that license. It's specialized, post-graduate training in pregnancy care that a chiropractor has to seek out, complete, prove through examination, and then maintain.
To earn it through ICPA, a chiropractor has to:
- Complete ICPA's Perinatal Care with Webster Certification course, about 13 hours of training on the technique and on caring for women through pregnancy and birth
- Pass a hands-on practical exam, taken in person at the seminar
- Pass a written exam
- Sign ICPA's Principles & Practice Agreement
- Stay an ICPA member, because certification doesn't carry on if membership lapses
Certified chiropractors are listed in ICPA's public Find a Chiropractor directory, which you can filter by Webster Certification. That's part of what gives the credential its weight: it isn't just a line on a website you have to take on faith. You can verify it for any chiropractor you're considering, including us.
Why Webster certification matters for expecting moms
Pregnancy is not the time for a chiropractor to be figuring things out as they go. Your body changes week to week, and the care you receive should come from someone who has been specifically prepared for that. Here's what the certification brings to your care.
Expertise. A Webster-certified chiropractor has learned a specific, established way to assess and adjust a pregnant pelvis, instead of adapting whatever they'd do for any other patient. They understand how pregnancy changes your joints, ligaments, and posture, and how to work with those changes gently.
Judgment. Good prenatal care is as much about knowing what not to do as what to do. The training covers how to take a thorough pregnancy history, how to position a changing body safely and comfortably, how care should adapt from the first trimester to the third, and how to recognize when something belongs with your OB or midwife instead.
Accountability. The credential has to be earned through a hands-on practical exam and a written exam, backed by a signed principles and practice agreement, and kept through ongoing membership. It's a professional standard your chiropractor has agreed to be measured against, and one anyone can check.
Experience. Chiropractors don't pursue Webster certification by accident. The ones who do have usually made caring for expecting moms a real focus of their practice, so they tend to see many more pregnant patients, at every stage of pregnancy, than a chiropractor who only sees one now and then. That experience shows up in the small things: how comfortable you feel on the table, how clearly your questions get answered, and how confident you can be in the person caring for you.
Trust. Put all of that together and you get what most expecting moms are really looking for: peace of mind. When you're making decisions for yourself and your baby, knowing your chiropractor has been trained, tested, and held to a standard for pregnancy care lets you settle into your care instead of second-guessing it.
Setting honest expectations
Webster certification means a lot. A credential that valuable also deserves to be described accurately, so here's what it doesn't promise.
It isn't a breech-turning technique. You may hear that Webster "turns breech babies." We don't make that claim, and neither does the organization that certifies it. If your baby is breech or hasn't settled head-down, talk to your OB or midwife first. Gentle care can often continue alongside whatever they recommend, and we're always glad to coordinate with them.
It isn't a promise about your birth. We can't tell you Webster will make labor shorter or easier, or change how your baby is born, and we won't; research on birth outcomes is still limited. What we hear from moms, and what you'll read in their reviews, is that they feel more comfortable and more mobile through their pregnancy.
It isn't a replacement for your prenatal care. Webster belongs alongside your OB or midwife, never instead of them. Tell your provider you're seeing a chiropractor, keep all of your prenatal appointments, and think of us as one more member of your team. If your pregnancy is higher-risk or you have a specific complication, check with your provider before starting care; we've written about exactly when that's worth doing in Is chiropractic safe during pregnancy?
How Webster shapes your care at Landmark
Dr. Oestreich is Webster certified and an ICPA member, and that training shapes every part of how we care for expecting moms, from your first conversation with us through postpartum.
Day one is a conversation and an evaluation, not an adjustment. We start with a full health and pregnancy history: how far along you are, how you're feeling, what's bothering you, and what you'd like out of this pregnancy. Then comes a gentle, pregnancy-appropriate exam and a nervous system scan with our INSiGHT technology. We don't take X-rays during pregnancy. Plan for about an hour. After that we sit down and walk you through what we found in plain language, and any care starts at a follow-up, once you've decided it's right for you. Here's the full first-visit walkthrough.
Adjustments are gentle and pregnancy-adapted. During pregnancy, our adjustments are low-force and instrument-assisted. Most people describe it as a light click, the opposite of the twisting and cracking some people picture. You're walked through everything before it happens. If that's the part you're nervous about, we've written about it: does your back really need to crack?
Positioning is made for a changing body. Supportive tables and cushions let you lie comfortably, with no pressure on your belly, at every stage of pregnancy.
You can start at any point. Some moms come in early to stay comfortable as their body changes; others come in the third trimester looking for relief. There's no wrong time to begin. How often you come in depends on how you're feeling and how far along you are. We'll explain what we recommend after your first visit, and the decision is always yours.
Care doesn't have to end at birth. Postpartum is a big change for your body, too, and we're here for that recovery. When you're ready, we also offer gentle pediatric care for your newborn.
Ready for care that's built for pregnancy?
If you've been told your aches are "just part of pregnancy," they're worth a closer look, from a Webster-certified chiropractor trained specifically to care for the body you're living in right now.
You can read more about how we care for expecting moms on our Prenatal & Webster care page. When you're ready, book your first visit or call (254) 265-7007. We'll take the time to understand where you are in your pregnancy, explain what we find, and let you decide what comes next.