📅 Book Now 📞 Call Us 📍 Location 🕐 Hours
Webster Certified • Dr. Irina Velichko, D.C.

Pregnancy Chiropractor in Oakland: Prenatal & Postpartum Care

Chiropractic care before, during and after pregnancy. Both of our doctors see prenatal and postpartum patients: Dr. Irina Velichko, D.C., who is Webster certified and has completed the ICPA’s two-year post-graduate program in prenatal and pediatric chiropractic, and Dr. Ben Glass, D.C. Same-day appointments are often available — a doctor is in the office six days a week.

Book Your Visit →
ICPA2-Year Post-Grad Certified
WebsterTechnique Certified
2013Serving Oakland Families Since
EN • ES • RUEnglish, Spanish (Dr. Ben) or Russian (Dr. Irina)

Why Expecting Mothers Choose The Shift Chiropractic

Pregnancy is a sacred season of transformation — and your body deserves care that honors every stage. Care starts with how your body is carrying the changes of each trimester: your low back, your hips, how you sleep, how you get up off the couch.

What pregnancy care at The Shift pays attention to:

  • Back, hip and pelvic discomfort as your posture and weight distribution change
  • The balance of your pelvis and sacrum, checked with the Webster Technique
  • How you sit, sleep and move as each trimester changes your center of gravity
  • Positioning adapted to your stage of pregnancy, including the third trimester
  • Questions from your midwife, OB or doula — bring them with you
Illustrative photo of a pregnant person resting comfortably
Illustrative photo of pregnant people using birth balls during exercise
🎉 Webster Technique Certified

The Webster Technique: Balancing for Birth

Dr. Irina is certified in the Webster Technique — a gentle and specific chiropractic analysis developed to balance the pelvis and release soft tissue tension in pregnant patients. It is not a technique for turning a baby, and Dr. Irina won’t promise anything about your baby’s position. It looks at the balance of your pelvis and the soft tissue around it.

  • A specific analysis of the sacrum and pelvis
  • Attention to the soft tissue around the pelvis, including the round ligaments
  • No pressure on your abdomen at any point
  • Gentle enough at any stage of pregnancy, including the third trimester

Read the full explanation of the Webster Technique — what it is, what it is not, and what a visit actually involves.

Gentle Techniques for Every Stage

Your comfort is always our top priority. We use pregnancy pillows, a drop table and low-force instruments so each adjustment feels supportive — never forceful, never rushed.

🪻

Pregnancy Pillows

Bolstering that allows you to lie comfortably face-down, fully supported, at every stage of pregnancy — including third trimester.

📈

Drop-Table Adjustments

Gentle spinal adjusting with a drop table, which needs very little force and suits every stage of pregnancy.

🔧

Instrument-Assisted

Activator and low-force instrument adjusting for precision and ease — particularly suited for sensitive areas during late pregnancy.

🧠

Manual Adjustments

Hands-on adjustments tailored specifically to your changing body — adapted trimester by trimester as your needs evolve.

Your First Visit

What a Pregnancy Visit Involves

Your first visit usually runs up to an hour. You’re seen one patient at a time, in a private room, and nothing is adjusted until your doctor has explained what they found and you’ve had a chance to ask questions.

  • Your history. How far along you are, how this pregnancy has gone so far, earlier pregnancies and births, and anything your midwife or OB has told you.
  • How you move. A posture and movement assessment, adapted to your trimester, plus a neurological screening.
  • The Webster analysis. A specific check of your sacrum and pelvis.
  • A conversation. What Dr. Irina found, what she suggests, and how often she suggests coming in. The schedule is always your decision.
  • Care, if you want it. Positioned on pregnancy pillows, with low-force techniques and no pressure on your abdomen.

Follow-up visits are shorter. Postpartum visits follow the same pattern, with more attention on feeding posture, lifting and carrying.

When the Doctors Are In

  • Monday: 10:30 am–1 pm and 2–6:30 pm (Dr. Irina)
  • Tuesday: 7:30 am–12:15 pm and 2:15–6:15 pm (Dr. Ben)
  • Wednesday: 11 am–1 pm and 2:30–6:30 pm (Dr. Irina)
  • Thursday: 7:30 am–12:15 pm and 2:15–6:15 pm (Dr. Ben)
  • Friday: 10:30 am–1 pm (Dr. Irina)
  • Saturday: 7:30 am–1 pm (Dr. Ben)

Both doctors see prenatal and postpartum patients. Dr. Irina sees patients in English or Russian. Dr. Ben sees patients in English or Spanish. Visits are at 435 8th Street #203, on the corner of 8th and Broadway in Downtown Oakland, and a doctor is in the office six days a week.

Want more detail first? The Webster Technique page explains the technique step by step, and the Dr. Irina page covers her background and training.

Nurture Your Body. Nurture Your Baby.

At The Shift Chiropractic, pregnancy care is unhurried: one patient at a time, in a private room, with positioning adapted to your stage of pregnancy and a doctor who explains what she’s doing and why.

Book Your Prenatal Visit →
After Baby Arrives

Care Beyond Birth

Care doesn’t stop when the baby arrives. The postpartum period is physically demanding in ways that rarely get discussed openly. Labor strains the pelvis and sacrum. Nursing demands awkward sustained postures for hours each day. Carrying a newborn loads one side of the body for months.

Postpartum visits look at:

  • Your pelvis and low back after labor and delivery
  • Your posture during long feeding sessions, and how to set yourself up for them
  • Your upper back, neck and shoulders from lifting, carrying and rocking
  • How you’re sleeping, whenever you’re sleeping
🏠

In-Home Wellness Visits for New Mothers

Getting out of the house with a newborn is its own challenge. That is why Dr. Irina offers in-home wellness visits — bringing compassionate, restorative chiropractic care directly to new mothers adjusting to life’s next chapter. Home visits are with Dr. Irina, in English or Russian.

Call to Schedule →
🕐

Flexible Scheduling

Visits scheduled around nap times, feeding schedules, and your real day.

🥊

Baby-Friendly

Dr. Irina is comfortable with newborns in the room.

🏭

Full Assessment at Home

Same thorough evaluation and care you would receive in clinic, in your own space.

📍

Ask About Your Area

Call (510) 858-5370 to ask whether a home visit is available where you live.

Dr. Irina Velichko, D.C., chiropractor at The Shift in Oakland, California
Your Practitioner

Dr. Irina Velichko, D.C.

Dr. Irina came to chiropractic from a social work background, and that whole-person, trauma-informed lens shapes every patient interaction. She is Webster Technique certified and has completed a two-year post-graduate program in prenatal and pediatric chiropractic through the ICPA.

  • ICPA Two-Year Post-Graduate Pediatric & Prenatal Program
  • Webster Technique Certified (ICPA)
  • Doctor of Chiropractic, Life West Chiropractic College 2014
  • Sees patients in English and Russian

Frequently Asked Questions

Honest answers about chiropractic care during and after pregnancy.

Is chiropractic care safe during pregnancy? +

Prenatal care is a core part of Dr. Irina’s training: she is Webster certified and has completed the ICPA’s two-year post-graduate program in prenatal and pediatric chiropractic. Every visit is adapted to your stage of pregnancy, with pregnancy pillows, low-force techniques and no pressure on your abdomen. If anything in your history needs your midwife or OB’s input first, she’ll tell you so.

What is the Webster Technique, and will it turn my baby? +

No, it isn’t a way of turning a baby. The Webster Technique is a specific chiropractic analysis and adjustment of the sacrum and pelvis, with attention to the soft tissue around them. Dr. Irina uses it to look at pelvic balance during pregnancy. She won’t promise anything about your baby’s position, and questions about presentation belong with your midwife or OB. The Webster Technique page explains it in detail.

What happens at my first pregnancy visit? +

Your first visit usually runs up to an hour. It covers your history (including this pregnancy and anything your midwife or OB has told you), a posture and movement assessment, a neurological screening and a Webster analysis of your sacrum and pelvis. Dr. Irina talks through what she found before any adjustment. Follow-up visits are shorter.

How often should I come in during pregnancy? +

It depends on your trimester and what you’re experiencing. Your doctor will suggest a schedule at your first visit and explain the reasoning. Some patients come every few weeks, and some more often late in pregnancy. The schedule is always your decision.

Can I start care in the third trimester? +

Yes. Some patients start early in pregnancy, some in the third trimester, and some after the baby arrives. Positioning and technique are adapted to your stage of pregnancy.

When should I start postpartum chiropractic care? +

After a vaginal birth, many patients come in within the first few weeks, whenever they feel ready. After a cesarean, direct work near the incision waits until it has healed and your OB or midwife has cleared you; care for your neck and upper back can often start sooner.

Which days can I come in for a prenatal or postpartum visit? +

Both doctors see prenatal and postpartum patients, so you can come in any day the office is open. Dr. Irina is in Monday 10:30 am–1 pm and 2–6:30 pm, Wednesday 11 am–1 pm and 2:30–6:30 pm, and Friday 10:30 am–1 pm. Dr. Ben is in Tuesday and Thursday 7:30 am–12:15 pm and 2:15–6:15 pm, and Saturday 7:30 am–1 pm. Same-day appointments are often available — a doctor is in the office six days a week.

Do you also see newborns and infants? +

Yes. Both doctors provide gentle chiropractic assessment and care for newborns, infants and children, using techniques suited to their size and stage. See our pediatric chiropractic page for more detail.

Do you offer care in Russian? +

Yes. Dr. Irina Velichko is fluent in Russian and can provide your complete visit — health history, assessment, consultation and treatment — entirely in Russian. This is full clinical care in your native language, not translation assistance.

Can I have my prenatal visits in Spanish? +

Yes. Dr. Ben Glass sees prenatal and postpartum patients in Spanish, on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and your whole visit can be in Spanish.

Your Body Is Doing Something Extraordinary

It deserves support that matches that. Book your prenatal or postpartum visit at The Shift Chiropractic in Downtown Oakland. A doctor in the office six days a week. Same-day appointments often available.

Book Your Visit →