Chiropractic & Babies
Chiropractic and babies?!
Did you know that chiropractic care is great for babies as well as adults? In fact, chiropractic care has been show to be incredibly effective for a variety of early childhood conditions including colic, torticollis and trouble breast-feeding.
Wait a minute...
Did I just say that babies could receive chiropractic care? How would that work? They're so tiny. They're so fragile. How is a big man like Dr. William going thrust on the baby's spine? Excellent question, and here's the really simple answer. We adjust babies differently than we adjust adults. Babies are typically adjusted with one to two fingers, and until the baby is a year or two old, there is generally no thrust involved in the adjustment. Instead, we just use very gentle, pressure. It's about the same amount of pressure required to adjust as baby as it is to hold a quarter to your forehead using your index finger.
But why would a healthy baby need chiropractic care?
I have two answers to this question. One, we take our newborns to the pediatrician for regular check-ups to keep our infants healthy, right? That seems relatively normal to us. So why is a chiropractic wellness check any different?
The second and more important answer to this question is that birth is a very challenging process! When the last time you tried to squeeze yourself through a hole barely the size of your head? Right. It hasn't been since you exited the birth canal!
Because the birth process can be particularly traumatic, the babies can actually become subluxated during the birth process. It will typically occur at the very top of the baby's neck and at the base of the baby's spine and hips.
What signs could indicate a need for chiropractic?
I'm going to spend a lot more time in an entirely separate blog post talking about babies and colic and chiropractic. I'm also going to devote a separate post to torticollis. So for now, let's talk about some of the most common symptoms of subluxation.
Breastfeeding problems: Does your bay have trouble latching onto one breast but seemingly have no issue latching to the other breast at all? (This isn't good for breastfeeding moms either!)
Bowel Movement problems: Does your baby have trouble with their bowel movements? are they irregular? Or are they regularly explosive? Does baby deal with frequent bouts of constipation?
Sleeping problems: Does your baby seem to cry more than your other children? Is he or she not sleeping enough?
All of these symptoms can be indicative of subluxation! If you have any questions about pediatric chiropractic, I would love to address those with you. Don't hesitate to bring in baby to your next appointment so we can see what we can do for you.
Yours in health,
Dr. William