Chiropractic Care for Newborns, Infants & Children

Is it safe for infants to get adjusted?

Yes.  Adverse events linked to pediatric chiropractic care are virtually non-existent, estimated at 1 in 250 million pediatric visits.  

When adjusting a newborn, a skilled chiropractor will only use the amount of pressure that you would use to comfortably push on your eye.  The child gets checked by hand and with technology, then is placed in position (usually in mommy’s lap), and gentle pressure is applied.  That’s all there is to it.  Simple, safe, effective.

Common childhood disorders can also be linked with spinal dysfunction, these include:

• recurrent ear infections
• persistent sore throats and colds
• colic/reflux
• asthma
• scoliosis
• headaches
• bedwetting and/or constipation
• growing pains
• ADHD

10 reasons parents take their children to see a chiropractor:

1. To encourage good neural plasticity (brain and nerve development).
2. To support “first-class” nerve communication throughout the body to promoting health and wellbeing.
3. To help strengthen their child’s immunity – encouraging fewer colds, ear-aches and general illness.
4. To help resolve breastfeeding issues and colic.
5. To reduce the detrimental impact our modern world has on our children’s health.
6. Encourages children to thrive by supporting digestive strength.
7. To diminish nerve interference which may impact their child’s capacity to learn and concentrate.
8. To promote body balance – helping to resolve poor posture, asthma, allergies and bed-wetting.
9. To help kids stay fun and light hearted.
10. To help kids stay in tip-top shape.

 Reference: Dr. Jen Author of Well Adjusted Babies and www.welladjustedbabies.com

It is common to get strange looks from people I talk to about taking infants to the chiropractor.  I know what is going through their heads: is it safe…babies don’t have back pain…do babies get adjusted the same way I do?

There are a lot of pressures and forces being exerted onto your baby during their journey into the world.  A current study demonstrated that 90% of newborns suffered birth trauma and associated strain through the neck and cranial areas following birth.

Over 1500 babies were studied periodically across an eight year period by Viola Frymann, an American osteopathic doctor. All babies were examined within the first five days of birth; in fact, many were checked within the first 24 hours of birth. This study revealed that approximately:

• 10% of the newborn babies had perfect, freely mobile skulls or cranial mechanisms.
• 10% had severe trauma to the head, evident even to untrained observers.
• The remaining 80% all had some strain patterns in the cranial mechanism.
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Left uncorrected this trauma continues to impact your baby’s spinal growth and development, reducing the healthy function of their nervous system.  This can cause many health challenges later in life that could easily have been prevented.

What can cause birth trauma?

• Very short labor
• Very long labor
• Failure of the cervix to dilate
• Use of pitocin to strengthen / induce uterine contractions
• Use of forceps or vacuum extraction
• Cord around baby’s neck
• Cesarean delivery (due to lack of progress)
• Pulling or twisting on the head to deliver the infants body

What can nerve dysfunction from birth trauma look like?

• trouble breathing
• reflux / frequent spitting up
• irritability / colic
• difficulty nursing (impaired sucking / swallowing or head positioning)
• balance issues
• sleeping difficulty
• delayed developmental milestones

Chiropractic care is focused solely on removing nerve dysfunction (which improves brain-body communication) so a new baby can grow, develop and function at it’s highest potential.  We as humans were born with an innate ability to heal, all a chiropractor does is minimize the obstructions to that ability.

Reference: http://colebradburn.com/2012/01/04/why-infants-need-chiropractic-care/

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