We have established that the amount of pressure used on a baby during a chiropractic adjustment is the same as testing the ripeness of a tomato or avocado. See HERE for more! With chiropractic being an extremely safe option for your baby, you may wonder why and when someone so small would benefit from this type of care.
Let’s first establish the WHY… The benefits of a baby receiving chiropractic care are not that different from any other person. It increases wellness, immunity, nervous system regulation, proper development and aid with repairing the physiological/neurological effects of a traumatic birth process. The adjustment from womb to world does not just present as physically challenging for the mother.
Newborns go through a tremendous amount of change through the birthing process and sometimes this event can be a bit more stressful on the baby's physiology or neurology.
Even natural birth can bring in certain stressors on the baby that may contribute to dysfunction of the spine. But when we have a more dramatic or traumatic birth (medical intervention, unexpected c-section, induction, too fast delivery, breech, etc) these stressors on the baby increase.
For very young babies, you may notice:
Favoring their head turning to one side and showing a flattening of one side of the skull.
They pull away when breastfeeding, especially on one side.
They arch their back excessively when they cry or are laying on their back.
Have a head tilt
They show discomfort or cry when they are in positions like:
Car seat (for short or long rides)
Stroller
On back
On tummy
They seem very irritable and can't self soothe
They had a ‘traumatic birth’
Seem very stiff or rigid
Being treated for tongue tie, buccal or lip ties
For babies or toddlers who are slightly older, you may notice:
Walking on their toes
Crawling with one hip or leg swinging out, one foot on ground instead of their knees.
Booty scooching instead of crawling
Pulling at their ears
As for the “when,” there are no age restrictions on when a baby can be treated by a chiropractor. Assess for the signs mentioned above and of course speak with your chiropractor about the best care. Here at Pacific Wellness, we see babies as young as hours/days old.
Our children are very resilient human beings and oftentimes will not show signs or symptoms of a spinal dysfunction. Which is awesome! But, that does not mean that the compensation down the road or patterns that are developed at a young age may not affect the child as they get older. As a parent myself, I want to provide the BEST opportunity for my child to excel in his life, and that means starting preventative wellness checks at birth. If we can find and correct abnormal movement patterns and maintain an optimal nervous system from birth, we may be able to prevent more serious problems in the future.
The benefits of taking your baby to a chiropractor are very helpful in their development, post birth recovery, overall sense of calmness, feeding, meeting developmental milestones, brain building, preventive care and immunity.
If you’re interested in scheduling a chiropractic consultation/visit for your baby, click HERE to book at a convenient time for you!
