Did you know that chiropractors can care for people from birth through old age? While it might seem unusual to take a newborn baby to the chiropractor, the truth is that they need this kind of care as much as anyone. Feeling unsure about bringing your newborn in to see us? Here’s what you need to know.
Chiropractic Care and Birth Trauma
Many infants have traumatic births, even if their experience seems normal. Trauma can be caused by:
- The use of forceps to extract the baby
- The use of a vacuum to help a baby come out
- The use of Pitocin to encourage or institute labor
- An emergency Cesarean
- A fast labor
- An extra long labor
- Having the cord wrapped around the baby’s neck
All of these things add to the normal amount of stress and strain on a baby’s body during birth, so they can all cause misalignment in the head, neck, and spine. You can see the evidence of these types of trauma in the following ways:
- Irritable, colicky babies
- Babies who have trouble nursing
- Reflux or spitting up
- Breathing trouble
- Sleeping trouble
Sure, many of these can have other causes, too. But if your baby had a traumatic birth and is also suffering from any of these conditions, it’s worthwhile to have them evaluated by a chiropractor.
Facts About Newborn Chiropractic Care
- Newborns need adjustments. Being born can be tough. Even normal births can cause problems. Think about it: a baby’s whole body gets squished and squeezed out the birth canal. This can cause all sorts of minor physical trauma, including strain on the neck, back, and cranium. Chiropractic care can alleviate a lot of this, helping a baby feel more comfortable in his or her first weeks of life.
- Newborn care is safe. Some parents struggle with the idea of chiropractic care for their newborn because they think of the ways that we have to twist and tug on their adult bodies, and they don’t want that for their infant. We don’t blame them! Chiropractic care for newborns is very gentle. Most won’t press harder on a baby than you would press on your eye. Because their bodies are new and pliable, this pressure can work wonders for them.
- Newborn care can help improve immunity, too. A recent study links chiropractic care during childhood to increased immunity to childhood diseases. Specifically, children who saw a chiropractor more than seven times a year were more resistant to picking up these bugs. You can start them as a newborn and get a jump start on this immunity.
At Beecher Chiropractic, we would be happy to evaluate your newborn and treat him or her if we find misalignments or other problems. We will always let you know what we find before we treat your baby, and we understand if you aren’t comfortable with every treatment we offer. We want to make your newborn’s life, and your life with him or her, as easy as possible in those first weeks, and we’ll do all we can to achieve that.