Every person should be checked from the womb to the tomb. It’s not that a baby is having pain, it’s about optimizing the health of their spine and optimizing their nerve system. You want to make sure that everything is optimized through every stage of growth and development. And again, since that nerve system is the master system that controls everything else, when those spinal bones misalign and start to irritate the nerve system that creates static in the communication lines. We can clear that static out, optimize the body and get that child’s nerve system working. We want those kids having the best chance to grow and develop and be optimized so they have their best day every day.
For the Baby
Here are the important reasons why you should have a baby checked by a chiropractor as soon as possible after the baby is born. If everything looks good, then there’s usually nothing to do, but sometimes the atlas or the upper cervical spine needs to get checked and gently adjusted.
- Usually, a baby is upside down with their neck flexed for anywhere between three to eight weeks. Just being in that position alone warrants checking an infant’s neck for alignment. Since everything developmentally happens neurologically, and chiropractic affects the nerve system, when we clear out and correct the misalignments that are irritating the nerves, those nerve channels open up and every stage of growth and development, which is neuro-regulated, is optimized.
- Once a baby’s head crowns through delivery, typically the doctor is going to turn the baby’s neck to try and get the shoulders to go vertical so it’s easier to get the baby out. That, in and of itself, can be a stress to the neck and sometimes cause misalignment.
- Sometimes you’ll see infants with infant torticollis or a wry neck where the head flops to one side, they’re not taking a breast or they prefer one or the other, their head only turns one way, or they get these flat spots because they’re not moving their head equally in the crib. When you examine and you look at the baby from a mom’s point of view, they’re very good at noticing like the head tilt or which side they favor if they’re breastfeeding, if they only want the right or they only want the left.
For the Mom
Chiropractors usually see the mom returning for care along with the infants. Giving birth is pretty traumatic for the mom and they can have some issues right after birth. Here are some reasons why we recommend the mom getting checked with a standard chiropractic exam.
- We’re always looking for the misalignments in the spine, what we call the vertebral subluxation. What is really important with the mom is the alignment of the sacrum, the hips, the pelvis and the sacroiliac joints.
- Moms have a lot of neck and upper back problems because their orientation to the world is no longer vertical. They’re bending forward, leaning, and looking down at the baby, especially when they’re breastfeeding. They’re lifting, bending and carrying the Pack ‘n Play, the diaper bag, and all the gear. All those things affect the neck and shoulders. It puts a lot of stress on the new mom.
- We need to make sure that when a mom is stressed, that her immune system is strong as possible, because the more stressed we are, the harder it is for our immune system to do the job. The mom really has to adapt to all these new stresses that we talked about: bending, twisting, lifting, and caring for the baby. When moms are feeling better, they’re going to be less stressed and they’ll be more comfortable. When her spine that’s straight and strong, she is better equipped to handle her day-to-day activities and responsibilities without having any increased pain or discomfort.
Chiropractic is all about the nerve system and keeping the spine and nerve system healthy for life, not just dealing with pain. The healthier your spine and the better aligned it is, the less pain and discomfort you’re going to have. Since we interface with the entire world through our nerve system, maintaining a healthy spine, thus improving nerve system function, is key and paramount to good health.
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