Why would a baby need to be adjusted?

After an exciting exodus from the womb and a bright welcome into a whole new world, many newborns need a gentle adjustment to balance their nervous systems. Think of this as a gift to the child that will assist in laying the best possible foundation for the rest of his or her life. But before I make that bold statement, let me backup a bit….

Why would a baby need an adjustment in the first place? 

In utero, sometimes babies spend months in a less-than-ideal position (for example, a breech baby), which can cause tension or restrictions in the baby’s body. If the mother or the parents undergo an intense emotional experience, this can also affect the overall health of the baby and how the baby responds to the surrounding environment. In the case of a difficult or strained labor or birth, there may be physical or emotional trauma that could be helped with gentle chiropractic care. Even an uneventful pregnancy and birth can be hard on the child’s body. Other reasons to seek out chiropractic care include, but are not limited to:

• Colic

• Constipation

• Difficulty Nursing

• Dislike of Tummy Time

• Ear Infections

• Jaundice

• Lip/Tongue Tie

• Low Birth Weight

• Painful Latch

• Poor Sleeping Habits

• Slow Development/Behind on milestones

• Slow Weight Gain

• Traumatic or Fast Birth

• Anything that mom intuitively feels “isn’t right”

 As you can see, there are many ways a baby may be alerting you that something isn’t “quite right”. To help your sweet bundle adapt more easily to the “new world”, a chiropractor will assess your baby for any neurological concerns, release muscle tension, and gently restore proper motion to the spine and cranium. When your baby’s body can function properly with optimal brain-body communication, growth and development can progress normally. 

Four hands are better than one.

“Think of and adjustment as a gift to the child that will assist in laying the best possible foundation for the rest of the baby’s life.”

How often should your baby be adjusted? The answer can vary, but I suggest adjusting once a week for the first several weeks of life. For the remainder of the first year, I recommend your child is checked at least monthly as babies make many major life transitions in a short period of time in those first 12-24 months (think nursing, rolling, sitting, crawling, introduction to solid foods, standing, cruising, walking, meeting lots of new people, and so on…).

Please know this is a very brief overview of how and why chiropractic for babies may be beneficial. We would love to hear from you if you have any further questions or are interested in having your own precious baby checked by one of our pediatric chiropractors.

~Dr. Jessica