Why babies often need Chiropractic care, and how it’s often the key to your breastfeeding babies latch.

Last time I listed some of the more common symptoms we see at Straightahead in babies who are not breastfeeding well or ideally.  In that, the plan with these posts is to work backward from those common symptoms to discuss and dive into the “how’s” (physiology) behind the “what’s” (symptoms), which will lead us to the “why’s” (the causes of the issues).  Keep in mind, the symptoms are not the problem, they are just the alarm signaling that something is not right, and that something (i.e. the root cause of the issue) is what we seek to correct.

So, on to the first main symptom/concern: Preferential Side.  The title is pretty self-explanatory…the baby prefers feeding on one breast rather than the other.  Real quick, before digging deeper, it is possible that Mama’s milk production and/or anatomy are different from side to side, but that is a discussion for another time, perhaps, and generally not the main culprit.

When parents come in to Straightahead describing that their baby prefers to breastfeed on one side over the other, the first question we ask is “do you notice they seem to generally hold or turn their head to one side versus the other?”, which is usually replied to with a resounding “yes.”  See, very practically, the most pressing and prominent issue leading to a baby preferring one breast over the other is tied to the tone and function of the spine.  More specifically, tension and dysfunction of the Cervical Spine (i.e. the neck) will cause a decrease in range of motion and mobility, while creating discomfort and sometimes pain.  Remember, last time (part 1) I mentioned all the nerves, bones, muscles, etc. associated with breastfeeding and the need for them to be coordinated and in harmony?  Well, tension in the neck will spill over into tension in the jaw, tongue, and potentially the entire body (both in physiology and neurology…which we will cover in part 3).

I can hear you asking: “But how and where does the tension in the neck come from?”  I am so glad you asked because this is where it really gets good (for an analytical nerd like me at least).  G. Gutmann, a Medical Pediatrician, ran a study a while back, where he examined the Cervical Spines (necks) of more than one thousand infants. His findings are remarkable… approximately 80 percent of all newborns had some form of nerve dysfunction.  Did you get that?  Over 800 of the 1000 assessed infants were found to have dysfunction and tension in their necks, causing compromise of their nervous systems. Gutmann also concluded that many of health challenges children face can arise from misalignment of the first vertebrae in the neck, resulting in a “lowered resistance to infections in the ears, nose and throat.”  Furthermore, Chiropractic adjustments utilizing light pressure to restore alignment and function to the spine was found to reverse and resolve a majority of these illnesses and symptoms found in children.

Along this same line, Gutmann’ s colleague, V. Fryman, further examined 1,250 babies five days after birth and found that 95 percent of this group were not only misaligned, but also had cervical strain. She also noted that the infants responded to specific spinal and cranial care with immediate muscular relaxation and a greater ability to sleep, which as I mentioned in part one is exactly what we see at Straightahead Chiropractic every day (way more on this in the next part and in posts to come!)

“Yeah, Yeah, but where is the tension or spinal dysfunction coming from?”  Great questions, and here are the most common culprits, many of which are tied to the finding above that 95% of children checked at 5 days old have spinal dysfunction of some form…

1. Uterine Constraint: Compression or torsion placed on the baby as it developed in utero. This could be from pelvic imbalances of mom while pregnant or before pregnancy, and is more commonly seen in moms that experienced back pain and/or sciatica during pregnancy (which by the way is common, but not normal, as I have seen hundreds of pregnant Mama’s NOT have these issues as a result of Chiropractic Care). Also, similarly, breech presentation babies tend to endure more stress and tension in utero, for which we utilize various techniques shown to reduce the need for C-Section on a breech baby by greater than 80% nationally (93% at Straightahead).

2. Fast or Slow Labor and Delivery: There is a sweet-spot in the labor and delivery process regarding time, which seems to hover around 5-8 hours. Anything faster or slower than that certainly warrants a check-up for the baby as soon as possible. (Side note, Chiropractic Care throughout pregnancy has shown to decrease labor and deliver times from an average of 10-12 hours to around 6.)

3. Traction Forces and Assistive Devices: The average about of force pulled on an infant’s head and neck (usually in a hospital birth) is between 60 – 90 pounds of pressure…in a “normal” delivery. Couple that with various extraction means (vacuum, forceps, etc.) and the load place on the baby’s head and spine can easily exceed 10 times its’ body weight!

4. Drugs: Epidural, Pitocin, and a whole list of others do affect the baby and the delivery process as a whole.

5. C-section: A common misconception about C-Section is that because it is fast and controlled, it is safe. In many cases, the events leading up to a C-Section are extremely and emergently traumatic. Even those “scheduled” in advance are perhaps more damaging than a vaginal birth. Now, I know there are certainly times they are necessary, but study’s are starting to pile up showing direct links between children born C-Section having various chronic illnesses, with Asthma leading the pack.

6. And the list could go on, but you get the point…there multiple variables which can lead to tension and/or dysfunction in a baby’s spine and/or nervous system.

To “land the plane” on this idea, think of a time you may have had a “kink” in y

our neck or back.  Maybe you over-did-it in a workout or felt the effects of poor posture?  Regardless the precise culprit (which is generally more cumulative in nature than a one-time incident), the idea is, when we feel tension, even if we have full range of motion, we all chose to avoid those movements (think: checking your blind spot while driving, or trying to put on your sock and tie your shoes when you have tension in your back or neck).  These babies experience the same thing, as we are dealing with human physiology here.  When they have tension in their spine, specifically in or around the neck, they

 are innately going to avoid the least comfortable positions, which is often rotational (turning) in nature.

While very practical and prevalent, the dysfunction and tension in the spine we talked about here is just “the tip of the iceberg”.  Quite honestly and tragically, most people (doctor

s and patients) leave the Chiropractic conversation here (i.e. the spine is tense - chiropractor removes tension - baby feels and feeds better - everyone is happy).  I understand why there is often such a shallow perspective…

1. Because it is can be this beautifully simple…that removing spinal dysfunction does get babies better most of the time, and…

2. Very few chiropractors have the expertise and knowledge to fully explain the depths of neurology and physiology.

Well, I understand I may lose some of you with depth, but the term “Doctor” means to educate, so if I am not providing thorough information, that I am not “wearing” that title well.

So, quick teaser…over the past man years, the research team (at the University where I was the Director of Pediatrics) and I dove deep into this specific topic, and the biggest thing we found will be revealed in the next post.  Sneak-peek: the spinal dysfunction we discussed above has specific spill over into and direct connection to the function, growth, and development of the brain…which explains so much in the powerful ways we are able to help so many kiddos with multiple “unhelpable” (yup, made that word up) conditions.