Baby’s First Adjustment
By Dr. Katie Greeley B.S., D.C.
Babies and Chiropractic Care:
When should you take your baby to see a chiropractor? The answer to that question is when you want your child to have all the benefits of a conservative, drugless approach to health care. Your infant’s first visit to a doctor of chiropractic will usually be a pleasant experience, one without painful injections or procedures.
The first year of your child’s life is an all-important one.
Spinal trauma can occur during birth as well as from falls while learning to sit up and walk. During the first year of life your child’s spine grows 50% and improper lifting and carrying of your child can also contribute to spinal stress.
Chiropractic and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome:
According to Abraham Towbin, M.D.:
“Sudden Infant Death caused by spine damage to the nerve system during birth occurred in 7 to 8 autopsies showed this to be the cause of deaths with SIDS victims.”
Ten percent of infant deaths are due to spinal injury during the delivery process, according to David Yashon M.D. When Dr. G. Gutmann examined children after birth, 80% were suffering from subluxation or misalignments of the first bone in the neck, causing all manners of diseases. In fact in 1981 birth trauma was the sixth leading cause of neonatal mortality.
Spinal Misalignments Among Infants:
There are some symptoms as parents that we can look for that could indicate spinal misalignments in our infants. If your baby has a hard time nursing or will only turn head to one side that could be an indication of a first bone or atlas subluxation.
If you child seems excessively sleepy or hyper irritable or exhibits colic like symptoms that is also and indication of spinal misalignments. If their ears or shoulders seem uneven or one leg seems longer then another that could be a sign of structural misalignments.
Remember our babies cannot communicate effective yet and their only means of communicating that there is something not right is by crying.
Baby’s First Adjustment:
When a baby gets its first adjustment it needs to be by a chiropractor that works with children and is comfortable with adjusting the child. The technique is much different then that of an adult. Usually if the child is under six months the doctor will flip the child upside down to check for proper neck movement and to assess any cranial imperfections.
Most treatments of children will involve cranial-sacral technique and or the activator technique. Both of those techniques are extremely low force. Chiropractic is one of the safest forms of health care. A baby’s spine is very supple during the first few months of life and the doctor of chiropractic applies only a slight pressure to make spinal adjustments.
In my office I would also perform a computerized spinal scan looking for variants of heat and muscle imbalances along the spine. Periodic spinal check ups are needed as the infant goes through various milestones in the first year.
If during delivery if the mother had to use drugs or excessive pulling or pushing then the most common misalignments occur at eh T-8 liver area and C1-C2 from the neck being pulled on. The reaction after an adjustment is usually one of relief and some babies even fall right to sleep.
Chiropractic Care & Baby’s Health:
It has been my experience that children that have started under chiropractic care at an early age tend to be healthier then there peers in regards to less colds and flu’s and less infections. In fact most of my babies that get adjusted regularly from birth go through their first year of life without a round antibiotics.
So when you want to give your child a head start in good health, Doctors of Chiropractic believe it’s much more important to prevent diseases than to wait until some illness occurs. Through regular adjustments, counseling on proper diet, exercise and posture, the Doctor of Chiropractic can help you raise a child whose body is structurally and functionally sound. Your child will also learn good health habits at an early age.
About the Author:
Dr. Katie Greeley is a board certified Doctor of Chiropractic and a mother of two. She has completed extended courses on pediatrics that go above and beyond the regular doctorate degree. She is proficient in a variety of techniques including diversified, cranial sacral and activator. Her office, United Family Chiropractic Center, is located in Wood Ranch at 1070 Country Club Drive West, Suite D in Simi Valley, CA. Dr. Greeley can be reached at (805) 522-2324.
Tags: Pediatric Chiropractic
