One of the most common questions posed to Dr. McSweeney is whether babies would benefit from chiropractic care. The short answer is, absolutely – chiropractic care for kids, even babies, is truly the gift of a healthy foundation.
Dr. McSweeney’s own children received their first chiropractic adjustments at just minutes old. Sound crazy? It’s not. A newborn baby’s first journey can be a tough route – just think of all that pushing, pulling, squishing and tweaking. Even before delivery, the earliest challenge for a growing spine is the limited space. In fact, the same fetal positions that can make labor and delivery troublesome can also be problematic to the baby’s spine. The upshot? Compromised or kinked nervous systems, which have been linked to things like colic, reflux, breastfeeding difficulties, sleep issues, allergic reactions, and chronic infections.
Many developmental milestones – things like learning to hold up the head, sitting upright, crawling and walking – are all activities affected by spinal alignment. That’s why these are ideal times for a chiropractic visit.
Spinal adjustments for infants and young children involve very light fingertip pressure to correct spinal misalignments. This amount of “force” is often not more than a finger touch, and it’s usually sufficient to restore mobility to spinal joints that have become locked and are causing interference to the normal nervous system function. Occasionally, the adjustments will make a ‘popping’ sound when the spinal joints are moved, but not always. Other techniques involve the use of hand-held instruments, which offer specific and gentle correction.
A recent study done by the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) in the United States, Canada, and Europe showed that only a few children (out of more than 10,000 visits) experienced minor discomfort and fussiness. The remaining children in the study had no adverse reactions to the adjustment. These preliminary data show us that chiropractic care for children may be one of the safest forms of health care available.
If you’re pregnant, chiropractic care can be a life-saver. And you can use the opportunity to speak with Dr. McSweeney about chiropractic care for your new baby. Schedule a consultation today, and check back next week – we’ll be discussing the benefits of chiropractic care for those busy growing kids.