Changing the Trajectory

My journey into the study and practice of perinatal and pediatric chiropractic formally began in 2019, when my daughter was in the womb. Over the past six years I have dedicated the majority of my continuing education to these fields. From preconception conversations about the role of the nervous system to the neurologic, energetic, and bio-mechanical elements of pregnancy, the perinatal period unfolds and transforms in weeks and moments.

In theory and in practice, chiropractic delivers. We cannot know how far reaching the healing effect of relieving the need for unnecessary medical procedures and surgeries can be on a family.

I had the honor of seeing a newborn for her first chiropractic visit last week. She was scheduled for a tongue tie revision. Within a day of the adjustment, she could turn her head evenly, rest more comfortably, latch was no longer painful, and she began gaining weight.

Sometimes it is important and indicated to pursue medical and surgical options and I am glad they exist. But I know in my bones that it is always important to consider chiropractic first when there is a question about how the body is functioning.

Chiropractic - specific, neurologically-focused care - delivers outcomes that can change for the better the earliest experiences of being in a body and, by extension, the trajectory of a life.

Babies and Chiropractic

There are many reasons for parents to consider chiropractic as a first line of support when encountering challenges with their babies. Chiropractors trained and experienced in the care of young ones offer a gentle, precise, drug-free, and physiologically-based service to facilitate more ease in the developing nervous system. Chiropractic is not a treatment for a condition, but rather a way to support the normal, self-healing capacity of the body. There are many expressions of dis-ease that occur in young ones that are often related to stress and tension held in the spine and cranium. Birth is a powerful experience and that power can be exerted in ways that can be taxing to the newborn’s body.

Parents may consider seeking chiropractic services for their young one for colic, issues with latch, digestive challenges, irregular/absent poops, sleep difficulties, mobility concerns, or visible asymmetry in posture or movements. Parents also bring their young ones in simply because they have personal experience with the benefits of chiropractic to facilitate balance and ease and want to offer that gift to their child.

I have heard parents and pediatricians describe expressions of dis-ease as “normal.” As in, “it’s normal to not poop for days at a time” or “some babies prefer to only nurse on one side” or “she has too much stomach acid, which is why she is spitting up after feeding.” To be clear - there is nothing wrong with the child in these circumstances. They are striving to find balance with the environment to the best of their ability. When their ability to find this balance is compromised by stress and strain on the nervous system (housed in the spine and cranium) it makes sense that we would see some kind of challenge. I find it important to discern between “normal” and “common.” We can acclimate to ideas or environments, especially when they surround us for extended periods of time. Their prevalence - how common they are or seem - does not mean they are “normal.” It is normal for the body to adapt and heal. The expression of pain and symptoms is a normal signal that the body is working to adapt and heal. It is normal to want to reduce discomfort and dis-ease in ourselves and our children. It has become common for us to hear that drugs and symptom suppression are standards of care. It has become common for us to hear that disease is preventable and should be eradicated with pharmaceutical interventions.

To approach health from a perspective that acknowledges and honors the innate capacity of the body to adapt and heal is, for me, normal. Chiropractic helps the communication system of the body to express health and life with more ease. When it comes to the health and lives of our children, I invite you to consider chiropractic today for a better world tomorrow.