Pregnancy and Chiropractic
The role of chiropractic during pregnancy is to support the spine and nervous system of mom as she undergoes profound change. For me, chiropractic has always been a family affair. My mom began her chiropractic practice shortly before she was pregnant with me. One of the greatest gifts I have received is to have been immersed in chiropractic my entire life - in the field of caring for families, in the embodied practice of service, and trust in the wisdom of the body. To offer a service and a perspective grounded in the innate intelligence of the body, the gentle discipline of Network, and as a father is central to how I practice chiropractic. The health of our children is very literally the health of our future. Supporting the process of life as it unfolds is the essence of chiropractic. This is nowhere more obvious, vital, and beautiful than during pregnancy.
For more resources about pregnancy and chiropractic, check out the Pregnancy Page here.
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.
Love in Uncertain Times
My daughter, Violet, was born a few nights ago in our home on Oregon’s north coast. Supported by the practiced and competent hands of three midwives, as well as our doula, Mack, my wife, Adria, naturally and brilliantly birthed Violet into this world and the two of us into parenthood. I am deeply grateful for our midwives, inspired by my wife’s strength and resilience, and absolutely in love with our baby.
Bearing witness to the birth process was a gift that has only expanded my awe of the innate intelligence of the human body, and confirmed how integral chiropractic care is for pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum. I supported my wife’s spine and pelvis as she communicated with her body, with me and our midwives, and birthed our daughter into our world. We have this extraordinary vehicle - one that allows consciousness to emerge, to sense and explore the living world, and to communicate and share love with others. With our bodies and minds, we have been conditioned to look to the future - to plan and to plot - often under the illusion that just a little more “doing” will get us to the place where we can find meaning and certainty. Now more than ever we need to look to the present, to find the space between the stimulus and the response and pause there. The entire world has been asked to take this pregnant - sometimes uncomfortable - pause. It is a fertile opportunity to reflect on our values and habits and make fundamental inquiries: Is it more important to be right, or to connect?
I can say now from first-hand experience that the way to change the diaper of a fiery newborn goddess at 3:00 a.m. is not to shush her, or explain the inconvenience of her developing bowel’s timing to my sleep pattern, or that she needs to learn to modulate the volume and intensity of the wailing (8.5 is excessive, especially this early). It is not to get frustrated at the effective jiu-jitsu she is employing to avoid the diaper grapple. It is not to allow my own notions of how this should be going, or convince myself that she is already scheming ways to test my patience. It is not to prove my experience is right or more real. The truth, as it often is, is so simple and literally right in front of me. “You need to connect with her,” I hear Adria offer sleepily from the bedroom, “she wants you to sing”. And now I do, and it makes all the difference in the world - to her and to me.
In these uncertain times, some things remain true and shine even brighter amidst the tumultuous landscape. I recognize these truths being born from the darkness into my expanding awareness: Love is the light by which we all see. Mothers have superpowers. Choosing connection instead of righteousness makes babies laugh and the world a kinder place to live.
