10/20/2011 9:54:00 AM
Healthier Infants & Babies
You do everything to ensure your baby's health: during pregnancy you eat right; you avoid drugs, cigarettes and alcohol (even aspirin has been shown to cause problems in pregnancy); and you take childbirth classes, so you may have a natural, drug-free birth. After the baby arrives, you breastfeed knowing that is the superior form of nutrition.
You do everything you can to make sure your baby is healthy - have you had their spine checked? A chiropractic spinal checkup can ensure a healthier baby, one with higher resistance to disease and a healthier nervous system.
Birth Trauma
Sadly, some newborns have unhealthy spines: The birth process is potentially a traumatic event with mechanical stress imposed by obstetrical manipulation, caesarian section or awkward positions in the womb. The view has bean expressed clinically that most signs of neonatal injury observed in the delivery room are neurological. “With the birth process becoming more and more an intervening procedure the chiropractic adjustment becomes even more important to the child's future," said the late Larry Webster, D.C., of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association.
The Spine & Infant Health Studies
Of a random group of 1,250 babies examined 5 days after birth, 211 suffered from vomiting, hyperactivity and sleeplessness spinal abnormalities were found in 95% of this group. Spinal adjustment "frequently resulted in immediate quieting, cessation of crying, muscular relaxation and sleepiness." The authors noted that an unhealthy spine causes "many clinical features from central motor impairment to lower resistance to infections-especially ear, nose and throat infections." The two medical doctors who authored the above mentioned study concluded that a chiropractic spinal checkup should be obligatory after every difficult birth.
For over a hundred years, doctors of chiropractic have observed often dramatic responses from some infants after a chiropractic spinal adjustment with many conditions as varied as foot inversion, colic, torticollis (twisted neck), "nervousness," and ear, nose and throat infections.
When Does A Baby Need a Spinal Checkup?
According to chiropractic pediatric specialist,
Larry Webster, D.C., there are six times in a baby's first year of life when spinal examinations are especially important:
- After the birth process
- When the baby starts to hold his/her head up
- When the baby sits up
- When the baby starts to crawl
- When the baby starts to stand
- When the baby starts to walk
A healthier spine can improve your life.
Common Symptoms of an Unhealthy Spine
- Colic
- Poor sleeping patterns
- Difficulty with feeding / breastfeeding
- Gas / bloating
- Constant crying
- Pulling knees up / arching spine
- Reflux / vomiting
- Delayed milestones (lifting head / crawling / sitting etc.)
If you have any questions regarding your child’s spinal health or chiropractic treatment please phone Dr Whelan or Dr Anderson at the Edenvale Chiropractic Clinic on (011)453-8646
