Chiropractic Care for Babies

Why would your baby need to see a Chiropractor?

There are many reasons why parents choose to see a baby chiropractor and there are many events in your baby’s first few months of life that can cause stress to their body and warrant a visit to your chiro.  

Think about what your baby goes through to make their entrance into the world. Thinking back to the birth of your baby you can start to see how much pressure is put on a baby’s system from the get go. The birthing process is quite traumatic for a bub whether it was a completely natural birth or whether medical intervention such as forceps, vacuuming or caesarean was involved. Think how your body would feel if it was being pushed out of a tight hole. Even being cooped up in the uterus for 9 months can put a lot of strain on a baby’s body.

Then over the next few months of life their movement control is quite limited and they tend to throw their bodies and head around. This is enough to cause restrictions in their joints and tension through their nervous system. Then throw in learning to hold their head up, sit, crawl and eventually walk – Your baby goes through a lot!

Some common symptoms/conditions parents bring their baby to a chiropractor are: 

• Feeding issues due to neck or jaw restrictions
• Noticing their head prefers to turn one way 
• Flatness over one side of the head (plagiocephaly) 
• Poor head control
• Sleeping difficulties 
• Low muscle tone (hypotonia or floppy baby)
• General check-up (checking their neurological development)
• Crawling, rolling over or movement difficulties
• Post developmental milestones (sitting, crawling, walking) 
• Post falls, bumps, knocks ect 

Want to get your baby checked by a paediatric chiropractor 

What Does a Baby Chiropractic Adjustment Look Like? 

When you first visit Dr Alana at InnerBloom Chiropractic you will be asked to fill out an extensive history form for your child. Questions will cover things such as  your pregnancy, the birth experience, your childs eating behaviour, sleeping behaviour, general health and overall development. This means Dr Alana has a thorough understanding of your child before even meeting them.

On your very first visit Alana will spend a while chatting to you and your partner about your child and what your concerns for them are. She will explain what Chiropractic has to do with kids and what she can do for your child. The next step is an in depth assessment. Don’t worry these aren’t as formal or scary as it sounds. Assessment includes looking at your babies movement, primitive reflexes and other tests depending on your babies age. This is where we also gently feel the spine to see if any restrictions are present.

The main aim of the assessment is to determine if I can help your child and if so how I can help. 

Treatment may then take place depending on what we find during the assessment. An infant chiropractic adjustment looks VERY different to an adult chiropractic adjustment. Adjusting a baby involves no cracking or crunching. Instead it involes sustained gentle holding on the restricted spinal joint to encourage movement. We also use techniques to help balance the tension around the spine as well as encourage proper cranial movement. A benefit of seeing Alana is that she will explain all of this as she is going through her treatment and will always ask your ok !