Postnatal Care at Apol Chiropractic

Absolutely, Chiropractic care can make a big difference both for the health and wellbeing of both mom and baby. Remember, mom will have the hormone “relaxin” still in her system for at least another 9 months. This means that the pelvic musculature and ligaments can be somewhat lax for an extended period of time.

Getting on top of things by getting adjusted can relieve some of the common problems such as back ache, tight neck and shoulders, tiredness, pubic pain and so on.

One of the common problems that can affect a child being able to feed from both breasts is when they have a restriction in their neck. Babies, like adults, will tend to avoid things that cause them pain. If their neck is stiff and tight due to the birth process or how they were positioned in the womb, this can lead to muscular tightness and restriction. Having them assessed can determine if this is the case. When it comes to treating babies, I specialize in using non-manipulative and low-force treatments which are ideal for little ones.

Have this addressed as soon as possible to reduce the chance of the mom’s milk drying up and/or possible situation of engorgement of the breast, which is very painful.

Vomiting can occur for several reasons:

• Their stomach is displaced upwards into the chest cavity. This can reduce the size of the stomach and make digestion very difficult because of the reduced size of what can be contained. Also, if there is tightness of their diaphragm or breathing muscle, could also put extra pressure towards the stomach resulting in vomiting. Since the diaphragm is controlled by a nerve called the phrenic nerve, any pressure that baby has in his or her neck can affect the function of the nerve supply to the diaphragm.
• Cranial misalignments can alter the function of the nerves that promote swallowing and digestion (hypoglossal and vagus). By removing the stress on these nerves, most often the vomiting is resolved.
• The quality of the milk has changed. This could be result of mom’s diet which could include spicy foods, alcohol, caffeine such as coffee, tea, or energy drinks, even stress from mum can affect milk quality. Many of the stress hormones that mum produces if under stress can be passed on in breast milk.

Chiropractic can be very useful in addressing many of these issues that affect digestion.

Excess production of wind or gas can come about if baby’s attachment to the breast is not ideal. This can create a pocket where they can draw back too much air to their tummy. When there has been a misalignment to the skull, especially the bones that sit around the ears (temporal), they can affect the movement of the jaw. When this happens this can affect the seal that bub has on the breast, resulting in too much wind.

In addition, having a child who may be reacting to something that mother has either consumed or eaten can cause a baby to produce too much wind. Remember the quality of the milk is as important as the quantity. This may be the product of fermentation that is occurring within baby’s tummy which is producing gas, like how beer is produced. With many of the techniques that I offer, the offending foods can be identified using the art of Manual Muscle Testing (MMT).

Bowel movements are a normal and rhythmic eliminatory process that is initiated with feeding. Once food enters the alimentary canal or mouth and chewing has begun, the stomach and intestines produce a wave-like motion called “peristalsis”. This is to allow the food that has already begun the digestive process to move to allow for the incoming food. Ideally, if a child is pooing following a feed this is the most ideal and consistent with the function of the gastrointestinal tract.

Chiropractic can help to ensure that the bowels are eliminating well by helping to balance the body’s autonomic nerve system. The more stagnant a baby’s bowel is, the more congested they become. This could affect sleep patterns, moods, flexibility and ease in their body. Remember, having a child that either sleeps too much or not enough is not the most ideal.