Baby's first visit to... (yes you guessed it,) the chiropractor!

I'm in our Bristol office today and I'm in the best mood. Every day in practice, several times per day I am reminded of why I love being a chiropractor. Today one of my favorite moments has been seeing one of our youngest patients. You have probably heard me say before that in our practice we treat the whole family: from newborn babies to grandparents and everyone in between. When I say that, people can generally get their heads around the fact that we treat children with injuries and teens who play sports but many cannot wrap their heads around babies going to the chiropractor! Well, here's the deal: not only do we see babies, but we absolutely love treating babies! This may in fact be the high point of our days!

So I know what you are thinking: Why would babies need a chiropractor? Well as usual you have great questions and I'm so happy you asked. If you asked a baby (assuming in this made up scenario that the baby could answer you,) especially a newborn, they would tell you that for the past 40 weeks or so of their life they have been in relatively cramped quarters. True story: there is not very  much room to move around in there! Do you remember the last time you were stuck sitting in a meeting, or had to drive or fly for a long time without being able to change your position much? I bet you absolutely wished to see your chiropractor after that ordeal. Babies often can develop "back problems," from difficult delivery or birth trauma. Sometimes the way we hold, pick up and even the way we carry and burp our babies can cause problems.

You may be thinking right now of some baby you have known who seemed fussy and seemed to cry a lot for no reason. You are also probably thinking that you are not sure that there is anything a chiropractor could do to help this poor little baby. The truth though, is that the chiropractor would most likely help this little angel significantly. If you have been reading our column for a while, you probably know that I love studies and research and evidence, so may I please share with you the results of a study that was done looking at 316 colicky infants? Colicky infants: you know the ones who seem otherwise healthy, but cry for several hours per day for at least 5 days per week and who do not respond to the traditional methods of soothing such as hushing, changing diapers, feeding etc? Yes, those are the ones of whom I speak. Anyway, in this study, the infants were treated over a 2 week period. Improvement was seen in 94% of the babies. 94%! For most of the babies, improvement was seen in as few as 3 visits. Please note also that in this study there were ZERO side effects. Now I ask you: how often do you see a study showing 94% efficacy with ZERO side effects?It's also interesting to note that as many as 20% of American babies have a diagnosis of colic.

For those of you who have been to a chiropractor (or for those of you who have heard stories of visits to the chiropractor,) your next question is probably: "Surely you are not suggesting cracking baby's back?" Well, you are absolutely correct. Adjusting patients in our practice is generally very gentle. In addition, adjusting babies is very different from adjusting adults. That clicking sound sometimes heard with adult adjustments (that crack that people speak of,) is absent when adjusting babies. As for the babies, they tend to tolerate adjustments very well. My little patient gave me the most beautiful smiles during our examination and treatment today. It has been my experience that babies seem to love being adjusted.

There is a saying that nobody's happy if Mamma Isn't happy. Well, as a mamma myself, I can assure you, If baby's not happy, mamma is not happy at all! Let's keep our babies happy and well adjusted. If you have questions or concerns, do talk to your health care provider and of course your local neighborhood chiropractor.

Regards in health,
Dr. Shepherd