Traumatic Birth Syndrome

“Birth today has become a technological experience where a natural process has been replaced with artificial procedures and schedules. Without the necessary support during pregnancy, women enter the birth process with fear and are led to rely on drugs instead of their bodies’ own natural strengths. These drugs weaken her body’s ability to function and lead to even further interventions. The more interventions used in birth, the greater the risk of injury to both the mother and baby.  

This birth is an example of a so-called natural birth happening every day in our modern society. What could be a natural process has been turned into a technological procedure leading to interventions with lifelong consequences. Unable to feel what is happening, the mother becomes disconnected from the process and is not capable of adequately participating in her labor.

This leads to the use of extreme force. It is this force from pulling and rocking on the baby’s fragile neck that causes undo trauma to its delicate spine and nervous system. During birth, delicate nerves are traumatized and stretched.  The spinal cord is twisted and torqued. Cranial bones are squeezed and jammed.  Most children experiencing birth in our society have been subjected to trauma.

Spinal cord and brain stem injuries often occur during the process of birth but frequently escape diagnosis. Respiratory depression in the neonate is a cardinal sign of much injury. In infants, there may be lasting neurological defects reflecting the primary injury.

Routine procedures such as inducing labor, pain medications, and restricted maternal positions are known to cause more incredible difficulty in labor and lead to further interventions. One such further intervention is c-sections. During this surgical procedure, most women experience a great tugging sensation as the doctor is pulling on the baby. The struggle and pulling used to extract a baby out from the mother’s small incision is often not seen by the parents.

This surgical procedure is becoming more common and therefore more accepted today. Mothers have been erroneously convinced this procedure could actually be better than a natural process!  Unfortunately, they are not aware of the dangers and resulting injuries associated with them.

Medical research on birth trauma tells us, “Forceful pulling on the baby’s neck – particularly when combined with stretching of the spine – has been considered the most important cause of infant spinal and brain stem injury.”

A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed startling data. It reports that difficult labor itself and the method of delivery may lead to brain injuries and deaths in babies. Brain injuries were found in one out of every 664 infants delivered with forceps, one out of every 860 deliveries by vacuum extraction, and one out of every 907 infants delivered by c-section.

Another published medical study reports: “Mechanical stress imposed by obstetric manipulation – even the application of standard orthodox procedures – may prove intolerable to the fetus. Difficult breathing in the newborn is a classic indication of such injury.”

It further states, “Survival of the newborn is governed mainly by the integrity and function of the vital centers in the brain stem. Yet paradoxically, the importance of injury at birth to the brain stem and spinal cord are matters which have generally escaped lasting attention.”

Even in what is considered to be easy, normal, natural childbirth, there are unnecessary and, therefore, traumatic consequences to the baby. In birth, a baby’s head is born, and then all on its own, a baby’s body rotates clockwise or counterclockwise inside the mother so that the shoulders can pass through. In this birth, the infants’ shoulders are turning inside the mother in preparation to be born, but the hasty and forceful management of the attending doctor is twisting the head in the complete opposite direction! This extreme 180-degree rotation to the infant’s fragile neck can be devastating to the future function of the baby’s vital nervous system.

Every day, standard routine birth procedures unknowingly subject our children to extreme forces with distressing results. Birth trauma causes spinal injury. Its consequence is the first subluxation. The effect is lifelong impairment. Is it no wonder that our children’s health potential is being stifled and choked?

As more women are becoming aware of birth trauma, they are looking for practical steps to take towards prevention. They recognize the choices they make during pregnancy do, in fact, affect the outcome of their births. Informed mothers are committed to finding providers during pregnancy who support and encourage the natural process of birth.

Pregnancy and birth need our respect – not intervention. Chiropractic is a natural approach to life and health that helps the mother gain trust in her body’s own ability to accomplish this incredible, innate unfoldment.

During this time, her body is experiencing rapid changes and adaptations. Specific chiropractic techniques can detect and remove undue stress in her pelvic muscles and ligaments. Restoring balance to the pregnant woman’s pelvis can reduce constraints on her uterus, allowing for better baby presentation. A balanced pelvis, therefore, leads to an easier and safer delivery for both the mother and baby.

Grays Anatomy textbook tells us that the nervous system is the most complicated and highly organized system of the human body. It is responsible for the coordination of all body functions and our ability to adapt to the environment. The spine houses and protects the nervous system.

During this most critical time of changes in the mother and baby’s development, a woman’s spine needs extra special care. Regular chiropractic adjustments throughout pregnancy can remove interference to her nervous system and allow her body to function as it is designed to.

More and more mothers are discovering the many benefits associated with chiropractic care through pregnancy. They appreciate the chiropractor’s respect for the body’s natural design and function.  Supportive care providers, regained trust in the body, and the whole health benefits of chiropractic are being recognized as vital ingredients to a healthier pregnancy and an overall easier birth.

Most children have been subluxated from birth. As a society we need to examine our current birthing procedures and offer correction for our children who have suffered the consequences. Delicate spinal structures need to be cared for immediately to reduce the possibility of further nervous system stress.

It is time this society gives respect and care to the nervous system and its vital role in health.  When we honor the body’s inborn intelligence, we allow for life’s most significant expression.

Chiropractic has become an essential ingredient for lifelong health right from birth. Using very gentle and specific techniques, doctors of chiropractic improve your child’s nervous system function. The earlier in life your child receives chiropractic care, the sooner their own natural and innate healing abilities are enhanced.”

Courtesy of Dr. Jeannie Ohm, International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, www.icpa4kids.org