by Caroline von Fluegge-Chen
As soon as baby Olivia made her way through the birth canal and into this world, she was greeted by a warm, bare chest, and checked while this most important developmental state of boding occurred. She wasn’t checked for any disease process or entity, rather she was checked to ensure that she had a clear neurological connection between her developing brain and body for optimal physical and mental development. It was at the ripe age of five minutes that Olivia Madison received her first chiropractic adjustment, a light amount of sustained pressure at the base of her little skull.
Why would my baby need chiropractic?
More and more, newborn babies are experiencing the ease that accompanies that first adjustment, after what can often be a physically and chemically stressful entry into this world. These stressors can often start before birth, while your baby is still in utero. Although externally induced physical stress upon a baby in utero is difficult to achieve because of the liquid-muscle-fat protective barrier, it is nonetheless possible. Certain medical diagnostic procedures, while possibly life saving, may inflict a detrimental physical stress upon the developing fetus. Likewise the chemical stress through the use of medications and other drugs by a mother during pregnancy and labor affects the developing fetus and newborn. There include the use of anti-inflammatories, antibiotics and anti-depressants. Other causes of chemical stress, often over looked, can come from environmental toxins and dietary toxins.
“Allow your baby the opportunity to live a life of dynamic ease, harmony and balance, have them checked by your local chiropractor today!”
Intra-uterine constraint (torsion and twisting of pelvic ligaments due to loss of pelvic alignment) may place physical stress upon the developing baby’s spine and body by limiting the space in which the developing fetus lies (see Chiropractic Care and Pregnancy.) The delivery, as the baby’s still developing spine, muscles, ligaments, and nervous system are pulled upon, usually at the head, is by far the greatest cause of physical stress upon the newborn. Unfortunately, although at times necessary, medical intervention during the birth process may cause a loss of spinal and cranial alignment, as the sheer force exerted upon the joints and structure of the baby due to manual, forceps, or vacuum delivery. The spinal and cranial stress caused by intra-uterine constraint may also decrease the option of a natural birth, free from intervention.
How does my baby’s body really work? How might this affect your baby?
To answer these questions, we need to take a quick lesson in anatomy and physiology.
First, it is important to understand that whether in the womb or celebrating your 100th year of life, your body is constantly changing. It is impossible for your body to stay the same from day to day as there are thousands of things happening in your body every second. That change occurs in one of two ways: your body can either grow a little bit stronger or a little bit weaker each day. The physiological strength of your body is determined by the level of organization expressed by the cells of your body.
As you already know, your baby’s body is made up of trillions of cells, and these cells make up every part of your baby. In order for these cells to function properly (in harmony and health), they require organization, much like an orchestra needs a conductor to organize and direct the individual instruments and sections to create harmony and rhythm. The conductor of your baby’s body happens to reside within the brain and nervous system (NS). The brain directs and organizes all of your baby’s cells. The brain sends messages, via the NS, to the body telling the body what to do, and then receives messages from the body which tell the brain what is happening and what is needed.
The NS is what connects your baby’s brain to its body, and so the spinal cord has become known as the “lifeline.” The importance of the NS, or inner-net, for communication is vital to life. The spine has an intimate connection with the NS, specifically with the spinal cord and spinal nerves. It’s because of this connection, that whenever your baby loses spinal alignment and function to any one of the 33 movable vertebra, he/she partially loses the neurological connection between their brain and their body. This loss of connection leads to a loss of organization, disorganization, and a progressive loss of your baby’s natural state of ease, harmony, and balance.
So, how can Chiropractic help my baby?
Chiropractic’s goal is very simple: To restore and maintain spinal alignment and function to reestablish the brain-body connection to allow resumed, fully functioning organization in your baby’s developing body, so that he/she can regain their natural dynamic state of harmony, balance and ease and continue growing stronger than ever before!
Once you understand how important that function of your spine and your brain-body connection is, you’ll not only want to get checked yourself, you’ll also want your family and friends to get checked regardless of where they are now. Allow your baby the opportunity to live a life of dynamic ease, harmony and balance, have them checked by your local chiropractor today.
Caroline von Fluegge-Chen
With an emphasis on family care for more than 24-years, Dr. Caroline von Fluegge-Chen has created a unique program of promoting peak performance found only at Balance Atlanta. She combines specialties of family chiropractic, functional medicine, and BrainCore Therapy to address structural integrity, optimal brain function, and body chemistry balance.
