How Can the Birth Process Affect Your Baby?

Did you know that nearly 60 to 90 pounds of force takes place on a child’s head during a typical birth? This large amount of force can cause a structural shift in the spine which can lead to secondary conditions including difficulty sleeping, feeding issues, colic, constipation, etc.

The structural shifts that occur in today’s birthing process have three aspects
1. Misalignment
2. Fixation
3. Nerve interference

Normally, the birth process is the first injury a baby obtains in their cranial area, upper neck, and spine. These injuries can occur from interventions that take place during the birthing process such as inductions, forceps, vacuum, C-sections etc. The greater amount of interventions, the more likelihood your child will obtain a significant spinal structure shift.

Thousands of years ago we did not have the modern intervention methods and a technique that we use in today’s birthing processes. Nearly 40% of children were brought into this world without the use of drugs, anesthesia, and surgical tools which lead to less structural shifts of the spine in the newborns.

How Do You Know if Your Baby Experienced A Structural Shift?
There are many physiological signs of a structural shift that you as a parent should be on the lookout for.
Cervical Spine
1. The head is constantly turned toward one direction
2. There is difficulty rotating the head and neck
3. Discomfort and resistance when the base of the skull is touched
Hip/Pelvis
1. Hips rotate forward when holding the infant up under arms
2. One buttocks crease is higher compared to the other
3. Arched back
4. Uneven crawling
Skull
1. Cranial bones are unsymmetrical
2. Back of the head is flattened
3. Eye orbits are uneven

Early chiropractic checkups are beneficial in preventing these structural shifts from becoming a larger issue in the future. Pediatric adjustments are gentle and harmful to the spine with the use of light pressure along the spine area.