Breast milk is liquid gold for newly born babies. Nursing not only allows mom and baby to bond but also supplies the baby with antibodies, important vitamins, and many other wonderful benefits. It is the optimal form of nutrition for babies, and it is recommended that babies are breastfed at least until year one of their life. Many new moms plan on exclusively breastfeeding, however, it can prove to be a difficult stage for both mom and baby. It’s a learning process that if not learned quickly can endanger the baby’s health and wellness.

 

Without a proper latch, babies can’t get enough to eat, and it can be extremely painful for new moms. Due to difficulty latching, many moms bottle-feed their babies whether it be with formula or pumped breastmilk. Working in tandem with lactation consultants, chiropractic care may be able to help babies and moms struggling to latch properly. 

 

Chiropractic care may be able to help breastfed babies. 

 

There are many reasons babies struggle to properly latch on to the breast. Many times, trauma from birth might put the baby’s neck out of alignment, especially if interventions were introduced to help bring the baby into the world. Where this is the case, gentle chiropractic manipulation may be able to properly align the baby’s neck and help him to latch properly.

 

Several case studies and series have looked at the efficacy of chiropractic care for breastfeeding troubles. One of which looked at 114 infant cases, and found that 78% of them were able to exclusively breastfeed after 2 to 5 treatments within a two week period.

 

Chiropractic care may help the production of milk in breastfeeding moms.

 

Babies aren’t the only ones who struggle to breastfeed. Another case series looked at mothers who weren’t producing enough milk for their newborns and who were supplementing with formula. One mom in particular went to visit the chiropractor shortly after delivering her second baby. While she was able to breastfeed her first with no troubles, the second baby was proving to be much more difficult. Before getting pregnant with her second baby, she had suffered a traumatizing car accident, for which she was rushed to the hospital and later visited an athletic trainer to help in the healing process. The chiropractor found her back to be out of alignment with many subluxations of the spine. After the second adjustment, she felt the tingly sensation of her first letdown, and by her third visit, her breasts were engorged with breast milk. After the third visit and under the watchful care of her lactation team, she was able to quit supplementing with formula, and breastfeed her baby exclusively. To read more about her case and others, check out the case study here.

 

If you feel you are fighting an uphill battle to breastfeed your baby, consider adding chiropractic care to your lactation routine.  Schedule an appointment with our office today! 

 

References:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016147540900205X

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1556370711000952

https://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/nursing-basics#1

https://www.bodyandbalancechiropractic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Hypolactation.Vallone.pdf