In a typical C-section, a small incision is made in
the mom’s abdomen and the doctor, hands
around baby’s neck, pulls upward and
maneuvers the baby out. This is how one out of
every three babies in the United States enters
the world. This is how Owen, a young boy who
was brought to my practice, was born. Contrary
to the perception that a mom’s belly unzips and
the baby floats out on a cloud, cesareans pose
real physical trauma to a baby’s spine. Those
traction forces are experienced by the baby in
most births, vaginal or cesarean, and cause a
subtle shift in the top bone of the neck. That
shift in the spinal bone can interfere with the
nervous system and disrupt normal childhood
development. This neurobiomechanical
dysfunction, what chiropractors refer to as
vertebral subluxation, can contribute to many of
the concerns new parents have for their
children—comfort, sleep, digestion, immune
system, coordination, and, in Owen’s case,
breastfeeding.
After birth, Owen and his mom, Ivy, couldn’t
establish a normal latch. It was painful,
inconsistent, and ineffective. Despite Owen
seeing the neonatologist, pediatrician, several
lactation consultants, and a pediatric dentist
who released four tongue and lip ties, no one
could explain why he struggled to breastfeed.
One of the lactation consultants instructed Ivy to
give up, that Owen’s anatomy would make a
normal latch impossible. “It broke my heart,”
she said, resigning herself to pumping and bottle
-feeding, thinking nothing would make a
difference.
When all seemed lost, Ivy tried chiropractic. An
evaluation revealed a vertebral subluxation at
the top of Owen’s neck, restricting his ability to
turn his head and engage the breasts
symmetrically, open his mouth sufficiently, and
develop an effective sucking and swallowing
pattern. Owen melted into the table during the
adjustment, which was a gentle pressure to
correct the subluxation, reduce the adverse
nervous system tension, and let him finally move
in a way that allowed him to latch.
A few hours after his first adjustment, Ivy sent
the following text: “I just wanted to say thank
you. We just got home and Owen nursed for 30
minutes…I can hardly believe it. I’ve cried for a
week unable to provide for my babe; I’m so
thankful! Whatever we are doing to him, it’s
working.”
Two weeks later Owen is nursing undisturbed:
no more pain, no more pumping, no more
bottles. Ivy replaced the tears of frustration with
those of joy, and feelings of failure with the
incredible connection and bond of
breastfeeding. “Never give up,” she encouraged.
“Breastfeeding can be hard, but you should
definitely try chiropractic after birth, before they
have to go through what I went through.”
The importance of breastfeeding for physical
and emotional health is well documented and
generally accepted by the medical community.
While many hospitals and doctors’ offices have
taken steps toward increasing breastfeeding
rates, for some moms they may be missing one
key aspect—chiropractic. Every provider who
works with pregnant women and children—OB/
GYNs, midwives, perinatologists, pediatricians,
neonatologists, lactation consultants, doulas,
dentists, and others—needs to understand that
birth is physically stressful and chiropractic
offers a safe, gentle, and effective approach to
helping mom and baby navigate the transition
from pregnancy to birth and beyond.
—Ian Shtulman, DC, DACCP
