Jackson received his first chiropractic adjustment less than 24 hours after birth.
Why? Our birth was stressful and certainly wasn’t what I envisioned. I was in early labour for 20 days, 5 of which consisted of very regular, intense contractions that radiated from my abdomen to my lower back. I was lucky to have a very healthy pregnancy with absolutely no back pain (thanks to my regular prenatal adjustments!) so the back pain in labour was unexpected and physically and mentally exhausting. The contractions occurred every 5-12 minutes but never progressed.
After several calls and visits from my midwives, we decided that it was time to go to the hospital. When my water broke we discovered that, although he was engaged and his body was in the correct position, his head was asynclitic (meaning it was tilted to one side as he entered the birth canal). This makes sense as to why my labour wasn’t progressing.
Long story short, we weren’t even in the hospital for 3 hours when Jackson’s heart rate completely dropped. Our midwife was awesome, remained calm and tried different positions and maneuvers to normalize his heart rate but unfortunately they were unsuccessful and I was required to deliver Jackson via emergency C section. The long, stressful labour took a toll on Jackson’s little body and when he was born he required some assistive breaths to help him start breathing.
We are so thankful for the care we received from our midwives and from the doctors and nurses at OTMH. We are both happy, healthy and thriving now that we are at home.
When Jackson’s spine was examined, we discovered that his atlas (the top bone in his neck) had shifted to the left and that his cranial bones were compressed and not positioned correctly. This makes sense since his head was stuck in an abnormal position for so long. Since his birth, he has been checked regularly and adjusted if needed to ensure that his spine grows and develops the way it was intended to. I love chiropractic care and it’s ability to naturally promote health and healing through optimal spinal position.
We always say we practice what we preach. We would never recommend anything to your family that we wouldn’t recommend to our own. If you have questions about how gentle paediatric chiropractic care can help your newborn, please don’t hesitate to ask!