Breastfeeding Facts
Breastfeeding is the recommended source of nutrition for infants, as it aids in promoting infant growth, development, and immunity. Some mothers breastfeed up to two years.
About 80% of mothers in the United States breastfeed. These rates are lowest in those less than 25 years old, unmarried, non-Hispanic black, less than high school education, and smoker. The gap is continually closing as awareness increases.
Breastfeeding provides short term and long-term benefits for both mom and baby, such as gut function development, building immunity and improving overall well-being.
Breastfeeding requires the infant to suck, swallow, and breathe, which takes a lot of between nerves, bones, and muscles. The infant’s ability to breastfeed successfully can be disturbed if there is an imbalance or structural shifts in the spine, which can alter the infant’s sucking pattern, which leads to a latch problem.
Such imbalances or structural shifts can result in painful breastfeeding, nipple pain, breast enlargement, and inadequate milk supply. It is important to address these issues as soon as possible as this can lead to stopping breastfeeding prematurely.
The nervous system controls and coordinates all functions of the body and structural shifts in the spine can occur that obstruct the nerves and interfere with their function. Chiropractic care aims to remove the structural shifts and the resulting nerve obstructions thereby allowing mother and baby to breastfeed normally.
Chiropractic Helps Improve Breastfeeding
The 9-day-old infant reported on in the research had a traumatic birth, had to spend several days in the hospital and had difficulties latching during breastfeeding. She was not gaining weight properly due to having difficulty breastfeeding. Breastfeeding was also painful for her mother, who ultimately used a nipple shield for the pain and discomfort.
The chiropractor examined her and found structural shifts in the infant’s skull, neck, and sacrum. These structural shifts can lead to obstruction of the nerves and it is this obstruction, that chiropractors correct. Following chiropractic care, she was immediately able to breastfeed successfully with no pain or discomfort and she began gaining weight as normal.
Reference
Resolution of Breastfeeding Difficulties and Concomitant Weight Gain in an Infant Following a Course of Chiropractic Care: A Case Report. Stephanie Williams-Libs, DC & Joel Alcantara, DC, PhDc. Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health, Chiropractic ~ Volume, 2021