Over the past few years, it seems that my husband and I have been watching more and more of our friends beginning to have babies. That also means we have been hearing more and more stories about sleepless nights, screaming fits, and exhaustion.

For couples like my husband and I, the decision on when to start having children is constantly fluctuating. One day we may hold a calm, sleeping baby and start leaning toward the “let’s have a baby” side of the fence. Days later, we may hear a baby horror story, causing us to take a couple steps back from that idea.

One thing is for certain, at some point in time, we will have to get off the fence. While we wait, the least that we can do is provide some useful information to couples with newborn babies.

Take a look at this study:

The January 1, 2010 issue of the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health - Chiropractic reports that a two-week old baby with colic, constipation and sleep disturbances showed complete improvement after a short course of chiropractic care.

    When the baby's mother brought him in for chiropractic care, he was experiencing excessive crying, abdominal distension, constipation, and gas. His mother reported that he would cry for hours at a time and was constantly stressed with clenched fists.

    His crying started on the third day after he was born and continued on a regular basis. He wasn't sleeping during the day and his sleep at night was sporadic and irregular. As a result, his parents were not sleeping and were not able to catch up on their sleep during the day.

    Chiropractic examination found tight muscles in the upper part of his neck and the lower part of his low back. The chiropractor also determined that the child's sacrum (the large, triangular shaped bone at the base of the spine) was tilted.

    During his first adjustment, the child belched and experienced a bowel movement before leaving. He fell asleep immediately afterwards. After five adjustments, his bowel movements were becoming more regular and he was doing better at belching after meals. 

    His mother reported that if she missed an appointment his distress would begin again but would resolve after the next visit. 

    After only 16 adjustments, the tension in his spinal muscles had resolved. His mother noted that his constipation and colicky behavior had also completely resolved. He now belched normally after meals and his parents report that he now only cries when hungry or tired. He is also more active during the day, which helps him sleep better at night and during his daytime naps.

    According to the author, "A retrospective study in 1985, assessed the reasons infants were seen by chiropractors, and the patient charts showed that 70% sought out chiropractic care for infantile colic, in which 54% reported being cured and 37% improved.  This study was followed in 1989, by a prospective multicenter study involving 316 infants with colic, where 94% of them improved with chiropractic care."

Remember, chiropractic care works on a simple philosophy regarding your nervous system. When bones within your spine are out of position, they create pressure on the nearby nerves making in difficult (or impossible) for your brain to get electrical messages to your body. When these messages do not make it to their intended target, your body cannot function normally.

If you would like to learn more about this topic, please give us a call at 208-762-1414, visit us on the web at CDAHealth.com, or find us on Facebook and Twitter by searching “Spoelstra Family Chiropractic”.