How Does Chiropractic Care Support Mothers and Babies?
Chiropractic care is essential for mothers and babies. As a holistic approach to health and medicine, chiropractic care has many benefits. Regular chiropractic adjustments can particularly help support breastfeeding, which is shown to help both mothers and babies in a variety of ways.
Why breastfeed?
U.S. breastfeeding rates are on the rise. The CDC estimates that 79 percent of babies begin to breastfeed shortly after birth.
However, while breastfeeding is recommended from the day of birth, up to six months, many babies do not continue for as long as recommended, with only about 49 percent still breastfeeding at 6 months.
Research has shown that breastfeeding carries many health benefits for both mother and baby, and contributes to potential environmental and economic benefits for families and communities.
Breastfeeding has been shown to reduce the risk of childhood infections, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and a number of chronic conditions. Additionally, breastfeeding provides balanced nutrition and critical, early skin-to-skin contact, which has been shown to enhance physical and emotional wellbeing.
Breastfeeding has also shown benefits for the mother, such as a reduced risk of postpartum depression, help with weight-management, and a reduction in certain risk factors related to breast cancer.
How chiropractic care supports motherhood?
Chiropractic care provides a holistic approach to medicine for mothers and babies both during and after pregnancy.
For mothers, chiropractic care can help calm and sooth, especially for those experiencing anxiety and depression. Regular adjustments can help prepare an expectant mother for birthing classes, reduce weight-bearing pain experienced during pregnancy, and help manage postpartum depression. In addition, chiropractic care may help increase milk production during breastfeeding.
Adding a newborn wellness evaluation to your chiropractic care can benefit the health of both mother and baby. An in-depth discussion of how the baby was born can help your chiropractor explain any trauma that mother or baby might have experienced, and recommend a course of corrective treatment.
Chiropractic Care and Breastfeeding
Pregnancy and childbirth can produce a significant amount of stress and trauma for both mother and baby. Regular chiropractic adjustments and a newborn wellness exam can help with everything from milk production to “latching on,” to the overall health of both mom and baby.
In addition, regular chiropractic adjustments during and after pregnancy may help a new mother produce more milk.
Chiropractic care may also provide a pathway to breastfeeding for infants and mothers experiencing difficulty. Infants with neuromusculoskeletal dysfuncion or undetected biomechanical injuries may have difficulty breastfeeding. Studies have shown that gentle chiropractic adjustments may help these babies begin to breastfeed successfully.
Regular adjustments have also shown to increase the quantity and quality of sleep, better align the spine to relax the body and prepare it for exercise, minimize mood swings and ease tension, and provide an additional source of support.
A chiropractor can act as a sounding board to help a new mother connect with the feelings she is experiencing and better adjust to the significant life change of having a baby.
Learn more
Contact your doctor or chiropractor with any questions related to chiropractic care, breastfeeding, pregnancy, and new motherhood.
If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of chiropractic care and breastfeeding, visit the National Institutes of Health website, a subsidiary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Or if you’re in the Wauwatosa area, give us a call today. As a mother of three, Dr. Kennedy is all too familiar with breastfeeding J
And congrats on having a new baby!
