Colic and Reflux
There’s nothing quite like a suffering child it tears at our heartstrings. You’d do anything to make them more comfortable. Many babies come into this world with imbalances that can cause colic. When The birth process happens, if it’s from a vaginal delivery, there’s a lot of moving parts that can be misaligned depending on how the doctor assists in removing the baby. This can happen if suction or forceps are used. Even if there’s a C-section, misalignments in the structure can happen, torquing of the soft tissue can happen and nerve supply can be interrupted or impaired. A chiropractic adjustment and assessment is critical after birth and as the baby grows. The nerve supply that goes to the G.I. system can be impaired from the delivery process or any injury that can occur along the way.
Colic is when a baby cries no matter how much you try to fulfill their needs or comfort them. This can last from hours to days and is typically a loud distressed cry with tensed belly muscles and pulled up legs.
It can be caused by:
Misalignments of the spine and soft tissue
Inability to digest properly
Food sensitivities
pH imbalance or weakness in the stomach causing reflux
Another common source of colic is a bacterial imbalance. When we think of bacterial imbalance we often think of too much bacteria and the wrong kinds of bacteria. But this is in fact, the lack of beneficial bacteria. It may start out with the mother not having adequate good bacteria in her G.I. system. If the baby doesn’t go through the birthing process and has a C-section instead a lot of the beneficial bacteria that bathes their skin and mucous membranes of the skin and mouth will be lacking. An evaluation of this, and supplement if needed of good bacteria, can help treat and or prevent colic. Babies are not born needing Prilosec or Zantac but that is typically what is given for a colicky baby. If they are formula fed they may have a food sensitivity to the whey, soy or egg. They may become too acidic and it causes and imbalance in their pH which can also cause reflux.
Although we address all of these causes, misalignments in the spine can cause disturbance to the nerves in the stomach, intestines and other abdominal organs. This could interfere with gastric function and cause discomfort, gas and other colic symptoms. Chiropractic care has some of the best results in treating colic, with 94% of babies with colic showing an improvement. At Specific Wellness we treat babies with kid gloves. We test using surrogate muscle testing and palpation and our adjustments are gentle, safe and specific.