This study followed an 8 week old baby girl that had difficulty breastfeeding from the time she was born. As is well established breast feeding is the best source of nourishment for a developing infant and the inability to nurse easily can be very stressful on both the mother and child. The mother had been working with a lactation consultant but was not seeing improvement so was advised to seek the assistance of a Chiropractor.

The first obvious difference this study pointed out was that traditional medical views put a problem of nursing on the mother. They treat the problem with nipple shields, medicine droppers or spoon feeding to deliver the milk, even introducing early bottle feeding. The Chiropractic evaluation looked specifically for a dysfunction in the baby’s inherent ability to suckle.

The Chiropractic exam looked for subluxations (misalignments, fixations) in the baby’s spine and cranial (skull) bones, as the bones are not fused in infants as they are in adults. The Chiropractor found subluxations in the upper neck, pelvis and cranial bones. After the first adjustment there was no change in breastfeeding however the mother did comment that her baby was able to go to the bathroom easier. By the fourth adjustment by the Chiropractor the mother reported that her baby was nursing much better and was nursing normally by her sixth adjustment.

The reason focusing on the baby utilizing Chiropractic adjustments can be beneficial comes back to the basic Chiropractic principle that the better the nervous system is able to function the better the body is able to function. Nearly all of the muscles of the tongue are controlled by a nerve that comes off of the spinal cord between the skull and the first bone of the spine. Subluxations in this area could affect the function of this nerve thereby affecting function of the tongue. Inability to control the tongue properly would prevent the baby from being able to latch on and suckle properly. Subluxations in this area can also affect function of the jaw muscles preventing proper suckling.

Take care of the spine, allow the nervous system to function properly and normal function can be restored; it’s as simple as that!

J Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health- January 17, 2003

By Dr Scott Szela