Here are cases of how quickly newborns were able to nurse once the problem was resolved.
The Annals of Subluxation Research posted a Clinical Study of a 4-day-old newborn that was brought into the clinic by his mother. The baby was not able to latch on to the mother’s breast, even with the assistance of a nipple shield. The infant was tongue-tied, had limited range of motion in the neck and couldn’t open his mouth very wide. The little baby received gentle touches on the neck, jaw and other areas of the spine by the Chiropractor. The Chiropractor could feel those specific areas relax and once the newborn was handed back to the mom, he immediately began to nurse.
The Library of the National Institutes of Health featured a case study of an 8-day-old baby with difficulties breastfeeding since she was 4 days old. The baby was examined by a Chiropractor who located areas of the neck, tailbone and jaw that were restricted. After 3 treatments the problem was resolved and the baby was able to nurse successfully.
A recent case occurred in my office when a mom brought her 3-day-old son who was having a hard time latching on. I could feel that his nursing problems came from restrictions in his neck, spine and jaw. I began to work ever so gently until I could feel the restricted areas melt in my hands. I handed the baby back to his mom and he proceeded to nurse quite easily. She felt so relieved, which is important for a mom to know that her baby is getting plenty of food at each feeding. She brought him in a week later and he still was nursing beautifully.
If you know of a newborn that is having trouble with nursing please let their mom know that the problem may be due to the baby’s neck, jaw or spine. It may take a few gentle chiropractic visits to get the baby’s neck and jaw to release but if that is where the problem is coming from, chiropractic should help.
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