Colic affects 20-25% of all newborn children and experts still are unable to determine the root cause of what causes colic in newborns. Having a colicky baby can be stressful for parents to see their child upset and in pain and be able to do very little about it. But what if there was something you could do, and it was safe and natural, would you try it?
How to Identify Colic
All babies cry, especially newborns; however, colic is more intense sessions of crying. Some experts believe that colic stems from issues in the digestive system, such as gas, reflux, or food sensitivity/allergies. Others suspect non-digestive causes such as overstimulation or exposure to tobacco smoke. However it may come to be, pediatricians use the “Rule of 3’s” to identify and diagnose colic:
- Your baby has a loud, piercing cry that began around 3 weeks of age,
- The cry lasts for more than 3 hours,
- The crying sessions occur at least 3 times a week, and
- Continues for 3 weeks.
How does Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care help with colic?
New parents, and even veteran parents, may have many questions about bringing their newborn to an upper cervical chiropractic doctor. To start, it is important to understand what upper cervical chiropractic care does. The central nervous system (which is comprised of the brain and the spinal cord) is responsible for all communication to all parts of the body, from interpreting pain, fighting illnesses to digesting food. When the atlas or axis (the top two vertebrae of the spine), is out of position, something we call a subluxation or misalignment, it causes stress on the nerves and receptors around it, interfering with the central nervous system’s communication and ability to heal the body. Correcting the subluxations is safe and gentle; it also allows the central nervous system (and the rest of the body) to properly function.
There is also research linking the benefits of upper cervical chiropractic care and colic in babies. A study that was published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics collected data from parental reviews over a three-month period of the effect chiropractic care had on their colicky baby. 94% of the parents reported they experience a positive improvement in their situation. The same journal published another study in which there was a 67% decrease in crying for babies who were treated with chiropractic care versus only 38% of the babies who were given dimethicone, an anti-gas medication, instead.
