Chiropractic For Infants

That our methods are also regularly used on infants, occasionally confuses. Some people believe that chiropractic is applied exclusively for back problems. In reality, chiropractic is concerned with the correction of nerve dysfunctions (explained extensively on another page on our site). The most frequent cause for subluxations in infants is the birth process itself.

American chiropractors have long warned the public of the dangers for newborns during today's routine birth process. Birth is a natural phenomenon that should not be viewed or treated as a medical condition, but many problems are created when trying to control the birth process.

Birth Trauma

Dr. G. Gutmann, a German medical researcher, discovered that over 80% of the infants he examined directly after birth suffered from dysfunctions or injuries to the cervical spine, which caused health problems.

Bierh Trauma (Traumatic Birth Syndrome) is not a new condition. A researcher named Duncan measured the amount of force required to seriously injure a baby's cervical spine during delivery. He determined that 90 pounds of force (ca. 45 kg) was enough to cause a still birth, while less force "merely"compressed a baby's spinal joints. Duncan reported, "most obstetricians would not consider that a great force."

At the Eighteenth Annual Meeting of the American Academy For Cerebral Palsy, Dr. Abraham Towbin, from Harvard Medical School's Department of Pathology, presented research that revealed how "the birth process, even under optimal conditions, can potentially be a traumatic, crippling event for the fetus."

"Spinal cord and brain stem injuries occur often during the process of birth, but frequently escape diagnosis.",Dr. Towbin continues, "death may occur during delivery or, with respiratory function depressed, a short period after birth. Infants who survive the initial effects may be left with severe nervous system defects."

What about babies that show no immediate signs and symptoms of birth trauma? What if the signs and symptoms don't appear until later in life? What are the effects on the infant? How do they interfere with that infant's potential to express itself completely as a human being? What kind of symptoms and illnesses could they trigger later in life?