Birth Trauma
Birth is tough work, both for mothers and babies. There are a lot of pressures and forces being exerted onto your baby during their journey into the world.
While birth trauma is not something that only affects the health and well-being of the baby (moms, dads, entire families are affected), we will be focusing on the negative health effects of birth trauma on children today exclusively with this article.
WHAT IS BIRTH TRAUMA?
Birth trauma is any trauma or injury, most commonly physical, that happens during the labor and delivery process, and often leads to lifelong health challenges, disabilities, and neurological problems.
In our opinion, birth trauma is the single most overlooked causative factor of the massive rise in chronic illness in our kids today. It leads to “short-term” and long-term problems in kids. Again and again, we see birth trauma correlated with things like:
Difficulty latching, nursing, breastfeeding
Sleep disturbances and disorders
Torticollis, plagiocephaly, shoulder dystocia, etc.
Cerebral palsy
Epilepsy (seizures)
Autism, sensory processing disorders, ADHD, and other neurodevelopmental challenges
Speech, motor, social, and emotional delays and disorders
Chronic ear infections, respiratory, and immune challenges
Muscle tone and postural challenges
COMMON CAUSES OF BIRTH TRAUMA IN INFANTS
Very short labor
Very long labor
The use of Pitocin to strengthen/induce uterine contractions
Pain medications
Restricted maternal birthing positions
Pulling or twisting on the head to deliver the infant
The use of forceps or vacuum extraction
Cord wrap
Cesarean delivery
Additionally, it’s important to note that birth trauma can vary significantly in severity. Most cases of birth trauma go completely undetected and unnoticed by the traditional medical team.
Birth can be extremely traumatic for both mother and baby, yet documented and described as “normal” and ordinary. Sadly in today’s world, instances like birth trauma have to go dramatically wrong to get the attention of the traditional medical system.
To keep it quite simple, the longer labor and delivery goes on, and the more intervention that starts to stack up – the more likely that birth trauma will occur.
WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF BIRTH TRAUMA?
As listed above, the negative health effects of birth trauma on the child are far-reaching and really can be connected to almost every pediatric health condition.
The reason for this is actually quite simple to understand – the location and system most negatively affected by physical (and toxic) birth trauma is the central or autonomic nervous system.
When the function of this system is altered and thrown off course right in the very first moments of life from birth trauma, it creates a condition known as dysautonomia.
To go deeper into the neurology of what’s happening, the real key to all of these early and later life health challenges are tied to a very important nerve, called the vagus nerve. The Vagus Nerve is responsible for coordinating our heart rate, breathing, digestion, immune function, social and emotional regulation, and so much more.
The Vagus Nerve is most easily injured via birth trauma simply because of its location. This vitally important nerve originates (comes from) the lower brainstem area, and then makes its way down through the cervical spine (neck) and all the way into the thorax and abdomen. This is why it’s long been called the “wandering” nerve.
Perhaps more appropriately, we call it the “Air Traffic Control” or “Operating System” nerve. It truly does need to be at 100% function for our children to have 100% health throughout life.
This physical injury to the Vagus Nerve, brainstem, and other areas of the nervous system via birth trauma is what Pediatric Chiropractors call a subluxation.
NATURAL, DRUG-FREE PEDIATRIC CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR BIRTH TRAUMA
At Sprout Family Chiropractic we measure the level of dysautonomia and the effects of subluxation in children using INSiGHT neuro-scans. Many parents have told us this is the first time they are getting answers to what their child has been struggling with.
If you suspect that some or all of your child’s health challenges are possibly related to birth trauma and subluxation, you at least deserve to find out!
Our highly trained docs in combination with our Clinical Process specialize in finding the root cause of a child’s struggle. They know how to dig deep enough to look for birth trauma, and then be able to help.
Getting answers, help and regaining hope for your child is possible and we can help. The first step is to book your child’s initial appointment today so we can restore your child’s health potential through Pediatric Chiropractic.
Ready to get to the root cause? Click the button below to get started!