Taking care of Mums and Bubs has been one of the great joys of my career. As a family chiropractor, adjusting, educating and assisting people at many stages along their life journey from “birth to the grave” is a privilege that opens my heart everyday.

In my ideal world every birthing mum, and newborn would be checked and adjusted within 24 hours of birth, or at the very least, on the way home from the birthing unit, setting everyone up for a great start to learning about each other, and establishing important connections, that prime bubs for life.

Many babies I see in practice struggle to establish correct movement patterns after birth, no matter what type of birth they experienced. Co-ordinated movement is how your baby’s brain and nervous system grows and develops.

Births that involve induction, and instrumental delivery like C-section, Vacuum, and Forceps, have a significant impact on the delicate attachments of the dural membrane lining the inside of the skull, which can lead to poor suck swallow reflexes, tongue movement, breast attachment, head control, gut function, sleep quality, mouth breathing and emotional regulation.

All too often “Tongue-Tie” is blamed for poor feeding. Rarely, is the problem structural, more often it is functional, the sucking action is not all about the tongue, it requires a complex co-ordinated movement pattern that involves many cranial nerves, muscles, joints and connective tissues throughout the entire body, since the tongue connects from the mouth all the way to your toes. So before you “snip” consider a chiro assessment of your baby. There are many ways to release the nervous system and re-train great sucking mechanics.

Here are a few videos I recommend to get you started.

Newborn Stretches and Exercises

Exercises for Facial Tension

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is a skill both mother and baby need to learn, whilst the instinct to suck does exist, poor suck swallow breath patterns can create unnecessary pain and trauma for both Mum and Bub.

I highly recommend all pregnant mum’s complete the Thompson Breastfeeding Course well prior to the arrival of your baby. It covers pre birth, post birth gems that build confidence, planning for birth, the 3 Golden hours after birth and establishing great bonding and feeding right from the get go.

How to Increase Milk Supply

#1 Technique to Avoid Nipple Trauma