If you have or had a baby that has been diagnosed with colic, you know the struggle!  Your baby is crying, despite your best efforts and you are commonly told that “some babies just have this”, and “don’t worry, they will grow out of it”, offering no real answers.

 You’ve likely tried a whole host of things like looking into food sensitivities, tongue ties, belly massage techniques, formula changes, gripe water…and maybe you’ve gotten some relief.  Your doctor may have even prescribed some medication to see if it would help….

 The stress on the whole family is massive when you have a baby struggling with colic. 

When we get a call from a parent who has a baby who is struggling with colic, we do our very best to get them in ASAP.  We know  how stressful it is on mom and baby, how much it impacts bonding and mental health. 

As pediatric chiropractors that have been helping families thrive for over 15 years, there is one common theme we hear in 90% of the cases….BIRTH TRAUMA/INTERVENTION.

In almost every single case of colic, there is a history of birth trauma or intervention used in some way shape or form.  Typically it is labor that went sideways for whatever reason, that resulted in pitocin, c-section, forceps or vacuum  We have had cases without these interventions, but in almost every single history, we hear this common thread of some difficulty during the birth process that lead to an injury in the upper neck and sometimes the jaw of the baby.

 When there is excess tugging, pulling, twisting, sucking, bending and compression during delivery, these forces are placed on the upper neck of the baby either directly, or via an instrument, or even the hands of the OB.  We are not in any way saying that these practices were unnecessary or ill performed, we are simply stating that if we placed these forces on the baby AFTER delivery, we would know exactly why our baby is screaming and uncomfortable – because they were injured.  This is the biggest kickstart to what we term “the Perfect Storm”, where the nervous system gets jacked up in stress mode and impacts the life experience of our kids in a profound way.

 Birth can be extremely hard on mom and baby.  If we continue to fail to recognize this and make the connection between what happened during delivery and how baby is doing – we will continue to see it negatively impact the overall health of mom and baby. 

We know that baby’s  neck is delicate and we’ve all been taught to support baby’s head properly so we don’t hurt them. Of course!  Baby’s neck muscles and supporting structures are not developed yet.  They simply cannot hold their heads up and are vulnerable.  Again, imagine twisting and pulling your fresh newborn…we would never want that to happen.

The upper neck is also incredibly rich with nerves, and a key nerve is the vagus nerve. If this nerve is injured during labor, it can impact things like their swallow, their latch, digestion, overall comfort and demeanor, as well as sleep – which just happen to be some of the most common health concerns parents have with their newborn.