REFLUX, CONSTIPATION, + COLIC
Wait, these are connected!? They sure are!
To begin to understand why, let’s talk about STRESS in babies. You hear us talk about stress quite a bit… and that’s because stress is one of the most impactful elements in a person’s life!
If you’ve never been around for the birth of a baby, it can be a fairly intense experience. It can be physically stressful, emotionally stressful, and, depending on what kind of interventions you received, it has the potential to be chemically stressful as well. Not only might it stress mom, but baby can be affected as well! The large amounts of stress experienced during birth have the potential to make it harder for a newborn’s nervous system to adapt and keep up to the demands of growth and development.
Anecdotally, we have seen that the stress that a newborn experiences is often concentrated in their upper neck. Why the upper neck? Most babies are born head-first and exit the birth canal with enormous pressure around their upper body. Even those born via Caesarean are often pulled out by their heads. This put an inordinate amount of axial traction on their necks.
Now think back to the first time you held a newborn baby. You were likely cautioned to be extraordinarily careful with their head and neck! It’s well-known that supporting an infant’s head is crucial, and their head control is directly related to the neurological control of their musculature. Early on, newborns simply don’t have the neurological connections or strength to support their own heads. Not only are the connections not mature enough for strength and support, but the cranial vagus nerve is easily affected by stressors in a baby’s body. This nerve travels from the brain through the upper neck and talks to multiple systems and organs in your body, such as the lungs, heart, esophagus, stomach, and lower digestive tract (and more)! As this nerve connects through the neck to the rest of the body, it is easily thrown off course, especially from birth stress. The stress a baby experiences creates an interference (subluxation) in the information being sent between the brain and the body. This interferes with the vagus nerve and its ability to properly communicate where it needs to; in the case of reflux, this means the stomach. When the stomach is not being communicated with properly, it likely isn’t able to function at one-hundred percent. This can lead to stomach discomfort… and reflux. The milk they are consuming might come back up due to a lack of proper neurological control!
The same idea translates to the lower digestive tract. Because the vagus nerve also communicates with the lower digestive system, a subluxation (remember, an interference in communication!) has the potential to interfere with digestion as well. This can leave a baby feeling gassy, uncomfortable, and/or constipated!
But how does that connect constipation and reflux to colic? We know that the neurological control of the body originates in the upper neck; this, along with parasympathetic stimulation, is the bridge between symptoms and the reason we see colic. If you had reflux, gas, and constipation, how would you be feeling? It’s likely there would be anger, crankiness, and crying. While these symptoms might present themselves in colic, they do not define colic. The main difference between these common symptoms and colic has to do with autonomic nervous system regulation. The autonomic nervous system is made up of the sympathetic versus parasympathetic branches. (It is called autonomic because it is automatic, and we don’t have conscious control of these systems!)The sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system is the fight or flight side; this is the gas pedal of the body and can be thought of as overdrive. The parasympathetic part is the rest, digest, and recover part of the nervous system; it is the brake pedal and brings about calmness. The vagus nerve (we mentioned this earlier!) is a parasympathetic stimulator for the nervous system, meaning it helps to keep the body calm and relaxed. Thus, when there is an interference in the upper neck of an infant, communication halts, and their body is stuck in overdrive. This increased neurological stress can lead to symptoms of inconsolable crying and overwhelm – frequently known as colic. This is why nothing seems to work when attempting to console a colicky baby! Their gas pedal is revved up and caught in overdrive; their system needs to be reconnected and balanced so that the nerves can communicate properly and slow the overwhelm down.
This is where neurological chiropractic comes in! Chiropractic care for babies is exceedingly safe and effective. Gentle and specific adjustments remove the subluxation in the upper neck to restore proper neurological communication. The adjustments allow the vagus nerve (and all the other nerves in the body!) to communicate properly, which allows the body to restore proper function. Hooking that brake pedal back up so that they can start to slow themselves down is so important! Babies and little ones who are struggling with reflux, colic, or constipation respond very well to chiropractic care – this is great not only for them but also for the parents who struggle through their little one’s pain with them!