chiropractic care — breastfeeding’s best friend
holistic chiropractic care and breastfeeding ✨
when a mother-baby dyad is struggling to feed, all too often we hear recommendations to go directly for a tongue tie release. the reality is, there is so much more to this that lies within the fascia (connective tissue) and nervous system.
and that is what we address at the inside space.
our nervous systems control everything in our entire body. they also perceive and take in our entire world — both our outside world and our inside world.
within our central nervous system, we have a built in system of surveillance that is constantly scanning our environment looking to help us to perceive, detect, and embody cues of safety.
when we can do that, we can be in a state of healing, growth, and restoration (think rest and digest).
when we are not able to do that, our nervous system shifts to a state of *mobilization*. In adults, this may feel like hypervigilance or anxiety, while in our babies, that may show up as increased rigidity, a feeling of “bracing for impact”, difficulty latching or coordinating the suck-swallow-breathe require for feeds, and more.
babies go from a place that is dark, quiet, compressed, safe, predictable, in which all of our basic needs are met (think safety), through the birth process, and into a world in which it is loud, bright, chaotic, unpredictable, everything is new, and not to mention, they now have to work extra hard for their basic needs to be met.
cue mobilization.
not only that, but the portion of our nervous system (vagal nerve) that controls the majority of the motor and sensory component for the tongue and the suck-swallow-breathe dance that we do in order to feed, becomes down-regulated (works *less*) because the mobilization response has been up-regulated (*overrides the system*).
this cues our fascia (connective tissue) to restrict and tighten in preparation for a metaphorical impact.
this leads to decreased tongue mobility that many providers mistake for a tongue tie (did you know that only 3-5% of the population have a true tongue tie??), families get sent for unnecessary releases, and the root cause of the problem is never addressed.
we work with our families from a root cause level, so mom and baby can have a more easeful, collaborative, nurturing experience feeding and nourishing one another in this sacred season of life.
when this happens, we see decreased pain for mom, less frustration for baby, more efficient transfer, less clicking, better seals, improved tongue mobility, increased coordination of suck-swallow-breathe, and much deeper bonding for mom and baby.
