The recent snafu involving the US shutting down the consensus statement of the World Health Org regarding the vitality of breastfeeding for children's health and mortality rates was the final straw to write this long awaited blog series on nursing and chiropractic.Breastfeeding can be demanding. It takes time, the constant availability of your body for a squirmy hungry little being, some sleep deprivation, and some pretty intense physical/postural demands. I admire the women who pursue it because I know that in spite of the benefits and beauty of that method of nourishing a child, there are sometimes some real hurdles. Not every baby is a great nurser right off the gates and some dedicated moms give up because of the pain, frustration and their child's failure to thrive.There are many reasons why nursing may be a rocky experience. Some of them have to do with the mom ( low milk production, difficult let down, some anatomical issue with the breast or nipple), and some of them have to do with the child. In this mini-series I want to focus on the issues stemming from the baby and how and when chiropractic may be of help.From a neurological and neuromusculoskeletal standpoint, nursing is a demanding activity. It requires the following abilities:· Be able to turn the head and neck to each side to reach the breast· Be able to flex the head and neck to reach the breast· Be able to stabilize the head and neck muscle to keep a latch· Be able to open mouth wide enough for a correct latch· Be able to coordinate jaw muscles to correctly extract milk rather than clamp down or side swipe jaw· Be able to coordinate tongue muscles· Have enough general physical and muscular endurance. Nursing down a full breast is tiring, and you can often see the newborns sweat when they do so.Any compromise of the above abilities can prevent a child from successfully nursing
