Thursday, August 16, 2012

Repeat after me...

I FEEL HEALTHY!
I FEEL HAPPY!
I FEEL TERRRRRRIFIC!!!

Great!

Have a great day!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Why we check children at birth. (Graphic)

I get asked often why would a chiropractor check a newborn baby at birth and I usually try to explain in detail on why. I decided that a picture is worth a thousand words so here is why:













Need I say more!

Find out why chiropractic adds years to life and life to years.

















Live Better...Live Longer!
Dr. Paul

Friday, August 3, 2012

Breastfeeding, convenience, the developmental process and Chiropractic

Paula and I had the pleasure of meeting with Meghan Garcia-Salas of Village Lactation Services yesterday to to learn more about how she helps her clients. She started a support group called Bosom Babies to help mothers learn about and promote the benefits of breastfeeding.

What was interesting about our conversation is that many mothers are going back to the natural way of feeding a baby with breast milk but are using a bottle instead of the mother to baby bond. I applaud mothers for going natural versus giving their baby formula but they are missing some of the major benefits of this natural bonding process when they put breast milk in a bottle.

The breastfeeding process helps both mother and child develop. When a child initially latches on to the mother the bonding process begins but so does the natural transmission of moms immunity to the baby. There is also an emotional connection that is established. As the baby continues to latch on there is an internal pressure created that helps bring the natural skull bones back into proper position. The supporting structures of the head and neck are strengthened. The jaw muscles are developed and the list goes on....

For the mother who is breastfeeding this process helps restore the natural hormonal balance and brings mom physically and emotionally back to a pre pregnancy state.

The mother-baby bonding is so important and can't be replaced by the convenience of bottle feeding. Many moms dont realize that when they stock up on breast milk they are not taking into consideration several important factors. One important factor is that by reducing the frequency of feeding times you reduce the demand put on the body to produce more breast milk. Less demand equals less supply.

The other important factor is that mom is feeding the baby from one moment in time of her life versus various times in her life. Throughout the day a mother has daily changes in her environmental exposure and nutritional intake. One moment she is inside the next she is outside. If mom is not hungry and chooses not to eat the baby will want to feed more often for shorter periods of time and will be fussy. What mom eats for breakfast will be transferred to the breast milk after the breakfast has been digested. So if she always stocks up in the morning she will only be feeding the baby what she had for dinner the night before. Variety is the spice of life and also pertains to the babies development.

The last thing we talked about was that there are many mothers who have difficulty in breastfeeding their baby and they don't know why. Sometimes the baby favors a certain side and will not want to stay latched on for long, they may have also have digestion issues. For the breastfeeding mom it may be that they can't find a comfortable position to sit or lay in.

In the majority of cases these problems were created at the birth process. Whether the baby was delivered naturally or with the use forceps, vacuum extraction, cesarean or breech delivery tiny spinal misalignment's occur in the babies spine that create structural and functional problems. For the mothers the same problems could have occurred throughout there life and then show up when they attempt to breastfeed the baby.

It is for these reasons that we promote to the pregnant moms the importance of making sure that baby and mom are checked within the first days of delivery to help avoid present and future problems. Remember everything is a process and is there for a reason.

For more information on the amazing benefits of breastfeeding or for a support group please contact www.villagelactationservices.com To help make sure you and your baby start off in the right direction please contact our office and well be glad to help.

Live Better...Live Longer!
Dr. Paul Blumsack