The earlier the better! There is no such thing as a baby that is too young. If a baby's nervous system needs correcting, the sooner this is done, the fewer secondary issues there will be within in the body and consequently a happier baby…and of course happier parents!

It is important to check a baby’s spine to optimise nervous system development in reaching important development milestones. If your child is bum-shuffling or not crawling, it may be due to a reduced movement which can be helped by Chiropractic. It is important that children are checked at each milestone or after any significant fall or bumps as this is what can cause imbalances within their little nervous system and bodies.

“Just like going to the dentist for a check-up, Chiropractic checks your child’s spine for any misalignment or imbalance.”

The forces of labour can lead to understandable strain on muscular and joint tissues of the newborn and may result in musculoskeletal discomfort for the baby or even marked spasm such as is the case in torticollis. This can be observed in the baby if there is positional asymmetry but also if muscle spasm is painful, babies may show increased levels of crying, disturbed sleep and problems with feeding.

Breastfeeding requires the baby to be able to lie comfortably with the head rotated. Some birth traumas can make this difficult for newborns meaning that if uncomfortable when in these positions, they can show difficulty with breastfeeding or favour one side more than the other.

When a puff of air blows in your face, you blink. When your hand touches a hot stove, you jerk it away. When the doctor taps your knee, your leg kicks forward. These automatic actions are reflexes, involuntary physical reactions to external or internal stimuli acting on our bodies. Reflexes mean we can react quickly to important environmental cues without the need for conscious thought.

Newborn babies have their own unique set of reflexes, known as primitive reflexes, that typically disappear within the first year of life. If the reflexes persist beyond a normal developmental timeline, the child might display symptoms like clumsiness, motor difficulties, and restlessness; symptoms that, in some cases, may be mistaken for (or overlap with) ADHD.

The primary purpose of primitive reflexes are to help babies eat, learn, and interact with the world around them, from the first moment they’re born.

One example being: The grasping reflex, which allows an infant’s tiny hands to grip things as needed; once her hands and fingers begin to mature, however, this reflex needs to disappear in order for normal fine motor skills to develop. Children who retain the grasping reflex into toddlerhood — instead of developing the subsequent “pincer grip” — may struggle to hold a crayon, turn a page, or feed themselves at an age when it’s appropriate to do so.

Children may retain their primitive reflexes for a number of reasons. Research links traumatic birth, poor neonatal environment, or repeated ear infections early in the child’s life to possible disruptions in a child’s typical developmental timeline. Babies who skip developmental milestones — walking without first crawling, for instance — may be more likely to retain reflexes, as are babies who don’t get an adequate amount of “tummy time”.

The way to get rid of primitive reflexes is to use them. Reintegration exercises are provided for the reflexes that are most consistently associated with a brain imbalance. Specific exercises, given by your practitioner, can help start the process of balancing the brain so that your child can overcome developmental delays.