How Pediatric Chiropractic Care Can Help Babies with Reflux: A Holistic Approach at Embrace Family Chiropract

As a new mom, ensuring your baby is comfortable, feeding well, and developing properly are top priorities. But when frequent spit-up after every feeding becomes the norm, it can be overwhelming and hard to believe that this is part of normal development. Many parents find themselves asking, "Is it something I’m eating?" "Is the formula causing it?" or "Am I burping my baby enough?"

Some infants are labeled "happy spitters" with mild reflux symptoms, but for many babies, reflux can be accompanied by other issues such as colic, sleep disruptions, and straining or arching their back, leading to a very fussy baby.

This was exactly the situation for one mom, who shared, “We tried several formulas, but none seemed to work. His reflux made him so uncomfortable that we couldn’t get him to sleep for more than 2 hours at a time. I felt frustrated and hopeless.”

At Embrace Family Chiropractic, we help families like this by addressing the root causes of infant reflux and promoting optimal nervous system function to support healthy digestion and comfort.

What Is Reflux in Babies?

Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) occurs when stomach contents, including acid, move upward into the esophagus and sometimes into or out of the mouth, typically after feeding. While occasional reflux (or spit-up) is normal in babies, GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) is diagnosed when the reflux becomes more severe and frequent and causes discomfort like colic and digestive issues.

Symptoms of Reflux in Babies

Many parents notice the following signs if their infant is struggling with reflux or GERD:

• Frequent spitting up

• Arching of the back during or after feeding

• Colic – crying for more than 3 hours a day with no identifiable cause

• Gagging, hiccupping, or difficulty swallowing while feeding

• Irritability or being unsettled, especially after eating

• Poor feeding habits or refusal to eat, often resulting in poor weight gain

• Forceful or frequent vomiting

If your baby is experiencing these symptoms, it may be a sign that reflux is affecting their digestive comfort and well-being.

Causes of Reflux in Babies

While pediatricians may sometimes attribute reflux to a malfunction in the digestive system or suggest dietary changes (such as eliminating dairy), Embrace Family Chiropractic focuses on the deeper root causes: how the nervous system is developing and functioning. Let’s break down the potential causes of reflux from structural, nutritional, and neurological perspectives:

Structural Causes:

The lower esophageal sphincter (LES) is a muscle that acts as a valve between the stomach and esophagus. If this muscle isn’t fully developed or if the brain isn’t sending the correct signals to it, the LES may stay open, allowing stomach contents to move back into the esophagus. This is common in infants as their digestive system matures.

Neurological Causes:

Even if the LES is functioning normally, babies can struggle with dysautonomia, a condition where the autonomic nervous system has difficulty coordinating essential processes like breathing, eating, digesting, and moving at the same time. In these cases, the nervous system may prioritize breathing and movement over digestion, causing reflux symptoms.

When the nervous system is misfiring due to subluxation (misalignments in the spine), the signals to the digestive muscles may be interrupted, affecting the baby’s ability to swallow, digest, and keep food down comfortably.

The Connection to Reflux:

If the nervous system’s control over the esophagus and digestive system is compromised due to subluxation, this can lead to poor digestion and reflux. Chiropractic care addresses this by focusing on correcting these misalignments, improving nervous system function, and supporting healthy digestion.

Caring for Babies with Infant Reflux

While there are many at-home practices to manage reflux symptoms—such as burping more frequently, keeping the baby upright after feeding or trying smaller and more frequent feedings—these methods often provide only temporary relief and don’t address the root cause. At Embrace Family Chiropractic, we take a more holistic approach by focusing on the nervous system to improve overall function and address the underlying issues.

At-home practices include:

• Burping your baby more often

• Keeping your baby in an upright position for 30 minutes after feeding

• Adjusting the nipple size on bottles to regulate milk flow

• Offering smaller, more frequent feedings

• Consulting your pediatrician about potential formula sensitivities and exploring organic or easier-to-digest options

Despite trying these at-home remedies, many parents find that their baby’s reflux symptoms continue, pointing to a deeper issue that needs professional attention.

How Chiropractic Care Helps Babies with Reflux at Embrace Family Chiropractic

To truly address reflux and its neurological causes, Embrace Family Chiropractic uses a neurologically focused approach. Our pediatric chiropractors begin by taking a comprehensive case history, understanding the stressors your baby may have experienced during birth (such as birth trauma, C-sections, or forceps deliveries), and identifying any previous treatments your family has tried.

After a thorough evaluation, the next step is to perform INSiGHT Subluxation Scans, which provide detailed insights into how the central nervous system and autonomic nervous system are functioning. These scans help us identify areas of subluxation that may be interfering with digestion, swallowing, and overall comfort.

What INSiGHT Scans Reveal:

The INSiGHT Scans help identify stress or subluxation in the nervous system, revealing imbalances that could be causing reflux. By pinpointing these areas, our chiropractic team can perform gentle, targeted adjustments to correct misalignments, reduce stress, and improve the body’s ability to digest and process food comfortably.

One baby who received chiropractic care at Embrace Family Chiropractic after just a few weeks of treatment became reflux-free, slept better, and was able to pass gas and stools without difficulty. His mother shared, “He is always smiling! He’s a completely different baby now, sleeping through the night, playing on his tummy, and laughing.”

What all the colors and back-and-forth tension on this INSiGHT Scan shows us is simply one thing — stress and subluxation are stuck deep in this child’s nervous system. 

Once Dr. Shaina finds the root cause, she can help babies find relief. She makes gentle, safe, easy adjustments that unwind and release the stress and tension built up in your baby’s nervous system from pregnancy and birth. Not just minimizing the symptoms but putting the entire nervous system at ease. 

Get Help for Your Baby Today – Schedule Your Consultation and INSiGHT Scan

If your baby struggles with reflux or discomfort, it’s time to look deeper into the nervous system and explore how pediatric chiropractic care can help. Our trained and experienced chiropractors specialize in working with infants to address the root cause of reflux, colic, and digestive issues.

Contact Embrace Family Chiropractic today to schedule your consultation and INSiGHT Scan. Our team will work with you to create a personalized care plan, reduce stress on your baby’s nervous system, and bring comfort, happiness, and better sleep back into your life.

Conclusion

If your baby is suffering from reflux, it’s important to understand that addressing the nervous system may be the key to long-term relief. At Embrace Family Chiropractic, we focus on improving nervous system function and correcting subluxations to help babies digest, sleep, and thrive. Let us help your child find lasting comfort and healing today.