If you’ve landed on this blog, we are going to guess it is because you are having some difficulty getting pregnant and you are looking for alternatives to traditional fertility “treatments”. Or maybe you’ve tried all of the traditional routes and are left disappointed. What should be one of the most exciting times in your life can sometimes be overshadowed by challenges with fertility. If you are one of the 20% of women who struggle to conceive within the first year of trying, you know what we are talking about.

The Struggles and Possible Causes of Infertility

Our nervous system is connected to all the other systems and branches of our body and the vagus nerve is the one that acts as its pathway. An impaired vagus nerve function prevents the production and release of oxytocin, testosterone, and vasoactive intestinal peptide – all of which are part and parcel of the function of the reproductive system. A blockage or malfunction of the nerves involved in reproduction will cause an imbalance in hormones or other issues that may lead to infertility.

Then there’s stress. 

The connection linking stress to fertility is so complex as there are so many factors that could prevent you from getting pregnant ranging from physiological to environmental. Physiological, because of our body’s genetic components and environmental, because of what occurs in our daily lives that could add stressors to our nervous system. You may overlook this aspect, but stress is one factor that greatly impacts your nervous system. Physiological changes brought on by the release of stress hormones like cortisol may have an impact on your reproductive health. 

But when you are in the trenches of infertility treatments, failed pregnancy tests, and letdowns, how can you manage your stress levels to positively impact your reproductive health?

It’s Not Realistic to Remove ALL the Stress From Your Life

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all wave a wand, like the Fairy God Mother, and bippity-boppity-boo stress right out of our lives? The reality is that we live in a world that demands our time and attention. The constant demands lead to a build-up of stress in our nervous system.

What we can do at Blossom Family Chiropractic, though, is keep your nervous system functioning at its best so that when you encounter additional stressors, your body is able to adapt. That adaptation allows your body to stay farther from “fight or flight” mode, which in turn keeps stress hormones down and happy hormones up.

Why Chiropractic Care?

Misalignments of the spine are referred to as subluxations, and a chiropractor is qualified to diagnose and treat subluxations. These subluxations, which block the flow of information from your brain to your body, could have been caused by a wide variety of factors, including but not limited to childhood injuries, illnesses, accidents, poor posture, and stress. Subluxations, when decreased or eliminated, have been linked to improved menstrual cycle strength, function of the fallopian tubes, and in some cases, the reversal of endometriosis.

At our St. Petersburg office, we have seen women start their care with us after struggling with infertility and they get pregnant within months. We know the innate ability that a woman’s body has and we are here to facilitate the nervous system to do what it is able to do.

We Are Here For You, Momma

Whether you have tried all the things to get pregnant or you are just starting to explore options after struggling to conceive, chiropractic care is a resource to look into. Chiropractic adjustments play a critical role in reproduction by helping your body adapt to everyday stressors and the added stress of infertility. 

If you are in St. Petersburg, Florida, and struggling to conceive, Blossom Family Chiropractic is here to support you. Click here to book an appointment!

Having a reliable support group during your pregnancy is hands down the most important piece of the birthing puzzle! From the OB-GYN, midwives, nurses and doulas, pediatrician, and the whole support staff, having a Webster-certified chiropractor on your maternity team is heaven-sent.

Chiropractors who are specifically trained for maternity chiropractic care know exactly how to adjust your body in a gentle and safe way during pregnancy and the difference in the way that your body will feel is night and day!

How Prenatal Chiropractic Care Will Improve Your Pregnancy

Pregnancy brings so many changes in your life, and the most obvious is your physical attributes. Your tummy gets bigger as your peanut grows, your hips widen to prepare for birth, and your posture changes as your body tries to hold its balance. These are all normal, and from an onlooker’s perspective, it is actually a delight to see a woman carrying another human being. But for someone pregnant, there is a lot more than meets the eye. These changes affect her whole being. 

We know how excited you are and we also understand the struggle because your body is stretching to its full capacity to carry your growing baby. The heavier he or she gets, the weight on your back becomes close to being unbearable, thus the shift on your posture. It makes moving around slower and your lower back will feel the shift. You also tend to feel off-balance sometimes, but thankfully there are chiropractors, like us, who are specifically trained in prenatal chiropractic care! We use the Webster Technique, which is specifically designed for pregnant women. Our team of maternity chiropractors uses gentle adjustments that help improve your overall comfort while you’re carrying your sweet babe.

Life-changing effects of maternity chiropractic care.

Prenatal chiropractic care coming from a team of Webster-certified maternity chiropractors will help you have a more comfortable pregnancy and prepare your body for birth!

• Makes room for the baby.

Since the baby is growing, he or she needs room to move around inside the tummy. Each month your baby grows and changes until it reaches maturity and gets into a head down, position. It is vital for the baby to have sufficient space inside to grow, which can be addressed by a professional maternity chiropractor. Our gentle adjustments remove tension from a mother’s uterus and hips, which gives their baby more space to move!

• Preparation for childbirth

There is no manual that really prepares you for childbirth, so the best you can do is to prepare your body for what’s to come. If you are physically ready, your brain signals the rest of your body not to worry. Because your body is aligned from prenatal chiropractic adjustments, your brain is not concerned with the physical act of birth – that is innate, momma. Your body will lean into its instincts. Instead, your head space can be filled with your affirmations and emotions while you bring life into this world. 

• Reduced aches and pain

From the earliest stages of pregnancy up until postpartum, a woman experiences different kinds and degrees of discomfort. During the first trimester, there’s nausea caused by the changes in hormones secreted by the body. Just when she’s about to enter the second trimester, she’ll feel the shift in gravity due to the weight of the sweet baby she’s carrying. Aches and back pains will then be added to the list. Then, around the time of her labor, she’ll experience pelvic discomfort. As the pregnancy progresses, so does the list of unpleasant experiences. BUT just because these discomforts are common, does not mean you have to bear them. A Webster Certified chiropractor uses gentle and specific adjustments to keep your hips and pelvis aligned during your pregnancy, which significantly decreases the “common” discomforts.

So, will a Prenatal Chiropractor be on Your Maternity Team?

Given the benefits that your body will definitely reap by having a maternity chiropractor on your prenatal team, is it a go or a no?

When you’re ready to bring a Webster-Certified Chiropractor into your whole pregnancy-childbirth-child-rearing journey, we are here for you.

At Blossom Family Chiropractic, we are a team of Webster-certified chiropractors in St. Petersburg, Florida who are specifically trained in prenatal chiropractic care. We love supporting mothers through pregnancy and postpartum!

Your kiddo has one main component that controls their ability to feel cool, calm, and collected!  The super science term is the vagus nerve but at Blossom Family Chiropractic, we call it the “brake pedal”!

When your kiddo gets ramped up, the vagus nerve is what tells the brain, “alright buddy, it’s time to press the brakes”. That communication is what can bring your child from overwhelmed & anxious to calm & collected. 

But when the vagus nerve can’t get the message to your brain, your kiddo’s body can’t regulate itself to calm down.

What is the vagus nerve?

It wanders from the base of the skull in two directions. Upward to connect with nerves in the neck, throat, eyes, and ears. and down towards the lungs, heart, diaphragm, and stomach. It picks up signals from your body and brings them back to your brain.

The vagus nerve controls the parasympathetic nervous system which keeps your body running with the things that we don’t think about. Things like sleep, digestion, immune function, growth and development, relaxation, and healing are all controlled by your vagus nerve. 

But most importantly, ESPECIALLY in kiddos, the vagus nerve plays a major role in the body’s ability to go from a stressed and overwhelmed state to a calm and collected state. When a child’s vagus nerve is not able to communicate with their brain, their body gets stuck in a place that we call “fight or flight” mode. 

They’re like a Ferrari stuck in overdrive and they’ve lost control of their brakes. They can’t hear you because Metallica is blaring in their head and drowning everything else out.

Stimulating the Vagus Nerve Helps You (and your kiddo!) Calm Down

When the human body detects that something dangerous is around, it goes into “fight or flight” mode. When that happens, adrenaline kicks in as you literally prepare to fight or run for your life. You will feel your heart start to the race, you might sweat and your thoughts will race. 

Once the danger is gone your body should start to calm back down. Your heartbeat should return to normal and you will have clear thoughts. That transition out of “fight or flight” is led by your vagus nerve! It tells the brain to let the body relax since the danger is gone. 

You can signal your body to relax by activating your vagus nerve. This is incredibly helpful when you are feeling overwhelmed!

Here are a few ways that you can “activate” Your Vagus Nerve:

– Deep breathing: Take slow and steady breaths. 

– Get outside: When you are in that overwhelmed space, get into nature. 

– Chiropractic care: Regular adjustments keep the pathways from the vagus nerve to the brain open so they can communicate when they need to!  

Try these with your kiddo next time they’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed. When your body realizes that it can come out of that “fight or flight” mode, the vagus nerve can return to keeping your digestion, breathing, and all of the other always occurring things in your body functioning at their best!

Chiropractic adjustments for vagus nerve

At Blossom Family Chiropractic, we take a neurological approach to chiropractic care. We know how important the vagus nerve is to your entire body and how you feel. When we assess each patient at our St. Petersburg office we use advanced technology to measure HOW their vagus nerve is functioning. 

With our very specific adjusting techniques, we are able to help your vagus nerve communicate at its best capacity with your brain. Our in-depth scans show us exactly where the miscommunication is so that we can adjust at the precise place. 

If you are in St. Pete, Florida area and have felt like you are stuck in “fight or flight” mode, book an appointment with us so we can help your vagus nerve function at its best!

 

Imagine this – you’re at a county fair with your family, enjoying the rides, cotton candy, and maybe even some animals. You turn your head for just a second to grab something from the stroller and when you look up, you don’t see your kiddo. What would your body do?

The appropriate response would be a heightened heart rate, a heightened sense of sight and hearing, and an adrenaline rush that puts you in overdrive to find your child.

What is “fight or flight” mode and how does it feel to your kiddo?

That feeling is “fight or flight” mode. It is an uncontrollable physical response where your brain tells your body “this is a threat” and your body responds in a way that will save you (or in this case, your kiddo). 

That physical response FEELS like a lot to you, as an adult. Now imagine being a child who does not yet understand those big feelings. They don’t know how to manage the adrenaline rush or why it is even happening. 

For your child, “fight” looks like – kicking, screaming, spitting, pushing, throwing, etc. while “flight” looks like – restlessness, running without concern for safety, fidgeting, etc. 

Kiddos who struggle with hyperactivity, impulsivity, and sensory challenges will not only find themselves in a “fight or flight” mode but they get STUCK in this “fight or flight”/ gas pedal mode.

What causes your kiddo to go into “fight or flight” and stay there?

It all comes down to that beautiful brain in their head and the nervous system that stems from it. Your child’s nervous system is constantly communicating with their brain. The nerves say “Hey, you just put your hand on something warm!” and the brain says “pull your hand away!”. It all happens so quickly. The body perceives danger, reacts to it by going into “fight or flight”, then comes out of defense mode when the danger is gone. 

But when signals are misfiring, because of poor brain/body communication, your child goes into “fight or flight” in situations that it is not needed and cannot regulate themself out of that defensive mode. For our easily stimulated friends, sometimes that looks like the wrong texture of shirt touching their skin and they struggle to manage their big response to the “danger” that their brain perceived. 

The sympathetic nervous system tells the body to release adrenaline, followed by cortisol, so they have a burst of energy to remove themselves from “danger”. Imagine a car whose gas pedal is pressed to the floor. Full speed ahead.

When the body does not send the signal that the threat is gone, it remains in fight or flight mode. Your kiddo can see you trying to change their shirt and remove the “threat” but the signal isn’t reaching the brain. The cortisol keeps their body revved up and on high alert. Your child’s gas pedal is stuck down. Their brain cannot tell the body that the threat is gone and that it is okay to relax because their brain never got that signal.

Helping your kiddo come out of “fight or flight” so their body can rest and restore

The nervous system starts at the base of your kiddos’ skull and continues down their spine, then weaves through the rest of their body. It sends the signal to the brain that the threat is gone and that it is time to stop the “defense mode”. But when there are interferences in the communication stream – we call that a subluxation in the nervous system – your kiddos brain does not get the signal to let off the gas… 

The blockages in communication are caused by “stress” that your kiddo feels. Sometimes this stress looks like an overly stimulating environment, a fall or extra hard tumble, or chemical stressors like an influx in processed food intake. These stressors are inevitable, but the thing that you can control is helping your kiddo’s nervous system get rid of the subluxation (blocking the messages) so that their brain can get the signal that it is okay to let down their defenses. 

As a nervous system-focused chiropractors, we concentrate on finding and removing the subluxations that are blocking the signals to your kiddo’s brain. We go in-depth on the tools we use to find the exact points of miscommunication here. After an adjustment at Blossom Family Chiropractic, your kiddo’s body will be able to better communicate with their brain and let it know that the defense is gone and that it is okay to rest. We would love to say that this is an immediate fix after just one adjustment, but it took time for your kiddo to get stuck in this “fight or flight” space and it will take time for their body to come out of it. 

In our St. Petersburg pediatric chiropractic office, we create customized care plans based on the results of the neurological scans we use. Each adjustment builds on the previous one to re-pattern the nervous system and take the foot off the gas pedal “fight or flight” by pumping the brakes (activating that rest and relaxation part of the nervous system). The adjustments change the way the body is able to receive and send information and restores normal nervous system function, allowing your kiddo to thrive!

Pediatric Chiropractor in St. Petersburg, Florida

If you are in the Tampa or St. Pete area and are looking for a pediatric chiropractor, contact us to schedule an appointment to see those unique scans of your child’s nervous system function and how pediatric chiropractic adjustments can help them come out of the “fight or flight” mode and into a balanced space where they can rest.

This loaded question is one that we hear so often. It usually takes the form of “what does a pediatric chiropractor do?” but we’ve realized that parents don’t want to know technically what we do (although we LOVE to talk about it!). Instead, you want to know how pediatric chiropractic care can positively influence your child’s life. While we could talk on this for DAYS, we are going to narrow it down to the top 4 things that pediatric chiropractors ‘do’.

Pediatric Chiropractors Deal Hope

We are hope dealers. Parents come to our office, generally as a last resort. After seeking out support from other practitioners, specialists, friends, and family, these parents have given up hope.

Imagine these situations- and you might actually be facing them:

Your kiddo is struggling to manage their big feelings and nothing seems to help. Your sweet little baby can’t get comfortable enough to sleep – which we all know makes the whole family suffer. Or you’ve been faced with a diagnosis of ADHD and your kiddo isn’t getting the support they need to navigate their racing thoughts and their need for movement.

Pediatric chiropractic care is the answer to so many of these situations. We work with your child’s innate ability to adapt. We’ll get more into that next!

Our families, who once came to us as a last resort, have their hope renewed. They see the potential that their kiddo has and their body’s amazing ability to adapt. So what do pediatric chiropractors do? We deal hope to families who need it.

Nervous System Support from a Pediatric Chiropractor

Remember that innate ability to heal that we mentioned above? This is a topic that we can totally nerd out on. Stick with us!

There is one system in the human body that connects your brain with every single inch of the rest of your body. This system is an intricate web of nerves that weave in and out of every organ and muscle. The nerves take in signals like “wow, this stovetop is hot on my hand” and sends a message to the brain. The brain tells your arm to pull away to avoid a severe burn. These signals also come in an emotional form. When your kiddo hears disappointing news, their nervous system tells the brain to react with disappointment.

When your (your kiddo’s) nervous system is performing at its best, it receives signals and the brain reacts appropriately – by pulling their hand away from the heat or getting a bit disappointed, but then moving on.

But, when your kiddo’s nervous system has a block and can’t send signals to their brain appropriately, the reactions aren’t what you’d expect. Especially on the emotional side. A child who has blocks in their nervous system will react strongly to a situation. They may lash out and remain angry for longer than expected.

So when families ask us “what does a pediatric chiropractor do?” this is part of our answer:

Pediatric chiropractors adjust your child’s spine or cranial bones with the intention of supporting their nervous system so that they can feel and heal at their best. Using advanced technology scans we can see where the block – that we call a subluxation – is and use very specific movements or tools to remove the block. The result is a nervous system that is functioning at its prime and ready to react appropriately.

Pediatric Chiropractors for Reactive Care

Many families also bring their children to our St. Pete office for reactive care for things like ear infections, colic, difficulty latching, headaches, growing pains, constipation, and a whole slew of other things that their poor little one is feeling.

These are all “issues” that pediatric chiropractors can help relieve. The relief from these things goes right back to how we support your child’s nervous system.

When a child’s nervous system is not functioning well, their brain can’t “hear” the signals that the nerves send. So when your kiddo hasn’t pooped in 3 days, we know it is because the brain isn’t getting the signal that it’s time to go. Or when your little one consistently gets ear infections, their brain is not hearing the signals to drain their ears appropriately.

Specific and gentle adjustments from a pediatric chiropractor will often have your kiddo feeling better within days.

Preventative Care from a Pediatric Chiropractor

Up to this point, our answer to the most common question “What does a pediatric chiropractor do?” has been completely reactive. Meaning, that we’ve talked about how adjustments can HEAL things.

But let’s dive into one incredible topic that we could never leave out of this blog. Preventative care. All of the ‘issues’ that we listed above have become accepted as “normal” in society. Your neighbor Suzy’s kid had back-to-back ear infections for a month, so it must be normal. Your mother couldn’t get a good latch when she was breastfeeding so of course it’s “normal”.

We are going to challenge that. At Blossom Family Chiropractic, we believe that what is common is not normal. Your child’s body has the innate ability to heal itself AND be in a balanced place where they might not ever have to heal. When a child is regularly adjusted by a pediatric chiropractor, their body is set up to move forward with developmental milestones, creating those beautiful brain synapses, and taking in the world around them. And their body can do this at their full potential because it is not spending their time fighting the “common” issues.

Our St. Petersburg families who come to us as the last resort stay with us and visit us often because they see the incredible things that pediatric chiropractors ‘do’. 

If you are in the Tampa or St. Pete area and are looking for a pediatric chiropractor, contact us to schedule an appointment. We are here to support your child through every phase!