Tongue Ties & Chiropractic Care for Mama + Baby with Dr. Casey Baker
Show Notes:
[1:32] Our Reviewer of the Week, Lulu2394, said, "As I was pregnant with my second kiddo, I started to routinely listen to this podcast. I wanted a natural birth SO bad as my first one wasn’t. I hired a doula, read natural child birth books and was glued to this podcast. On 1/19/23, I naturally delivered my sweet baby boy and have NEVER felt so great. I felt like going into this birth I knew what my options were. The MOST important thing I learned from this podcast was deep breathing, meditation. Stephanie you suggested practicing it every night and so I did. I truly feel that’s was got me through each contraction in a manageable way. Thank you!"
[2:49] Our guest this week is Dr. Casey Baker. She is a chiropractor who spends her days in practice supporting women through pregnancy and motherhood, while also working with their little ones. She opened Crescent Health Collective, a holistic collaborative clinic in her hometown of Barrie, Ontario, to better support her community as they navigate infertility, pregnancy, and motherhood. When she isn't in clinic, you will find her outside on the trails with her husband and furbaby, Roo, or spending time with friends and family.
[3:56] Dr. Casey talks about why most women don't see a chiropractor until much later in their pregnancy. One of the reasons why women don't approach chiropractic care until they're at the point of pain or in some cases, debilitation throughout pregnancy is kind of how society talks about pregnancy, right? It's not uncommon for someone to say, "Oh, I had debilitating back pain. I had to go off work early because I had sciatica, the round ligament, or the lightning crotch was unbearable."
[6:24] Why should you see a chiropractor? One thing that prenatal chiropractors are working on is the pelvis of mom. Within the pelvis women have two sides that articulate with the lower part of our spine. And within that space is where the uterus grows which is growing our babies. Within all of that bony part, we have a lot of attachments through ligaments, muscles, and tendons. If we have poor alignment of the pelvis, you're kind of almost getting a distortion of the uterus, which would impact baby's environment.
[8:36] When should a mama see a chiropractor and how often? Ideally, most, moms to be can be seen before they conceive. I always recommend as soon as you're comfortable, to be seen proactively before the body goes through that massive change that most people report in the second trimester. OB's tend to refer later on when there's back pain or mom is getting close to labor.
[13:29] If possible, you should continue seeing a chirporactor in between pregnancies to set yourself up for success for subsequent pregnancies.
[15:41] Dr. Casey talks about techniques for turning breech babies:
- Webster technique
- Spinning babies
- Forward leaning inversions
- Breech tilts
- Traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture
Truthfully, there are situations where for whatever reason, anatomy, physiology, just the circumstances, that baby stays head up, transverse, frank, or footling. And it's like, we did all we could. That's the part that gives you peace of mind, though, because if you do all of these things, and for some reason baby remains in whatever position. However they need to be birthed, nine times out of ten, you will be able to see there will be some physical reality that you couldn't have seen, had no idea existed until mom ended up having a Cesarean birth or something like that.
[21:03] What are some stretches/exercises moms can do at home?
- Forward leaning inversions
- Deep squats
- Walking for 20 minutes a day
[23:26] What does chiropractic care look like postpartum? If mom has uncomplicated vaginal delivery, she can see her chiropractor as soon as she's comfortable. If mom has a Cesarean birth, obviously we can't be doing pelvic adjustments through an open wound or a wound that is healing. We recommend six weeks for adjustment specific to the pelvis and the low back.
[27:16] Birth is tough on baby! You can look at factors like how long labor was, how long mom was pushing for, etc. A lot of times it's working through tension in the lower back, the pelvis, upper neck, and jaw for those common ailments.
[28:34] How soon should a baby see a chiropractor after giving birth? Whenever you're comfortable.
[32:09] How does a chiropractor work with a baby with tongue ties? With a tongue tie, they would see mom and baby before the release to do some pre-work. It becomes extremely important because tongue ties often have a ton of muscle tension related to them. There's usually tension through the jaw, through the front of the throat. Ideally, the tongue should float up to the roof of the mouth. It should be suctioned on the roof of the mouth when it's not being used.
[37:12] Dr. Casey talks about when a surgical tongue tie release is necessary and when it's not.
[38:49] Where to find Dr. Baker on Social Media:
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