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'You could tell a huge difference' | Local mom praises how a chiropractor helped newborn

Health experts say the gentle touches can help with sleeping, digestive and posture problems.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — More people are turning to the chiropractor to help their baby in a natural way. 

Health experts say the gentle touches can help with sleeping, digestive and posture problems. It might sound scary to bring your baby at the chiropractor, but for babies it's far from the twisting and popping adults see. 

It's a treatment local mom, Julia Cate, said she highly recommends. She's a mom of two. Her newborn, Ayla, is six months old. 

"When she was three weeks old I noticed she was very tight, kept in a ball, kept her head to the right," said Cate. 

After her first child, she heard about how a chiropractor could help. When Ayla was three weeks old she tried it out, but skeptical of how it would work.

"Anything that goes on with your baby the first time you're gonna be nervous," she said. 

Dr. Alicia Bloom with Marble City Chiropractics is backed by the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association. She works with newborns often.

"We really take it as a preventative and proactive approach," said Bloom. "The biggest thing I'm looking for is 'Is this baby at ease?'"

She sees a lot of newborns like Ayla and said a few soft touches really help. 

It's made a big difference in Ayla.

"The first time I put her in the car seat after we left there she was sitting pretty straight up, you could tell a huge difference," said Cate. 

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, evidence is lacking when it comes to chiropractic care especially with infants and children. But while rare, complications are possible.

"My goal is I don't treat those conditions, but if I can figure out what's going on and how we can bring that structure back to where it needs to be to allow function to happen," said Bloom. 

You can find out if there is a provider in your area with the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association here.

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