Natural remedies
for common infant ailments

Colic:
Colic is a general term used to describe a baby that cries excessively over a series of days. The cause of colic isn’t known. However, in my experience, the digestive system is usually in a state of distress. The child typically will pull his/her legs up or cry from an uncomfortable position. In other cases it may be the baby’s personality or sensitivity to environmental issues (light, sound, smells, etc). A baby has very few options to express his/her displeasure. Crying is one of their only tools.

Medical options include: GasX or gastroesophageal reflux disorder medication.

Dr. Berglund’s treatments: The baby is crying for a reason. He/she is unhappy, in pain, or bothered somehow. Our job is not to shut that down, but to figure out what’s wrong. To say that there’s gas and to then give anti-gas medication makes no sense to me. Why is there gas? Most times I find that it’s digestive (small or large intestine). The best treatment options include allergy/sensitivity testing as well as chiropractic manipulation. Sometimes probiotics are helpful and in rare situations it means finding out a source of infection. Also, in rare situations, the baby can have joint pains, but this should be fairly obvious because certain positions or holding certain body parts will make the crying worse, and certain positions should make the crying stop.

Ear infections:
Once a baby is crying and pulling on their ears, the baby probably has acute otitis media or inflammation/infection in the ear.

Medical solution: give antibiotics. If that doesn’t work, surgically cut a hole in the ear, place a tube in there and to allow the fluid that is constantly being produced to flow out alleviating the pressure.

Dr. Berglund’s treatments: Of course, to me, putting tubes in the ears is the ultimate sign that a medical doctor is giving up and is unable to find the solution. Kids can have very few problems at that age. Their systems are so new that chronic degenerative conditions are almost unheard of. Therefore, babies have typically underdeveloped organs/glands that can’t keep up with the work (they’re having problem with their food source allergies/sensitivities) or have spinal fixations that can be corrected by chiropractic manipulation. In some cases, the eustachian tube is clogged and the fluid isn’t draining. I can adjust the ears (sharply pulling down on the ear lobe) to pop the ear open and allow the fluid to once again drain into the sinuses/nasopharynx.

Fever:
This is typically scary for a parent. The truth is that a fever is the body’s NORMAL response to the threat of invasion by a virus or bacteria. Generally a viral condition will produce a lower fever and a bacterial condition will produce a higher fever. The fever itself carries very little chance to harm a baby, however, the baby is still in need of a solution to the problem. (Don't ignore the fever, but don’t panic.) I carry natural antibacterial and antiviral remedies which will treat the source of the infection, rather than just the fever. If you want to cool your baby in order to keep him/her more comfortable, cool him/her with a cold compress rather than with tylenol or ibuprofen. By cooling the baby from the outside in rather than the inside out, it will help to keep the baby’s internal temperature up, which is God’s natural design for fighting off an infection.

Nursing Q&A
According to Dr. Berglund, nursing is one of the most important things you can do for your baby’s health. If you are having problems with nursing, he believes that you shouldn’t give up until you have looked at all of your options.

What if I’m not producing enough milk?
We carry herbs at the clinic that will help to increase milk production.
My medical doctor wants to put me on medications that are contrary to nursing. What now?
Ask Dr. Berglund to see if there are natural alternatives. There are quite a few natural alternatives to prescription drugs that you may not be aware of.
Nursing makes my baby sick.
Check with Dr. Berglund to see if there is something in your diet that your baby might be reacting to. By starting your baby out on a “clean diet”, you will be helping to prevent food allergies later in life.
My baby is having trouble latching on.
He/she may be in need of a neck adjustment. Another solution to this problem is a palate adjustment. Dr. Berglund is able to adjust your baby’s hard palate, which will help encourage sucking.
Can I switch my baby to soy if he/she has milk allergies?
Kids who react to milk will eventually react to soy. Their allergy is with milk protein rather than lactose.

Above all things, Dr. Berglund encourages moms not to give up on nursing. Once you stop, you can’t go back.

Vaccinations
When a baby is vaccinated, they receive 7-11 “infections” all at the same time, and his/her brand new immune system is expected to fight all of them - at the same time! There are some vaccinations that Dr. Berglund would never recommend (such as chicken pox or the flu shot), and others that rarely have complications. However, vaccinations all contain ingredients such as mercury, formaldehyde and aluminum, which are all known to be toxic to the brain.
Before you consider having your baby (or child) vaccinated, talk to Dr. Berglund about vaccinations and how they are linked to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and autism. For more information on vaccinations and their negative effects, visit www.nvic.org.
SIDS
In addition to vaccinations, Dr. Berglund believes that there may be a few other causes of SIDS. One of them, he believes, is due to the toxic chemicals in crib mattresses which are used to make them flame-retardant. Particularly if your baby sleeps face-down, he/she is breathing those toxic chemicals.
Another possible cause is your baby’s sleep position. Babies who lay face down can cause strain on the nerves in the mid-brain, which can lead to death.
Ask Dr. Berglund for ways to avoid unseen dangers to your baby’s health.

Tidbits
from Dr. Berglund
Does Dr. Berglund adjust infants? How soon is too soon for a chiropractic adjustment?
Yes, Dr. Berglund adjusts infants. It’s never too soon to have your baby adjusted. Dr. Berglund has even adjusted infants at only a few hours old.

What can I do to help my baby’s rash?
Rashes are the result of food allergies or yeast. Have Dr. Berglund check to see if your baby is reacting to either one. A cortisone cream only masks the inflammatin from the outside, rather than fixing the problem from the inside out.

Are there any natural remedies to help my baby get through teething?
We carry infant-safe supplements that help calm your baby during teething. Teething, just like colic, can also be helped by eliminating problem foods that your baby might be reacting to.