Is Chiropractic Care Safe for Children and During Pregnancy?
Yes, for most children and most pregnancies, when care comes from a chiropractor trained in pediatric and prenatal techniques. These adjustments use a fraction of the force applied to adults, and published safety reviews report that serious complications are rare. Care still starts with an exam, and we refer to your pediatrician or OB when anything falls outside our scope.
“After 2 visits with my 4 month old I saw a much happier baby!!” - Carlee R. (Jackson)
What a review like that does not show is the question that almost always comes first, usually on the phone before the appointment is ever booked: is this actually safe for a baby?
It is the right question, and I take it seriously every time. I hold the Webster certification from the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, my practice centers on women’s health, children’s health, and pregnancy, and I am a mother myself. Parents deserve the honest answer rather than the reassuring one, and the honest answer is yes, with qualifiers, and the qualifiers matter.
This article walks through how adjusting a child or a pregnant patient differs from adjusting an adult, what the published research shows about safety for each, and the situations where the right first call is for chiropractic, and when the right first call is the OB or pediatrician.
How a Child’s Adjustment Differs From an Adult’s
The word “adjustment” describes very different procedures depending on who is on the table. An adult adjustment uses a quick, controlled push into a restricted joint, sometimes with an audible pop. An infant adjustment is sustained fingertip pressure, no more than you would comfortably apply to your own eyelid. There is no twisting and no cracking. A baby is often adjusted lying on a parent’s lap.
This scaling is not improvisation. A consensus panel of 29 international experts published best-practice recommendations for chiropractic care of children in 2016, and the core of the document is exactly this: examination and treatment must be modified to the child’s age, size, and stage of development.[1] A ten-year-old with a sports injury is not treated like a teenager, and neither is treated like an infant with torticollis.
The same principle applies at our offices. The doctor chooses the technique after examining the child, not before, and explains it to you before anything happens. If you want to watch, ask questions, or hold your child during the visit, that is normal here.
What the Research Shows About Safety for Children
The most direct safety data comes from a chiropractic teaching clinic that tracked 697 children under age 3 across 5,242 office visits. Parents reported a reaction in roughly 1 child in 100, about one for every 749 treatments, and the reactions were mild: brief crying or soreness that settled quickly.[2]
A 2020 rapid review widened the lens to children under 10 and reached a similar conclusion: most reported adverse events are mild, things like temporary fussiness or soreness. The same review states the honest limit plainly: serious events are reported so rarely that researchers cannot calculate a precise rate for them.[3] Rare is not the same as zero, and we tell parents that directly.
The strongest argument for careful screening comes from a 2015 review that searched decades of literature across all manual therapy professions, not only chiropractic, and found 15 serious adverse events in children. In the majority of those cases, the child had an underlying preexisting condition that had not been identified before treatment.[4] That finding is the reason the exam comes before any adjustment, every time, and the reason we send a child back to their pediatrician when the exam raises a flag instead of proceeding.
Is Chiropractic Safe During Pregnancy?
Pregnant patients come to us for a practical reason: more than two-thirds of pregnant women experience low back pain, and almost one in five experience pelvic pain, according to the Cochrane review on the subject.[5] The usual remedies shrink during pregnancy, since most medications are off the table, so a nondrug option gets attention.
“I saw them throughout my pregnancy and I don’t know how I would have gotten through it without them.” - Kelly M. (Jackson)
Safety data here is reassuring in the same qualified way as the pediatric research. A critical review searched the published literature for adverse events from spinal manipulation during pregnancy and the postpartum period and found seven reported cases in total, ranging from temporary soreness to rare serious injuries.[6] Seven documented cases against decades of practice does not prove zero risk. It does mean documented complications are uncommon, and it is why technique matters: during pregnancy we can position patients side-lying, supine, or prone on tables with thoracic and abdominal drops, using lower force and keeping pressure off the abdomen.
Some patients come for something more specific. Rachel D. (Lansing): “I initially came in a desperate search to find a chiropractor to help turn a breech baby late in pregnancy…” She found the Webster Technique, a gentle, pregnancy-specific method of adjusting the pelvis and sacrum to reduce tension in the surrounding muscles and ligaments. I am certified in it through the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association. A 2002 survey of certified doctors reported high rates of breech resolution, though a survey of practitioners is a weak form of evidence, so we present it as the technique’s history rather than a promise.[7] What the technique reliably offers is a balanced, more comfortable pelvis, and Rachel’s account is one patient’s experience, not a guarantee. You can read more accounts on our prenatal testimonials page.
What Parents Bring Their Children In For
Many parents seek our care for colic, sports injuries, growing pains, torticollis, and more. That list comes straight from our own intake conversations, and each item deserves its own honesty about evidence.
Colic is the clearest example. A 2012 Cochrane review pooled the trials on manipulative therapies for colic and found that crying time dropped in most studies.[8] So we do not promise a cure for colic, and you should be wary of anyone who does. We offer a gentle option with a strong safety record, we track what changes from visit to visit, and we tell you what we see. Some families report real changes, the way Carlee R. did with her 4-month-old. Others see less, and we say so when that is the case.
Musculoskeletal complaints are more familiar territory: a young athlete with a sore back after a tournament, a toddler favoring one side of their neck, growing pains that keep a kid up at night. These sit squarely in the spine and joint problems chiropractic is built for, and the 2016 best-practice guidelines cited above cover them in detail. You can read what local parents say on our pediatric testimonials page, and how we care for every age in one exam room on our family chiropractic page.
When to Call the Pediatrician or OB First
Chiropractic care works alongside your child’s pediatrician and your OB or midwife, never in place of them. We do not replace well-child visits, and prenatal care belongs with your OB. Some situations call for chiropractic, and some need a medical provider first, before anyone considers an adjustment:
For a child: fever, unusual sleepiness or limpness, refusal to eat, a significant fall or other trauma, sudden weakness, or any symptom that is getting worse quickly. Pediatrician, urgent care, or emergency department first.
During pregnancy: vaginal bleeding, leaking fluid, severe headache with vision changes, noticeably decreased fetal movement, or contractions before term. Call your OB or midwife now, not a chiropractor.
None of this is hedging. Screening for exactly these situations is part of the first exam here, and referring out when something belongs with a physician is part of the job. The serious injuries in the pediatric literature cluster around missed underlying conditions, which is an argument for more medical coordination, not less.
What a First Visit Looks Like for Your Family
The visit starts with a conversation and an exam, not a table. The doctor takes the history, examines your child or your pregnant spine and pelvis, explains what they find, and only then recommends care. You will hear what the technique is, what it feels like, and what we expect to change before anything happens.
Two questions worth asking any chiropractor who treats children or pregnant patients: what training do you have in pediatric techniques, and are you Webster Certified? You should hear specific answers. Ours are the 2016 pediatric best-practice standards our doctors follow and my Webster certification through the ICPA.
If your back has seized up at 34 weeks or your toddler woke up unable to turn their head, waiting a week is misery. Same-day visits are often available at all three of our offices, in Lansing, Holt, and Jackson. Call the office nearest you or send a note through our contact form and we will get back to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe for a baby to be adjusted?
Yes, when the chiropractor is trained in pediatric techniques and examines the baby first. An infant adjustment uses sustained fingertip pressure, no more than you would comfortably apply to your own eyelid, and a study of 5,242 visits by children under age 3 reported only mild reactions like brief fussiness. We refer to your pediatrician whenever the exam points outside our scope.
How is a child’s adjustment different from an adult’s?
Nearly everything scales down. Children receive a fraction of the force used on adults, with no twisting and no cracking, and the technique changes with the child’s age, size, and stage of development, following published pediatric best-practice guidelines. Most kids find the visit quick and easy.
Can I see a chiropractor while pregnant?
Yes. Many patients see us before, during, and after pregnancy, and a review of the published literature found documented complications from spinal manipulation during pregnancy to be rare. We use pregnancy-specific positioning and lower-force techniques, and Dr. Moriah is Webster Certified through the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association.
What is the Webster Technique?
The Webster Technique is a gentle, pregnancy-specific method of adjusting the pelvis and sacrum to reduce tension in the surrounding muscles and ligaments. The goal is a balanced pelvis, which supports comfort as pregnancy progresses. Certification comes through the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, and Dr. Moriah Severance holds it.
Can chiropractic cure my baby’s colic?
No, and you should be wary of anyone who promises that. Colic is one of the most common reasons parents bring infants to us, and some families report calmer babies. We offer a gentle option, track what changes visit to visit, and tell you honestly what we see.
Should I talk to my pediatrician or OB first?
We encourage it, and we are glad to coordinate care with them. Chiropractic works alongside your pediatrician and OB, never in place of them. If your child has a fever or a recent injury, or your pregnancy has an active complication, see your medical provider before booking with us.
References
- Hawk C, Schneider MJ, Vallone S, Hewitt EG. Best practices for chiropractic care of children: a consensus update. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2016;39(3):158-168. PubMed ↩
- Miller JE, Benfield K. Adverse effects of spinal manipulative therapy in children younger than 3 years: a retrospective study in a chiropractic teaching clinic. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2008;31(6):419-423. PubMed ↩
- Corso M, Cancelliere C, Mior S, Taylor-Vaisey A, Côté P. The safety of spinal manipulative therapy in children under 10 years: a rapid review. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies. 2020;28(1):12. PubMed ↩
- Todd AJ, Carroll MT, Robinson A, Mitchell EKL. Adverse events due to chiropractic and other manual therapies for infants and children: a review of the literature. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2015;38(9):699-712. PubMed ↩
- Liddle SD, Pennick V. Interventions for preventing and treating low-back and pelvic pain during pregnancy. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2015;(9):CD001139. PubMed ↩
- Stuber KJ, Wynd S, Weis CA. Adverse events from spinal manipulation in the pregnant and postpartum periods: a critical review of the literature. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies. 2012;20:8. PubMed ↩
- Pistolese RA. The Webster Technique: a chiropractic technique with obstetric implications. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2002;25(6):E1-9. PubMed ↩
- Dobson D, Lucassen PLBJ, Miller JJ, Vlieger AM, Prescott P, Lewith G. Manipulative therapies for infantile colic. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2012;(12):CD004796. PubMed ↩
