Baby Reflux and the Nervous System – What Parents Need to Know
When Feeding and Comfort Just Don’t Come Easily
If you’ve spent hours pacing, burping, or holding your baby upright after every feed, you’re not alone. Reflux is one of the most common struggles parents face in the first months of life. The constant spitting up, back-arching, crying, and sleepless nights can leave everyone exhausted and anxious.
Many parents are told, “It’s just reflux” or “They’ll grow out of it.” But when nothing seems to settle your baby, that answer feels incomplete. Deep down, you know there’s more going on — and you’re right.
Reflux Isn’t Just a “Tummy Problem”
Reflux happens when stomach contents flow back up into the oesophagus. Traditional advice often focuses on feeding technique, formula changes, or medication to neutralise stomach acid. While these can sometimes help, they don’t explain why a baby’s body is struggling to regulate digestion in the first place.
At its core, reflux is about coordination and communication — the way your baby’s brain and body work together to control the muscles of swallowing, breathing, and digestion. That communication runs through the nervous system, the master control system for every organ and function in the body.
When the nervous system is calm and balanced, signals move smoothly from brain to body. The diaphragm, oesophagus, and stomach work in perfect rhythm. But when the nervous system is under stress, that balance shifts. Muscles tighten, digestion slows, and the body stays tense — creating the perfect environment for reflux symptoms.
How Birth Stress Contributes
Even gentle births can place stress on a baby’s neck and upper spine. Long labours, fast deliveries, caesareans, or the use of forceps or suction can all create tension in the areas that house the nerves responsible for digestion and swallowing.
When those nerves — particularly the vagus nerve — become irritated or restricted, their signals to the stomach and diaphragm can be disrupted. This leads to uncoordinated muscle movement, slower digestion, and that uncomfortable feeling of milk “coming back up.”
Babies can’t tell us they’re uncomfortable — so they cry, arch, and struggle to settle. What looks like “colic” or “reflux” is often their way of saying their nervous system needs help to unwind.
The Role of the Fight-or-Flight Response
If a baby’s nervous system is stuck in a fight-or-flight pattern, their body is constantly on alert. In this state, the body prioritises survival over digestion. Blood flow moves away from the gut, and the muscles involved in digestion tighten rather than relax.
The result? Gas, spitting up, and discomfort after feeding — even when everything else seems perfect.
This is why reflux isn’t simply about food or position — it’s about the state of the nervous system controlling digestion.
How Chiropractic Care Can Help
At Healthy Families Chiropractic, we look beyond the symptoms to understand how well your baby’s nervous system is communicating and adapting. Using gentle, specific techniques and INSiGHT scans, we can objectively measure areas of stress or imbalance.
Thermal scans identify where the autonomic nerves controlling digestion are over- or under-active.
Surface EMG scans measure how evenly the muscles around the spine and diaphragm are firing.
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) shows whether your baby’s nervous system is calm and resilient or stuck in a stressed, defensive state.
These scans give us a clear picture of how your baby’s body is functioning — so we can tailor care to their unique needs.
Chiropractic care for infants focuses on restoring proper movement and balance in the spine and nervous system. When those communication pathways are clear, digestion becomes smoother, reflux often eases, and your baby can feed, rest, and grow in comfort.
Real Change Starts with Regulation
Parents often tell us that after a few visits, they notice their baby can finally relax — feeding becomes quieter, sleep lasts longer, and those tense little shoulders finally drop. This isn’t coincidence; it’s what happens when the nervous system shifts out of stress and into regulation.
A well-regulated nervous system means a calm, coordinated, and comfortable baby.
