Motherhood: Aligned and Assigned

EP. 50: Your Child Met Every Goal. So Why Is the Nervous System Still Healing?

Dr. Veronica and Dr. Serena get honest about one of the harder conversations in practice: what happens when a family's healing journey takes longer than anyone expected. They share real patient stories, talk through what supportive wellness care actually means, and explain why slow progress is not the same thing as no progress.   If you've ever wondered whether your care plan is working, or felt like healing should be further along by now, this episode is for you.   Timestamps: 00:00 What is supportive wellness care? 00:03 Dr. Serena's 8-year-old patient with chronic illness 00:06 How scans work as a personal baseline 00:12 Dr. Veronica's adult patient, neural retracing, and 10 years of medication 00:14 When healing progress feels anticlimactic 00:16 Looking back at intake forms to see how far you've come 00:18 Using the PX community when you don't have the answer 00:19 What putting your ego down actually looks like as a clinician 00:20 The power that made the body heals the body   Resources Mentioned: * PX Docs Directory [https://pxdocs.com/px-docs/]   Connect with Veronica: * Website [https://havenhealthchiropractic.com/] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/havenhealthchiropractic/] * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/havenhealthchiro/]   Connect with Serena: * Website [https://vesselchiro.com/] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/vessel_chiro] * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/RedeemedLifeBoise/]

EP 49: Your Kid Doesn't Have to Be Sick 10 Times a Year

If your child keeps getting sick, getting treated, and ending up right back where you started, this episode is going to make a lot of things click. Dr. Veronica and Dr. Serena walk through a real patient case involving chronic constipation, recurring illness, and bladder control issues, and explain why those symptoms are all connected to the same root.   In this episode they cover: * Why antibiotics, MiraLAX, and steroid creams are band-aids, not solutions * The healing hierarchy: nervous system, neuromuscular, gut and immune, brain-based function, and why that order matters * What "neurological soft signs" of healing look like and why they're easy to miss * Why things can get harder before they get better, and how to know that's actually a good sign * The difference between a plateau and a new layer of healing   Resources Mentioned: * PX Docs Directory [https://pxdocs.com/px-docs/]   Connect with Veronica: * Website [https://havenhealthchiropractic.com/] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/havenhealthchiropractic/] * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/havenhealthchiro/]   Connect with Serena: * Website [https://vesselchiro.com/] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/vessel_chiro] * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/RedeemedLifeBoise/]

EP 48: Autoimmunity, Inflammation & The Vagus Nerve: The Missing Link No One Is Talking About

A potential patient called with autoimmune symptoms—dizziness, hormone issues, brain fog. Endocrinology found thyroid issues. Neurology found nothing. She's frustrated: "I go to endocrinology and all they talk about is hormones. I go to neurology and all they talk about is brain. Where are the people who piece it together?"   In this episode of Motherhood Aligned and Assigned, Dr. Serena Coffman and Dr. Veronica Schiltz explain what the medical system misses. Dr. Serena shares her patient story: friend with hypothyroidism symptoms, family history, functional medicine said labs were fine—but they weren't. Ran insight scans, found stress in the area controlling thyroid. Care plan: 3x/week for 6 weeks, 2x/week after, desiccated thyroid supplement, removed gluten. After 3 months: thyroid in normal range, sleeping better, more energy, no naps needed, cycles changing. Usually retest thyroid every 6 months because don't expect change that fast. Vagus nerve stress at C1—the brake pedal—affects digestion, sleep, immune system tone. Autoimmune doesn't come out of nowhere: usually had digestive issues, sleep struggles, ear infections building underneath. Insight scans for autoimmune typically show high stress, poor vagal tone, neurological exhaustion. As nervous system heals, scans change and symptoms follow.   Timestamps: 04:00 Functional medicine said labs were fine—but they weren't 06:00 3-month thyroid turnaround (usually takes 6+ months) 09:00 Vagus nerve—brake pedal for immune system 12:00 Perfect storm starts at conception 18:00 Insight scans reveal the hidden pattern   Resources Mentioned: * PX Docs Directory [https://pxdocs.com/px-docs/]   Connect with Veronica: * Website [https://havenhealthchiropractic.com/] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/havenhealthchiropractic/] * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/havenhealthchiro/]   Connect with Serena: * Website [https://vesselchiro.com/] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/vessel_chiro] * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/RedeemedLifeBoise/]

EP. 47: Why Your Child Isn’t Sleeping (And What Sleep Is Actually Doing for Their Body)

Most parents have tried everything—earlier bedtimes, blackout curtains, melatonin, white noise machines. Their child is exhausted but wired, awake for hours, and no routine or supplement can override a nervous system physiologically locked in fight-or-flight.   In this episode of Motherhood Aligned and Assigned, Dr. Serena Coffman and Dr. Veronica Schiltz reveal what 35% of US children aren't getting: enough sleep. But it's not about bedtime—it's the nervous system. Sleep is one of the most active healing states (brain organizing learning, growth hormone surges, immune system building infection-fighting cells, emotions processed). Gas pedal (sympathetic) vs. brake pedal (parasympathetic): sleep only happens when the brake works. Dr. Veronica shares a case study: 4-year-old hadn't slept in 7 days, screaming all night, thought to be socially anxious with huge outbursts. Functional medicine mom doing all the gut things, eating right, routines, structure. Chiropractic broke the cycle. Weaned off melatonin (full dose to tip of dropper), no more screaming, behavior 180. Dr. Serena's patient: family thought they were done having kids because it was so hard. Now trying for second baby. Babies should adapt to whatever environment you give them. If they're not adapting, it's a nervous system issue.   Resources Mentioned: * PX Docs Directory [https://pxdocs.com/px-docs/]   Connect with Veronica: * Website [https://havenhealthchiropractic.com/] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/havenhealthchiropractic/] * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/havenhealthchiro/]   Connect with Serena: * Website [https://vesselchiro.com/] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/vessel_chiro] * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/RedeemedLifeBoise/]

EP. 46: The Perfect Storm in Pregnancy: How Prenatal Stress Programs Your Baby’s Nervous System

If you're scrolling at 2 AM with a crying baby or pregnant and feeling anxious, this episode changes everything. What most parents never hear: the modern pregnancy experience—constant monitoring, testing, fear-based messaging, disempowerment—creates chronic stress that doesn't just affect you. It directly programs your baby's developing nervous system.   In this episode of Motherhood Aligned and Assigned, Dr. Serena Coffman and Dr. Veronica Schiltz compare great-grandmothers (4-5 prenatal visits) to today (12-15 visits, multiple ultrasounds, high-risk labels). A 2017 study found babies born to high prenatal stress mothers had nervous systems 22% more reactive at 6 months. The umbilical cord isn't just a feeding tube—it's a communication cable carrying stress hormones like cortisol directly to baby. Discover how prenatal stress impacts specific brain regions (amygdala overactive, hippocampus labels everything dangerous, prefrontal cortex underworking, vagus nerve low tone), why colic can resolve with baby care but creep back if mom's still dysregulated, and how chiropractic during pregnancy isn't "rack 'em and crack 'em"—it's gentle, specific, and can regulate your nervous system before baby arrives. This isn't about guilt—it's about understanding.   Timestamps: 03:00 Great-grandmother's prenatal experience vs. today 05:00 2017 study: 22% more reactive nervous systems 10:00 Umbilical cord as communication cable 15:00 Brain regions affected by prenatal stress 19:00 What to do about it   Resources Mentioned: * PX Docs Directory [https://pxdocs.com/px-docs/]   Connect with Veronica: * Website [https://havenhealthchiropractic.com/] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/havenhealthchiropractic/] * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/havenhealthchiro/]   Connect with Serena: * Website [https://vesselchiro.com/] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/vessel_chiro] * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/RedeemedLifeBoise/]