Editorial Policy
Little Roots is a parent-education resource focused on infant cranial development, the upper cervical spine, and the nervous-system patterns that affect feeding, sleep, and movement in the first year of life. This page describes how we write, review, and stand behind the content on this site.
Who writes the content
All content on Little Roots is written or directly supervised by Dr. Anthony Pellegrino (DC, DACCP, CSSPP, CSCPP, CBS), a pediatric chiropractor with advanced credentials in spinal and cranial pediatric care and infant breastfeeding support.
Future contributors will be gated by clinical credentials. Anyone writing or co-writing content must hold a current clinical license and demonstrated training in pediatric or cranial care relevant to the topic. Bylines and reviewer credits will reflect this on every page.
How content is reviewed
Every page on Little Roots goes through a structured clinical review before publication:
- Clinical-claims registry. The site maintains
a registry of every clinical topic the content covers. Each
topic has a defined set of phrasings the page is allowed to
use (
phrasing_bounds) and a defined set of phrasings the page must never use (prohibited_phrasings). Pages are checked against this registry before they go live. Pages that drift from the registry are held until they are brought back in line. - Last reviewed date. Every page displays the date it was last reviewed against the registry. Pages older than 12 months are flagged for re-review and either updated or marked as under review until they are.
- Evidence strength tagging. Each clinical claim is tagged with its evidence strength: expert-consensus, observational, or controlled. When the supporting literature is observational rather than controlled, the page reflects that distinction in the language it uses.
- Citations. Citations are included on pages that make specific clinical claims. We prefer peer-reviewed sources, professional society guidance (AAP, ICPA, and equivalent), and clinical studies with full citations including DOIs where available.
Source standards
Sources used on Little Roots fall into three categories:
- Peer-reviewed clinical literature. The primary source for any claim about prevalence, treatment outcomes, or thresholds. Includes journal articles with full citations.
- Professional society guidance. AAP statements, ICPA guidance, and equivalent statements from credentialed pediatric and craniofacial bodies.
- Clinical experience. Used only for the kind of practical guidance that is hard to test in a study (what tummy time resistance often signals, what to bring to a pediatric visit, how to read a measurement sheet). Always identified as clinical experience rather than published evidence.
We do not use blog posts, marketing content from product manufacturers, or AI-generated summaries as primary sources.
AI-assisted content
Some drafts on this site are produced with AI assistance. Every AI-assisted draft is reviewed and edited by Dr. Pellegrino before publication. AI is used as a writing tool, not as a clinical decision-maker. No clinical claim on this site appears unless it can be traced to a published source or to clinical experience that is clearly labeled as such.
We also use a brand-voice detection step that flags drafts where the writing has drifted into vague, generic, or marketing-style language. Drafts that fail the brand-voice check are revised before publication.
Corrections
If you find a factual error, an outdated claim, or content that conflicts with current professional guidance, we want to know. Email dranthony@thecranialdoc.com or see the corrections policy for how we handle updates. Substantive corrections are made within 7 business days and noted on the affected page.
Medical disclaimer
Content on Little Roots is educational. It is not medical advice. It does not establish a clinician-patient relationship. Decisions about your baby's care should be made in conversation with your pediatrician, your chiropractor, and any specialists involved in their care.
If your baby is showing signs of a medical emergency (see the warning callout on relevant pages), call your pediatrician the same day or go to an emergency room. Little Roots is not a substitute for clinical evaluation.
Last reviewed .