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ARTICLE 2

Cranial Osteopathy for Babies and Children 

If you mention colic, sleeplessness or feeding problems to most new parents, no explanation is required! Memories or associations of hours of wailing babies and disturbed nights will be conjured up. In spite of the support network of NCT, midwives and health visitors in the postnatal period, answers as to what should be done to ease the suffering of colic and broken sleep are hard to find, varied and often inconclusive. One solution that parents can turn to is Cranial Osteopathy.

Using a highly trained sense of touch, an osteopath will identify and correct disturbances, strains and limitations of mobility throughout the body, as well as in the head, as the name suggests. The gentle, skilful application of Cranial Osteopathic techniques, by a practitioner experienced in the treatment of babies and children, can often bring about significant improvement and ease the helplessness felt by parents in reaction to a troubled new baby.

You could think that babies and children might not have structural tensions or strains because of their “newness” but even a relatively straightforward birth is the most stressful natural event that a child will experience. It can leave the body with tensions that compromise the optimal functioning of its systems. The baby undergoes enormous pressures as the contracting uterus pushes the head down onto the resistance of the pelvic bones. The delivery involves the infant twisting and turning as it squeezes through the birth canal and the bones of the infant skull naturally overlap to reduce the size of the presenting head.

The strains of birth and the overlapping of the cranial bones usually unravel in the first few days of life as the child suckles, cries and yawns. If, however, the birth is particularly quick or slow and if intervention such as venteuse or forceps is required, the strains of birth are compounded. Many parents are familiar with the picture of a baby that cries constantly and is fractious when you put it down. Life becomes a one handed venture as the other cradles a demanding new born. This situation can occur when birth strains do not unravel completely and your baby has a constant feeling of pressure in the head that is exacerbated when they lie down. If your baby suffers from colic, sickness or wind, it may be that the nerve that supplies the digestive system is irritated as it exits the base of the skull, or that strains have been caused in the abdomen when the cord was cut. A disturbed gut compromises digestion and the ability of the stomach to retain its contents. The tension in the bony and membranous housing of the brain keeps the nervous system in a persistent state of slight arousal which makes sleep hard; not unlike stress or caffeine overdose in an adult. If a baby has difficulty latching on or suckling, a common reaction is for mothers to feel enormous guilt that they ‘can’t breastfeed’ and to resort to a bottle. In reality the muscles of the baby’s palate could be getting uncoordinated messages from their controlling nerve, which is affected by cranial tensions. Treatment with Cranial Osteopathy can resolve the problem and allow the mother to continue breastfeeding throughout her child’s infancy.

As the child grows, the effects of tension in the body can lead to other problems, such as glue ear, repeated infections, headaches or other aches and pains, sinus and dental problems, behavioural problems, asthma or eczema that may have been avoided by early intervention.

Cranial Osteopaths are trained to recognize strains in the body via disturbances in the rhythmic, wavelike movement that should occur the fluid surrounding the central nervous system, akin to the rhythm of the heartbeat or breathing. Through very gentle handholds on a baby’s body and head, the Osteopath will feel for a disturbance in this movement and other tensions in the body tissues. By reflecting back to the tissues the patterns that they are holding, the Osteopath can enable the inherent healing ability of the body to do its work and release tensions. In this way, treatment is gentle, respectful and effective for the treatment of ailments suffered by babies and children.

It is very important to know that when you entrust the care of your precious new family member to someone, your trust is not misplaced. In 1993, Osteopathy became the first major complementary health care profession to be accorded statutory recognition under the Osteopaths Act. Anyone who uses the word Osteopath in their title has to be registered with the General Osteopathic Council who ensure that standards of care are professional, competent and safe. Patients can therefore be confident that, when they consult an Osteopath, they get the same level of care and safeguards as when they see a dentist or doctor. As not all Osteopaths treat using Cranial Techniques, it is important to ascertain that the person you choose to see is able to treat babies and children.

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