Frome Valley Osteopaths

Becca, Siân and I, have all spent, or are spending time currently, studying at the Osteopathic centre for Children, this is the main organisation in the UK for post graduate education in Paediatrics. It is a place where our cranial Osteopathy and clinical reasoning skills are developed, we have confidence in knowing what is a ‘normal baby’ and when we need to refer on to a doctor.

We really enjoy supporting new borns and their families to settle into life together. Because pregnancy and birth are perfectly natural processes we sometimes forget how much birth can impact our little ones.

During a vaginal birth babies are subjected to huge forces as they are moved through their parents pelvis. Baby’s craniums are soft and the bones of the head overlap to minimise the surface area of the head as it moves through the pelvis, this is a process called moulding. Often these moulding patterns resolve quickly but sometimes they don’t and tension can be held in the babies heads/bodies, which can be uncomfortable and restrictive. This discomfort can be exaggerated if the birth was long, or difficult or if intervention such as ventouse/forceps where used. Different challenges can occur when a baby is born via C section.

The vast majority of the time these restrictions mean your baby is still 100% healthy, they may just benefit from a little help to reduce any tightness and release restrictions.

There are many other ways that little ones can be impacted other than moulding. Position in utero, stress levels in utero and since, particularly if there was time in the hospital or if the pregnancy wasn’t easy. How early little one was engaged in the pelvis, their birth presentation. If they have older siblings. What kind of child they are, some are more reactive to their world than others. The list continues.

Colic is something that is talked about a lot in relation to little ones, this is characterised by a baby who cries a lot and is very difficult to soothe. Colic can be very difficult for the wider family.

Colic can be an umbrella term that describes the symptom of crying, which may be caused by something more specific, such as; Reflux, Aerophagia (swallowing air as they feed), Immaturity of the gut, Lactose intolerance or other allergies, Constipation and less commonly pyloric stenosis. Osteopaths are great at working out what might be going on for your little one and supporting families and babies bodies to move towards being more comfortable.

Symptoms of discomfort for your baby can include Excessive crying as discussed above, being unhappy or irritable for long periods of time, having difficulty falling or staying asleep, showing signs of digestive discomfort, preferring to feed on one side.

If the parent is breast feeding then cracked, painful nipples and difficulty feeding can also be a sign that the baby may need some support with their feeding mechanics.

Babies are amazing, they are generally little beings of health, who even when they appear to be struggling, often don’t need much intervention to help their symptoms ease or resolve. It is a joy to support these changes for babies and their families through our very gentle hands on care. Babies don’t see themselves as separate from their birth parent for a long time so it’s just as important to support them in this process. Becca will discuss this more in a future article 🙂

If you would like a chat or some help please feel free to be in touch.

Lauren Manning BSc Hons Ost.