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The
London and Truro Cranial Osteopathy Clinics
CRANIAL
OSTEOPATHY FOR BABIES,
INFANTS AND CHILDREN
INDEX
BASIC INFORMATION
It can help a wide variety
of the conditions that affect this age group, and is particularly
useful in, but not limited to, the treatment of the following:
Colic and other digestive
problems; sleeplessness; crying/upset/whinging babies; learning
difficulties; persistent coughs and colds; glue ear; hyperactivity:etc.
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Practitioners compare what
the patient's cranial rhythm is doing
to what they consider normal; this gives them an insight into what
stresses and strains the patient's body is under at present and as
a result of its past; it also shows them what state that body is in,
if it's healthy, stressed, tired etc. Above all they are assessing
the function of that body and how it is working, with a view to helping
it to restore itself to health.
The following paragraphs
outline some of the commonest causes of the problems that many children
suffer from, all of which may benefit from cranial osteopathic treatment.
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In many cases the infant
will be able to recover from these trauma on it's own; the natural
resilience and springyness of the bones and other tissues together
with the body's own healing mechanisms often allow the stresses
and strains to be resolved.
However, in many other
cases incomplete resolution takes place and Cranial Osteopathy can
be extremely helpful in aiding the body's healing processes to recover
from the experience.
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Few births are "easy"
for either mother or child; the mother's pelvis and pelvic floor have
to accommodate the turbulent passage of the infant, whilst the infant
is forcibly squeezed ( or more precisely wrung ) out of the womb through
the dilated cervix ( the entrance to and from the womb ) and then
is subjected to a series of twists and turns as it passes through
the birth canal to be ejected from the warm, comfortable womb into
the (relatively) harsh, cold, bright lighted world.
This short journey is
probably one of the most difficult we ever encounter, but it was
what we were designed to do, and there are helpful measures to ease
the passage, such as flexibility of the bones of the head, including
their ability to overlap, and maternal hormones that allow the pelvic
ligaments to give enough to widen the pelvic outlet width. Problems
can arise from this journey, but more usually they occur if the
overall plan is altered.
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( the period from the
beginning of true labour to the full dilatation of the cervix )
Often the strong contractions
will begin without enough cervical dilatation ( i.e the exit from
the womb isn't big enough for the babies head ); the baby is forced,
head downwards, onto the unyielding cervix and pelvic bones; the
large forces produced by such repetitive movements can not only
traumatise the baby's soft, flexibly boned head, but also cause
the infant physiological and psychological stress.
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( the period from full
dilatation of the cervix to birth )
As the baby leaves the
womb it enters the birth canal where it has to undergo a number
of twists and turns before it finally arrives into the world. These
twists and turns help to mould the baby's head, but problems can
occur if either the baby's passage is too fast, when the head doesn't
get enough time to get properly moulded, or if it gets stuck and
it's too slow, the head and body can get squashed and the baby can
get very stressed.
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These delivery aids have
particular problems associated with them; with forceps often there
is some degree of compression and bruising of the soft boned infant
head, which can be very severe; with Ventouse ( vacuum ) extraction
there is often a traction distortion of the head which can stretch
the whole of the cranium in a way that nature never intended.
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Can present a number of
problems;
1) If a normal delivery
has been attempted, but not successful, the baby will have already
gone through the problems associated with a difficult
1st stage
2) Caesarean sections
produce a very sudden birth for the baby, which can be very shocking;
one moment they're in the familiar comfort of the womb, the next
they're being pulled out into the bright clinically lit operating
room, whilst their mother (who is still supplying them with oxygen,
blood and hormones) is cut ( causing her to produce the hormones
of stress) and anaesthetised.
3) Caesarean's
can also cause as many problems as a difficult 2nd
stage ; by missing out the natural process that normally occurs
as the baby passes through the birth canal the head never gets correctly
moulded.
Caesarean's are a life
saving procedure ( although it is thought that the dramatic increase
in their numbers in the USA in recent years is due to doctors fears
of litigation ) but the problems outlined above can result in difficulties
after birth which can often be redressed by Cranial Osteopathy.
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These medical interventions
can cause problems of their own. The trauma to the nervous system
and the shock to the body tissues of the Lumbar puncture ( important
in diagnosis of meningitis and other life threatening conditions)
can be responsible for the onset of many of the symptoms listed
at the beginning of this page, especially colic, stomach problems,
and nightmares.
Antibiotics kill most
bacteria, including the friendly ones in the intestines which help
us to digest food and produce vitamins for us. After a course of
antibiotics the natural balance of bacteria in the intestines can
be upset and cause long term stomach problems ( including thrush
infection).
Vaccinations is an issue
best referred to by checking out the National
Vaccine Information Centre pages, but in some cases they can
be responsible for the onset of any of the symptoms listed at the
beginning of this page.
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Useful Contacts in the
UK
Other related sites
click
here for books on the subject
click here
to arrange an appointment
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