About
Did you know that some osteopaths can treat babies?
Did you know that osteopaths can treat babies? Just like adults, babies can develop tension in their body that leave them feeling uncomfortable, prevent them from reaching their milestones or even create feeding or sleeping issues. While they are beautiful and natural processes, pregnancy can see babies being squished into awkward positions and birth will always involve an element of stress on the baby.
Ideally babies can resolve their own strains through things like sucking, yawning and crying but sometimes they may need assistance.
Common reasons for seeing an osteopath
Positional preferences – ie difficulties with head positioning/ favouring head to one side
Feeding issues – ie. pain with latching, fussing at the breast, poor milk transfer, falling asleep frequently during a feed
Torticollis
Concerns around head shape
Asymmetry in movement
Delays in developmental milestones
Babies that are irritable or difficult to settle
It can be helpful to know that most of these things can be normal if they are occurring infrequently but persistence of these issues may indicate body strains
What a consultation might look like:
History - a thorough history is taken so that the osteopath has a deeper understanding of how your baby has developed. It can be helpful to know about the pregnancy, birth, early days and milestones as these can all provide clues as to what is happening with your baby.
Physical examination - Assessment of babies and children can be similar to adults in testing range of motion and looking for asymmetries or restrictions but it may also include watching how your baby moves, feeds and plays. These provide valuable information about how your baby’s body is functioning.
Treatment – We use hands on techniques which are gentle and can often look like we are not doing anything. This is known as Cranial Osteopathy and is the most subtle form of osteopathy. Other techniques may include gentle rhythmic movements and gentle baby massage. Because of the nature of soft bones and flexible joints it is not appropriate to use large forces to treat a baby. Our treatment aims to assist the body’s natural ability to heal itself by putting tissues into ease and allowing them to unwind.
Post treatment - Babies often sleep well after a treatment but can occasionally become agitated as their body adjusts to the changes. It can take 1-3 days for them to take on the changes that happen during the treatment. Often parents or caregivers will be taught some gentle movements to help their baby to adjust. Warm baths and lots of skin to skin can also assist in this process
We allow an hour for your initial consultation. If you can, time it for a feed or just after a sleep (always easier said than done!) and bring a favourite toy along. There is no minimum age to have your baby treated. If there is a concern then the sooner the better.
TIPS TO HELP AN IRRITABLE BABY
Adjusting to life outside can be harder for some babies to manage. Some things that you can do to help might include:
1. Lots of skin to skin time
2. Warm baths
3. Movement (baby carriers can be a life saver, particularly at the end of the day when babies tend to have their fussy periods)
4. White noise, singing or humming - your baby is used to the sounds of your heart beat, blood pumping and the swooshing of fluids in the womb. White noise can be comforting for them as is the familiar sound of their favourite people! (singing and humming can also calm your nervous system which will help your baby)
EXPERIENCED OSTEOPATHS FOR treating babies
We have Osteopaths with special interest and years of experience applying Paediatric Care. They have furthered their studies in completing a Graduate Certificate in Infant and Neonatal Manual Therapy, and additional training in the assessment and management of tethered oral tissues. We empower you to feel confident about your parenthood journey.
Get a professional Osteoapthic helping hand to support you and your baby by booking your baby an appointment.