We as osteopaths are interested in every aspect of the health of your baby or child, and we will start the first consultation by taking a detailed case history. This includes questions about the pregnancy, labour, general development of your baby and their complaints.This is followed by a gentle and attentive physical assessment, which includes testing out all joints in the body for their ranges of movement (the hips, pelvis, spine, neck, cranium and extremities). It may also include testing neurological reflexes, as well as often quietly feeling the body tissues for distortion or altered tensions.

 

Osteopathic treatment of babies is extremely gentle and respectful. We don’t use any forceful manipulations. With our highly sensitive hands we use gentle releasing techniques to correct mechanical disturbances and limitations throughout your baby’s body.

 

By balancing out the structural integrity of the body we aim to improve the function of the underlying organs (respiratory system, digestive system…).

 

We will endeavor to communicatie clearly what we feel during the treatment of your baby, what we think the problem is and what you can do at home to help the recovery.

 

If we feel that your baby’s complaint requires other medical investigation we will refer you to your general practitioner or pediatrician.

 

THE BIRTH PROCESS

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Osteopaths believe that unresolved birth stresses may contribute to many different problems as the child grows.

 

During birth, the baby is subjected to enormous forces as he or she twists and turns to squeeze through the mother’s relatively narrow bony pelvis. To make this easier, the baby’s head is designed to adapt and reduce in size by bending and overlapping of the soft bones of the skull.

 

This is called molding, and is why many babies are born with oddly shaped heads. In the first few days after birth, the head naturally loses much of the extreme molded shape, aided by suckling, crying and yawning. But this unfolding process may sometimes be incomplete, especially if the birth has been difficult, and can leave the baby with uncomfortable stresses in the head and/or body.

 

This may cause a variety of problems both in the young baby, later on in childhood and even into adulthood.