Should a Newborn Baby see an Osteopath
Absolutely yes! We recommend that all new borns should see an Osteopath who is experienced assessing and treating babies. In an ideal situation a baby develops free from strain and stress in the womb, has an ideal birth and is absolutely perfect. However the textbook is rarely followed and many babies are subjected to intrauterine (inside Mum) stresses and birth itself may be traumatic or surgical.
Each baby is an individual and has their own experience of the womb, birth and early life. The natural embryonic forces, coded for in the DNA, allows the baby to grow, develop and interact with the world. For whatever reason this program is physically disrupted the baby may be irritated, be in pain or distressed. Osteopathy may be of help in situations where there is nothing medically wrong but no answers.
I have been treating newborn babies for over 30 years and did my post graduate training at the Osteopathic Centre for Children in London. Since then I have treated literally thousands of babies.
What do you do?
After taking a case history and examining the baby to see if it’s appropriate and suitable to treat, we then Osteopathically assess the baby. Usually this involves the baby laying on a pillow while the Osteopath assess for movement and tension in their pelvis, hips, spine, tummy, rib cage, neck, jaw and skull. We watch how they breathe, move, feed and interact.
If we find a strain pattern or an area that is restricted we will very gently release it. There is NO cracking or vigorous techniques used by us when treating babies. So often they are just “stuck” or haven’t fully “opened up” to function properly for life on the outside.
What sort of Symptoms would you Treat?
The babies we see are usually brought to us because they are crying, irritable, unconsolable, fussy and generally miserable. They may be struggling to breast feed, latch properly, unable to turn their head, gassy, colicky and constipated Very often they may have had a difficult birth or caesarian section. So many issues that don’t fit into a category or named condition; we see it as a dysfunctional system that needs a little help to resolve.
My Baby seems absolute fine, am I wasting my time seeing you?
We still recommend you get a check up. If we find nothing then that is wonderful.
Do Babies usually Need a lot of Treatment?
Most babies require on average 3 sessions and its advisable we see them every 6 months after that as the grow and develop. In the same way you would your Dentist. Prevention!
Osteopathy is “strong medicine” and change generally happens quickly if a problem is entirely due to dysfunction which is what we deal with. Sometimes treatment may be ongoing in a supportive role to a medical Dr.
Can I ring you and ask questions?
Absolutely, we are here to help, just call or send an email.
Dr Roger Kingston is a practicing Osteopath in Buderim on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland.