If your new born baby has had a traumatic birth, was stuck in the birth canal for several hours during labour, was a posterior lie, breach birth, or was an assisted birth using either forceps or a vacuum extraction then you should consider a short course of treatment to remove the trauma or tensions these situations can cause to a new born baby. The extra tensions, strains and stresses that these birthing conditions can cause are retained in the body and may only show up years later as physical deformities or slower mental and cognitive development. You may also notice that your baby has a tendency to move their head more in one direction than the other (left or right), this may also result from the birth process.

During a posterior lie birth the pressures of the contractions and pushing by the mother on to the baby - instead of passing down the back, up the neck and safely out through the stronger Occipital bone at the base of the skull – actually pass through the jaw, ears and temple of the head. This can have severe negative effects on the speech, eating and hearing centres of the body which are all now subjected to forces they are not designed to take. This can lead to eating problems in the young baby such as vomiting, swallowing issues or breastfeeding problems. Ear infections may be common in the first year for the baby’s life. Speech or hearing can also be affected as the baby develops due to tensions retained in this important area of the head.

All of these issues can be resolved with a course of CranioSacral therapy. The gentle techniques allow for the release of all the strain and tension patterns within in the baby’s body due to the birth process and restore full head movement, improve coordination and allow for the normal development of the baby in the years ahead.

During a vacuum birth the skull bones often become deformed by the cap placed on your baby’s head. This deformation may last for several months afterwards, but should return to normal within time. If you would prefer to speed up this process and help your baby heal form the trauma, pain and possible physical damage that this process can cause the young skull and brain a course of CranioSacral Therapy is one of your best options. The abnormal shape of the skull can be returned to it’s normal, original shape within a few treatments. Together with this any damage to the tissues underneath the bones can also be healed and repaired. Doing this at a very young age can alleviate the need to spend a lot of time and money later in life dealing with the possible results to the development of the brain – cognitive or physical – or the speech or hearing centres.

The yellowness of the skin is due to the fact that the baby’s young and small liver is unable to process and excess of blood and so has to use the skin as it’s organ for release instead of the intestines or urine.

When a baby is born and suffers from jaundice there can be several reasons for this.

Firstly it is possible that in the event of a vacuum extraction that there has been bleeding within the skull or scalp and this leads to an excess of blood in the young and small body which the baby’s newly functioning liver is unable to process all at once. Sometimes there may be a blood incompatibility between the mother and the baby and now ‘antibodies’ attack the infant's red blood cells which were transferred from the mother to the baby's bloodstream. The antibodies may be due to ABO (blood group) incompatibility or Rhesus factor differences. Again the small liver has to work overtime to keep up and is usually unable to. This is called "hemolytic jaundice".

The usual treatment is to place the baby under ultra-violet light and/or to give a blood transfusion depending on the levels of bilirubin in the blood. The light treatment breaks down the bilirubin and consequently transforms it into compounds that the newborn can excrete via urine and stools. Jaundice typically appears in a 'top to bottom' progression (starting with the face, progressing toward the feet), and resolves in a 'bottom to top' manner. Prolonged neonatal jaundice is serious and should be followed up promptly.

CranioSacral Therapy is very effective at treating and complementing the above medical treatments. CST will allow the body to process the bilirubin at a quicker rate, enhance ht flow of other fluids around the body, improve the function of many of the young organs, and support the immune system. After treatment it is usual to see a reduction in the level of bilirubin, allowing your baby to be taken off the ultra-violet lights and return home sooner.

As mentioned above, the birthing process can lead to problems with your baby’s ability to eat, drink or swallow. As long as the problem is not based on a physical mechanical problem – such as malformed muscles, misaligned muscles, etc. – it is possible to improve and correct the feeding ability of your baby. Treatment can strengthen and improve the function of the muscles of the mouth and throat. Improvement to the nerves that coordinate them can also be improved if this is the limiting factor. In cases of breast feeding where the baby is having trouble latching on or remaining attached to the breast for the duration of the feed, it is possible that the tongu or muscles of the mouth and lips are at fault. Again these can be worked on and their function improved.

Although Colic is a term well used when talking about a baby’s painful stomach or inability to keep down food it is a term that is almost beyond medical definition. In these cases or where your baby is constantly vomiting CranioSacral therapy can improve the stomach and allow it function properly, reduce the painful stomach and allow your baby to live without pain. Sometimes due to the birthing process the Vagus nerve can become more sensitised and as it travels down the neck into the stomach, which it controls, can be over stimulated and this can lead to the colic or vomiting problems. This is one of the few times where the diagnosis can be said without relaying on a physical examinations and often a few light techniques to the base of the skull can alleviate this problem.

In cases where your baby’s physical or mental development is slowed CranioSacral Therapy has had excellent results. If your baby is not moving a limb – head, arms or legs – as they should, has crawling or walking issues, co-ordination problems, is showing signs of slow mental and cognitive development, treatment can often help to improve their function, give them a ‘learning spurt’, strengthen muscles and improve coordination.

Many parents suffer when their children have sleeping problems, having to endure regular evenings with a screaming child is not your idea of fun. Whether discussing a baby, toddler or a young child, it can often seem that there is no solution in sight. You may have read books, and tried different techniques for putting children to sleep, change their bedtime routine but still find yourself spending an hour a night or more regularly trying to get your child to sleep once they have been put in their cot r bed for the night.

CranioSacral therapy helps treat sleeping disorders by using the same techniques used to successfully treat other baby and child problems. Birth may be a factor in causing your child’s sleeping problems (even if it was a natural unaided birth). Tensions within the membranes surrounding the brain can be the cause of the sleeping problems, strain patterns within the bones of the head, as well as muscular tightness throughout the body, in the neck, shoulders or chest may be contributing factors. are also alleviated and these are released and cured. The light touch of the therapist on the head bones, chest and abdomen will alleviate these problems, release any tensions your baby suffer from and cure their sleeping problems allowing your son/daughter to fall asleep easily and then finally allow you to enjoy a good and deep nights sleep.