Babies and CranioSacral Therapy – How birth trauma can affect your baby’s wellbeing.
Being born is hard work, work that is physically stressful, and can sometimes result in injury from the intense compression of labour and birth.
Babies are well designed as their bones are extremely flexible. Their cranial bones can slide over each other during birth to accommodate the birth canal and the pressures involved in labour. Sometimes, these bones can get stuck in this overriding position after delivery, which can compress nerves in and around the skull.
An area that is most vulnerable to these pressures is at the base of the skull, or the cranial base, where the head and neck join. Compression here can affect many of the nerves that serve as communication pathways from the brain to the rest of the body.
The Vagus Nerve
One of the most vulnerable nerves that can be affected in the cranial base is the Vagus nerve. The brain uses the Vagus nerve as a communication tool to organize many of the functions of our internal organs – to make sure the rhythms and cycles work together.
A compressed Vagus nerve can result in digestive discomfort, difficulty sleeping, uncoordinated feeding, and difficulty passing gas. This is very uncomfortable for baby, making them difficult to soothe and calm.
By using the gentle touch of CranioSacral Therapy, these compression forces can be addressed and released, resulting in better communication between the brain and the body.
The tensions that can result from labour and delivery are not only concentrated in the base of the skull. Tension from birth can affect shoulders, the ribcage, the pelvis, and even organ function.
Because every birth is different, an individual evaluation is the best way to help know what your baby needs. The more of these types tensions we are can release, the more relaxed and calm the baby (and parents) become.
CranioSacral Therapy is a very gentle and respectful therapy that can enhance the balance of babies’ systems as they recover from birth and begin their life in the outside world.
Call us today to schedule your appointment with Tara!