Craniosacral Therapy and Bodywork for Infants
What is Craniosacral Therapy and Bodywork?
Craniosacral Therapy is a safe and gentle therapy that uses very light touch to ease areas of tightness or restriction in the connective tissue of the body. The treatment restores mobility and creates more space in places in the body where there are stuck places. This promotes optimal shape, movement and function of the head, spine and body.
The craniosacral therapist uses his/her hands to locate and release areas of tension in the body. The treatment is baby-led, nothing is ever forced, and most release techniques use five grams of pressure (the weight of a nickel). It doesn’t hurt or tickle, but allows for release and relaxation for improved health. I also integrate Pediatric Functional Bowen™ into my work for moms and babies. This is a form of very gentle release that uses a light strumming or rolling movement on the musculature derived from the traditional Bowen Therapy Method developed by Tom Bowen, an Australian Osteopath. Traditional Bowen Therapy is suitable for anyone at any age. Both applications promote “less is best” and support the theory that “the body improves its own regulatory processes best”. Pediatric Functional Bowen™ Therapy is a specifically focused muscle balancing application for the areas of body involved in structure‐function imbalances. Unlike Traditional Bowen for babies, Pediatric Functional Bowen™ Therapy directly addresses the specific muscle/muscle group structures assessed to be hindering physical and or physiological function. It specifically promotes functional mobility of the musculature while it gently promotes balance and symmetry of the body. Breastfeeding difficulties and or feeding dysfunctions are prime examples of what it can successfully address.
Bodywork and massage is an excellent way for you to help your baby. Experienced therapists will teach you how to work with your baby with your hands, your touch.
|
When is Craniosacral Therapy and Bodywork a Good Idea?
Asymmetrical head shapes or face/jaw Medically-assisted birth (forceps, vacuum) or birth trauma/injury Breastfeeding difficulties Unhappy disposition (startling easy, scared, angry, irritated, not comfortable in body) Digestive issues (constipation, vomiting, excessive spit-up, reflux, colic) Before/after procedures (tongue-tie clipping, other medical procedures) Congenital or neurological problems |
|
I reached out to Kate when my second daughter, A., was four weeks old. I had consulted our pediatricians, dentist, and multiple lactation specialists for help with our breastfeeding issues, and had attempted two separate tongue tie revisions with no noticeable impact. In our first appointment, Kate pinpointed the root of our issues, which began in utero with prolonged fetal malpositioning, resulting in muscle and fascial compression and cesarean birth (and torticollis and tongue and jaw issues that made breastfeeding difficult and painful for both of us).
Kate's expertise and advice, both with addressing my baby's unusually complex physical needs (which required intensive bodywork over a period of four months) and helping me to soothe and connect with her, have been unbelievable important to our family. She pursued every possible treatment avenue while designing a care plan for my daughter, including consultation with an international professional network of CST practitioners and traveling out of state for training in a new technique she believed could (and did) produce a treatment breakthrough. Between appointments, Kate reached out with questions about A.'s progress and what I was noticing at home.
When I first met Kate, I was struggling to meet A.'s physical needs and connect with her emotionally. I was overwhelmed by a fussy, "high-needs" baby who seemed miserable much of the time. Thanks to Kate's skill and persistence, both with CST and with coaching me in how to connect with my baby, I was able to return to work knowing that our bond was strong enough to weather that transition, and at ten months old A. is still breastfeeding.
I cannot recommend Kate enthusiastically enough; she is highly skilled, deeply empathic, and committed to doing all she can to serve mothers and babies. I am wholly grateful for her and her work, and she has been an inestimable blessing to our family.
~from Casey Graham Baber, Charlottesville
"I brought you a baby with failure to thrive who was probably headed toward a feeding tube. She had dropped to the 3rd percentile in weight and was a tense little person whom I didn't seem able to soothe. You helped her open up. She has fat rolls now and she giggles. She can turn her head both directions and isn't drawn up into a little ball. She can nurse well enough to grow and she trusts me. I think what you do is incredible and fascinating and really, really valuable. Thank you for everything!" ~ Bethany Rose, Stanton
