The birth
All babies enter the world in their own unique way. Every birth is different. For some the transition from inside the womb to the outside world is made without too much difficulty…. for others it is a traumatic and painful experience, regardless of the circumstances of birth.
The newborn is superbly adapted to being born. The cranial bones are designed to overlap to reduce the total circumference of the head as it exits the birth canal. In a normal delivery, the baby endures enormous forces being pushed through the resistance of the birth canal, forcibly expelled by the contraction of the uterus. The moulding process, which takes place after birth, is amazing to watch as the head shape returns to normal. This moulding may be incomplete and may cause your new baby to experience many difficulties. The natural way babies try to assist this moulding is to cry, suck and yawn. All these actions help to open out the cranial base that has been compressed during the descent out of the birth canal.
The first moments of birth are vital. The baby gets blood shunted through the lungs with the force of the first breath. The many miraculous changes in physiology that occur in the first seconds of birth challenge the newborn in life's greatest transition. Did your baby take a full first breath? How did your baby adapt to being born? Was she alert, crying and able to suckle at the breast straight away?
We see our babies struggle as they start using their digestive system. They twist and turn and grimace and gripe and may cry their way through the day and night. We're watching their nervous system awake before our very eyes. Mothers see their baby's distress and discomfort and intuitively know the struggle they see before them is causing their babies pain.
Resolving the forces of labour
Osteopathy recognizes the affect on the newborn of the compressive forces of labour. These forces cause the baby to experience discomfort and difficulty in feeding and passing stools.
The nerves to the gut and tongue are irritated as they exit the cranial base. The baby may experience pressure in the head which increases discomfort when laying down.
Babies can be assisted to resolve the forces of labour by using very gentle cranial osteopathy. Babies respond by relaxing, improved sleeping and feeding, and easier passage of wind and stools.
Babies born by caesarian section have their own problems to contend with. They may be slower to "wake up" their body physiology and be slower to gain weight. Births assisted by ventouse (suction) or forceps may present babies with additional stresses to overcome.
If birth strains are not resolved the baby may develop problems later such as earache and repeated infections, which may contribute to hearing and speech development problems. Sleeping problems may continue. Older children may experience headaches, growing pains, and postural asymmetry.
The body physiology can be restricted by the effect of unresolved birth strains. The immune system can be compromised and result in less protection against infections. This can cause aggravation of all degrees of asthma from mild to severe. After infections, the chest remains tense and the ribs and diaphragm do not return to full excursion during respiration, aggravating an asthmatic tendency. Osteopathic treatment to release birth stresses and improve chest function is often beneficial in reducing the frequency and severity of asthma attacks.
Newborn sleeping posture
Observations of babies over the last five years has seen a dramatic increase in misshapen heads and of babies who have not crawled. This has occurred as a side affect of the very successful SIDS program of Back to Sleep. 
Because of this some babies may develop a flat or parallelogram shaped head and this will be reflected throughout the whole body posture. To avoid the misshapen head and the failure to crawl give your baby supervised tummy time and alternated positions when laying down, i.e. lie on the left and right sides as well as on the back.
Preparing for pregnancy and labour
Osteopathy can greatly assist a woman to prepare her body for pregnancy, support her changing spinal curves during the pregnancy, prepare her for the birth and also help her recover after she's given birth.
Stresses of a normal pregnancy produce a relatively rapid ageing process in the mother which is usually reversible. These stresses are produced through mechanical, physiological, venous/lymphatic and hormonal changes.
Mechanically, the musculo-skeletal system and the body's centre of gravity is changed. As the uterus grows larger so does the bladder to support the increase in the total fluid volume in the pregnant woman. At the same time the body produces hormones to soften ligaments and muscles to accommodate the woman's need to ease the baby's head through the pelvis. It has been shown that dysfunction in the musculoskeletal system can increase the energy requirement of an individual up to 300%.
Osteopathy can assist with aches and pains, nausea and vomiting, breathlessness, position of the baby and preparing to give birth.
As labour is likely to be more difficult if the baby is not lying correctly, it is worth trying to help him to move into a better position. The baby generally settles in a downward position and facing backward with his spine curled in the same direction as his mother's spine. This puts the baby in the most advantageous position for passing through the birth canal during labour.
Self-Help tips to encourage the baby to lie correctly
- Try to keep as active as possible throughout the pregnancy.
- 'Walk tall', pushing your head upwards as if suspended by a string. Do not allow your lower back to slump into a very hollow position.
- Sitting slouched in soft chairs encourages the baby to turn into the back to back position. Where possible, sit with your bottom well back in the chair and the lower back supported. Better still, sitting on a foam wedge, or on a chair that has a seat that tilts forward, actively encourages the baby to lie correctly.
- If your baby is lying in either a breech or back to back position, then spending some time each day in an 'all fours' position can help it to turn. Chest lower than hips.
Birth is stressful for both the baby and mother.
Osteopathic treatment can help the mother to regain herself more quickly, physically and emotionally, after birth by releasing strains from both pregnancy and labour. This allows her to relax and enjoy her new baby.