Common Questions about Babies and Osteopathy

Can Osteopaths help babies?

Yes. The osteopaths at Eastern Osteopathy have all completed further studies in the field of babies and children. Our osteopaths can help to assess and release tensions induced during birth or pregnancy which may be causing symptoms such as: difficulty latching, constipation, reflux and poor sleep.

Is osteopathy good for babies?

An osteopathic treatment can be very beneficial for babies from a very young age. Each baby presents with their own unique strain patterns which contribute to their symptoms and your osteopath is trained to assess and treat these often subtle tensions/restrictions. Treatment is always very gentle and non-invasive. Many babies even fall asleep during their treatment.

Why do babies need osteo treatment?

There are many reasons parents bring their baby in for an osteopathic treatment. Some of the more common reasons are:

• difficulty sleeping

• favouring turning the head one way

• reflux

• vomiting, constipation

• hiccups

• difficulty getting a burp up

• trouble latching

• being generally unsettled.

These symptoms are often caused by the birth - whether vaginal or caesarian birth, quick or slow, with or without intervention - many forces are put through the baby’s system during birth and can result in tensions as the baby grows.

Osteopath treatment for babies sleep

At Eastern Osteopathy we often treat babies that have difficulty sleeping. Each baby is different and a case history of the pregnancy and birth will be taken along with a hands-on assessment to help determine why your baby is having trouble getting to sleep, or only sleeping for short periods. Often there is tension in the cranial bones contributing to poor sleep. Sometimes there are strains in other areas or systems of the body causing discomfort and interrupting the sleep process.

Osteopath treatment for babies with reflux

Babies often come to the clinic for treatment because they have reflux. A case history and assessment can help determine the cause of the reflux. Often times, tensions from birth contribute to irritation through the diaphragm, oesophagus, stomach or the beginning of the small intestine resulting in pain or vomiting following a feed. Sometimes immediately after a feed, other times 30-60 minutes later. Treatment is always based on each baby’s individual presentation.

What can an osteopath do for my baby?

An osteopath that treats babies is trained to recognise and feel subtle changes in the anatomy and physiology of babies. They can help to gently release strains or tensions that may be present from the birth or in-utero. Some common reasons babies are bought in for a treatment are: trouble feeding or latching, constipation, wind, reflux and trouble sleeping.

Osteopath treatment baby breastfeeding

As osteopaths we often treat babies that have difficulty breastfeeding. These difficulties can result from a variety of reasons. Some babies have trouble turning their head one way, so may latch easier or more comfortably on one side than the other. Tension through the base of the head or the jaw may be impacting the ability for your baby to open their mouth wide enough to get a good latch.

Osteopath treatment for flat head

During their birth, baby’s bodies can be subjected to a lot of force - some natural and some from necessary intervention. These forces can result in strains, tensions and restrictions that osteopaths are trained to recognise and release. Some of these restrictions can lead to a baby preferring to turn their head one way and can result in a flattening to the area of the head the baby spends most time on. Treating the cause of WHY the baby prefers looking one way as well as ensuring the cranial bones are functioning and moving optimally can allow for improvements to the flattening.

Osteopath treatment for babies digestive problems

Many babies present for an osteopathic treatment due to digestive problems. Common symptoms are: constipation, straining and grunting to poo and being unsettled in the lead up to a bowel movement with relief following. Osteopaths are trained to assess and treat the cause of these symptoms, which can often be related to strains induced from the birth. Every baby is different and a thorough case history and assessment is always performed to determine why your baby has their symptoms.

Tears, Tantrums and Big Feelings with Lael Stone, Parenting Educator

As part of our recent zoom series, Liz spoke to Lael Stone, a parenting educator, TedX presenter and podcast host, about tears, tantrums and big feelings. Lael is a wealth of knowledge and provided some great tips on helping children to deal with their emotions and coping with the stress of COVID.

For more information on Lael Stone and raising children, visit Lael’s website and Instagram and listen to Lael’s podcast, The Aware Parenting Podcast, for lots more resources.

Osteopathy assisting newborns with feeding

Dr Elizabeth Johns

Did you know? For an infant to successfully feed they need to be able to coordinate sucking, swallowing and breathing. Sounds simple, but this process relies on 6 cranial nerves and over 60 muscles acting on 22 bones all functioning appropriately to allow your new little bub to feed. Amazingly, for many newborns this is not an issue. I’m actually surprised that we don’t see more babies with feeding issues. 

Poor sucking and feeding can compromise the transfer of milk from mum to baby. This not only impacts the amount of milk your baby is getting at the time, remaining milk stasis can impact on your future milk production. This creates a cycle where less milk is produced, in turn adding to the difficulty of the baby's feeding, further impacting milk production and so on. (1)

It is within the first month of life that babies are most at risk of being weaned from breastfeeding. Of mothers who choose to stop breastfeeding during this time, fifty percent report biomechanical issues with their baby as problem. (2)

The first few weeks of navigating everything to do with becoming a mum or a mother of 2 or 3 can be very daunting. It is during this time where support for the mother and education around lactation and breastfeeding is most important. 

Research now suggests that poor sucking has a strong association with epidural, analgesics, forceps delivery, vacuum extraction, induction of labour, caesarean birth, and/or long or difficult labour.

Babies are subjected to enormous forces during birth. To help adapt to this force, a baby's head has 34 sutures / joints that allow 22 bones / boney segments to overlap and mold as they twist and turn to squeeze out through their mum’s pelvis. When extra force is added (i.e. forceps, vacuum suction, long labour), more force is transferred to the babies presenting body parts. 

As osteopaths, we commonly observe that mechanical forces during the birth process can disrupt the alignment of boney structures through the head, neck and body impacting on nerves, joints and muscle function.

Despite not experiencing the aforementioned force, babies born via cesarean births are not immune to having biomechanical issues with breastfeeding. Lactation consultants report more issues with breastfeeding in babies born via cesarean compared to vaginal births. (3)

How can an osteopath help if you baby is having mechanical issues with feeding? 

The process of breastfeeding is complex. For this reason, we don’t have a recipe. When assessing and treating a baby who is having biomechanical issues impacting their ability to feed effectively, we approach each infant as an individual; considering all the different muscles, joints and nerves that are involved in the coordination of sucking, swallowing and breathing. 

We use a very gentle technique called cranial osteopathy. This assists the body’s natural, self-healing mechanism to release any strains, improve the movement and function of neck, base of head and jaw while also re-establishing an overall state of health and balance. 

Promisingly, research into osteopathic treatment to help with mechanical sucking issues is starting to emerge. Recent research revealed that osteopathic treatment, alongside lactation consultants, in the treatment of infants with biomechanical sucking difficulties was more effective to improve latching and sucking when compared to lactation consultants alone. (4) A small pilot study has also shown that infants with sucking dysfunction who received osteopathic treatment, obtained a significant positive impact on the quality of their feeding. (5)

If you would like further information, please call (03) 9042 0407 to speak to one of our osteopaths.

References

1. Smith LJ., & Kroeger, M. Impact of Birthing Practices on Breastfeeding Second edition

2. Homdrum, A., & Miller, J. (2015). Maternal report of feeding practices: A cross-sectional survey of 1753 mothers presenting infants to a chiropractic teaching clinic. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics, 15(1), 1198–1202.

3. Kearney, MH., Cronenwett, LR., Reinhardt, R. (1990) Cesarean delivery and breastfeeding outcomes. Birth, 17(2):97-103.

4. Herzhaft-Le Roy, J., Xhignesse, M. & Gaboury I. (2016). Efficacy of an Osteopathic Treatment Coupled With Lactation Consultations for Infants’ Biomechanical sucking difficulties: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Human Lactation, Vol(1) 165-171.

5. Fraval, M. (1998). A pilot study: Osteopathic treatment of infant with a sucking dysfunction. Journal of the American Academy of Osteopathy, 8(2), 25–33.

Four Month Sleep Regression

Dr Kathryn Johns

The four month sleep regression... It’s a thing!! How did you all cope?

Let me share with you my experience when Harper, my second daughter started to go through sleep regression. By 6 weeks Harper, the golden child, was either sleeping through or waking once a night and sleeping until 7.30ish. Was I tired? Yes.. Exhausted? No. 

Then it happened. Harper turned four months and two days old and the sleep regression began. 

I’m lucky, my best friend, business partner and twin sister (aka Liz), has spent all of her working osteo career treating babies. So I asked Liz what exactly is happening to Harper? Why, around four months, do babies regress with sleep? Can osteopathy help? Here is what Liz had to say: 

Firstly, the 4 month sleep regression is absolutely normal (hard but normal, exhausting but normal). As hard as it might feel right now, congratulations, your little bubba has reached a developmental milestone!

To help understand what’s going on with your bubba it’s important to understand the 4 stages of sleep. 

The stages of sleep are categorised by light sleep, deep sleep and REM sleep. A normal sleep cycle consist of four stages of sleep that are repeated every 90-120 minutes. Newborns skip the first two stages of sleep and go straight to deep sleep (Stage 3 & Stage 4). 

Stage One - The earliest stage of sleep, referred to as drowsiness or pre-sleep. This is the lightest stage of sleep when we can easily be woken. Slow rolling eye movements that occur as our bodies relax and soften.

Stage Two - The predominant sleep stage during a normal night’s sleep. Stage comprises approximately 40-60% of our sleep time. Still classes as light sleep, the body reduces its activity to prepare for deep sleep. Body temperature increases and heart rate decreases.

Stage Three - Moderate to deep “slow wave” sleep. During this stage our bodies are busy repairing and rejuvenating, growing and developing. In stage 3, we are least likely to be interrupted or woken from external stimuli.

Stage Four - REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. It is during this stage we do most of our dreaming and our brain consolidates information and memories. During REM breathing is rapid, irregular and shallow. If woken during REM sleep, we can wake feeling tired or groggy.

Normally at the age of four months your baby starts going through all four stages of sleep . With these changes, more time is spent in lighter sleep, making it easier to wake. During this period your baby is also going through developmental changes and becoming more alert adding to the ease at which they wake up. 

The good news is, although this is a permanent change to your babies sleep cycle, they will adapt. They will sleep again, you will sleep again!

Can osteopathy help? There is limited research into the benefits of osteopathy in helping improve babes sleeping. However it is very common for parents to bring their kids in for treatment to help with sleep. From my clinical experience, osteopathic treatment is really helpful in removing tension and we all know when we remove tension in our bodies we feel more relaxed. As a result we often see babies sleep patterns improve with treatment.